5 | Wine | Rhone, $10 to $20, 86 or higher

"Complex aromas of red and dark berries, Indian spices and violet, with slow-building smokiness. Taut and focused on the palate, offering lively bitter cherry and black raspberry flavors that pick up weight with air. Juicy and nicely concentrated Cotes du Rhone with strong finishing punch and lingering spiciness."

"Crisp and savory, with citrus, white berry and gooseberry flavors accented by plenty of slate and white pepper notes. Fresh finish."

"Sweet kirsch liqueur intermixed with notions of smoky camphor and roasted meats are followed by a powerful as well as elegant, opaque purple-colored wine with deep fruit, medium to full body and a long finish. With abundant glycerin and fresh, it is a sexy red to enjoy over the next 2-3 years."-Robert Parker

"The 2010 Cotes du Rhone Reserve is outstanding. Dense purple, with notes of roasted meats, black raspberries, blackberries, licorice and lavender, this wine is just terrific. Medium to full-bodied, rich and certainly far deeper and more concentrated than one has any reason to expect from a wine that sells for $15 (the taste is more like one for $35 to $50), this is a winner that will drink well for 4-5 years."

"Modern and very suave. Ripe and distinguished, with a beautiful beam of linzer torte and macerated red currant fruit supported by graphite and licorice notes. The long finish lets the fruit hang on while staying fresh and racy."

"Two outstanding values from the Rhone include the basic, delicious 2010 Cotes du Rhone. It offers lots of black cherry fruit intermixed with garrigue, earth, lavender and pepper notes. Medium-bodied and surprisingly elegant with a supple texture, it is composed of generic Cotes du Rhone blended with declassified parcels owned by Saint-Gayan in both Sablet and Seguret. It should be consumed over the next 2-3 years." -Robert Parker

"The 2011 Cotes du Rhone Belleruche exhibits classic framboise notes, a light, vibrant, florescent pink color, excellent texture and a dry finish." -Robert Parker

"Potentially outstanding, the 2010 Cotes du Rhone-Villages comes primarily from Grand Prebois as well as other vineyards in St.-Gervais, especially the Syrah component...it exhibits a dense ruby/purple hue along with deep blackberry and black cherry fruit intertwined with notions of licorice, garrigue and underbrush. Medium to full-bodied with good acidity, freshness and precision." -Robert Parker

"A mouthfilling core of plum sauce and blackberry paste is backed by charcoal and anise on the finish. Solid, direct, pure and driven."

"Black currant, spring flower, licorice and crushed rock aromas jump from the glass of this dense ruby/purple-colored, full-bodied, beautifully pure, textured and dense Lirac. It should drink well for at least a decade."-Robert Parker