Alex Hunt: Very deep purple, yet engagingly floral and spicy on the nose—not unlike some of the better varietal Petit Verdots. With some encouragement, a layer of ripe blueberry fruit emerges. There’s plenty of tannin, and the palate structure is on the leaner side, but it’s really very well put together, clean but characterful, and a lovely opportunity to experience an alternative interpretation of this rare grape variety. 90

Andrew Jefford: Very deep black-red. Hugely characterful in scent, with a great carpetbagful of spicy, peppery, dusty damsons. This’ll twiddle your knobs! It’s almost oppressive, but not quite; a great wine-bar by-the-glass variety-bringer. On the palate, it’s a huge tannic slogger, like heroic Petite Sirah, but with fresher wild-plum flavors. It won’t be to everyone’s taste, and it does come across as just a little bit monotone in terms of its aromatic spectrum, but I’m enjoying the flavors a lot; the tannins are very fine and full of inner resource, and I’d love to try a glass or two of it with dinner. It seems to belong happily in its place, and it’s been rendered with great sensitivity to the raw materials (nothing corrected; no fear). Super stuff. If affronting. 91

Peter Liem: While this feels ripe in its berry-like flavors, it remains taut and fresh on the palate, its lightbodied fruit buttressed by zesty acidity and earthy tannins. It’s refreshing to drink and really needs food to show its best. 88