772 | Wine | What's On Sale, 91 to 95, 2010

"The 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Artemis is laced with sweet red berries, plums, flowers, mint and cloves. It is an attractive, medium-bodied wine to drink over the next decade plus, once the tannins begin to soften. Today the 2010 is a bit compact. The Artemis is made from both estate and purchased fruit."

"The 2010 Chianti Classico is beautiful, pointed and articulate. Sweet red berries, anise, flowers, spices and licorice are some of the many notes that flow from this gorgeous Chianti. The freshness and vibrancy are pure 2010."

"Glass-staining purple. An expressive, heady bouquet gives out candied red fruits, potpourri and Asian spices, with a smoky nuance gaining power in the glass. Rich but lively, offering vibrant raspberry and cherry-cola flavors and notes of allspice and star anise. Sweet and silky on a finish that keeps on with impressive tenacity and spiciness. This wine always delivers outstanding value."

"A big, mouth filling wine, the 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon, shows the personality of the vintage in its intense fruit. There is plenty of underlying structure in this deep, resonant Cabernet Sauvignon. Mint, flowers and sweet red berries are some of the nuances that are woven into the finish. This is far from an easygoing Napa Cabernet. Although delicious today, it should drink well for a number of years. Another year or so in bottle should help the elements come together even more fully."

"The American importer produces a slightly different blend called Chateauneuf du Pape Cuvee Girard, and the 2009 and 2010 are essentially identical in quality. The 2010 Chateauneuf du Pape Girard reveals slightly more meatiness and garrigue notes than the 2009, but the two wines are similar in every other aspect. Full-bodied, rich and pure, it, like the 2009, will evolve over the next 10-15 years." -Robert Parker

"Beautifully proportioned, with a rich mix of currant, blackberry, dried herb, mocha, cedar and tobacco flavors. This is also very tightly structured, worthy of a long decant or short-term cellaring."

"Slate, minerals, crushed rocks and grapefruit linger on the precise, crystalline finish. This is a very Chablis-like Napa Valley Chardonnay."

"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

"Adding Johan Vineyard to the roster of four sites that informed this cuvee’s previous edition, the Ransom 2010 Pinot Noir Selection – tasted in a close approximation to its final assemblage – delivers downright refreshingly as well as invigoratingly tangy red currant and fraises des bois, tinged with coriander seed, nutmeg, and rose hip. Buoyant to the point of delicacy, this finishes with mouthwatering persistence and is sure on release to represent an outstanding value that can be enjoyed over at least the next half dozen years."

"Bright ruby-red. High-pitched aromas of cassis, blackberry, licorice pastille and violet. Round, suave and lush but with lovely inner-mouth lift to the cassis and chocolate flavors. Serious depth here, and quite ripe for 2010. Finishes seamless, subtle and long, with suave, chocolatey tannins. This youthfully medicinal blend seems built for a graceful evolution in bottle."