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Amazing density; the aromas billow up from the glass and weave together sinuously, taking you on a magic carpet ride before the wine even hits your mouth. This wine has the power of a monster California Cab while retaining the subtlety of a first-growth Bordeaux. It is just a massive blast of dark fruit, incredible viscosity, silky textures and soft herbs, pepper and spice. The oak—all new, all French—is unobtrusive and perfectly integrated.Wine Enthusiast | 97 WEThe 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon is mature and near-term in the glass with earthy and funky tones that resonate with the remnants of a once-sweet fruit frame that has shifted almost fully into a stewed fruit core. Full-bodied, I recommend drinking this in the next few years, as it currently offers elements of dried blackberries and tar across the mid-palate. For a generous wine, it’s starting to wind down and only has a few years left. I recommend enjoying this bottle with an aged ribeye steak.Robert Parker | 96 RP(bottled in August of 2004; includes bits of merlot and cab franc) Bright ruby-red. Superripe aromas of cassis, black raspberry, minerals and chocolate. Rich, lush and expressive; superconcentrated but not at all heavy. In fact, this broad, suave wine offers a compellingly silky texture. Finishes impressively rich, dry and long, with firm but fine-grained tannins. Wait until 2010 before drinking this superb cabernet, by which time it may merit an even higher rating.Vinous Media | 93+ VMFirm and taut, with dusky spice and freshly ground pepper nuances to the dark berry, currant and cherry aromas and flavors, lingering impressively on the chewy finish. Doesn’t have the pure fruit of previous vintages, but it should soften and broaden, developing more depth with cellaring. Best from 2008 through 2015. 3,400 cases made. —Wine Spectator | 93 WS

The 2017 Syrah Bionic Frog is in the running for the wine of the vintage. An incredibly elegant expression of this cuvée, it reveals an almost opaque purple hue to go with stunning, Jamet Cote Rotie-like notes of black raspberries, spring flowers, bacon fat, green olives, and sweet mulch. More cured meats and salted pork notes develop with time in the glass, and it’s a wonderfully complex, layered, nuanced Syrah. Boasting medium to full-bodied richness on the palate, flawless balance, and a great, great finish, it’s the polish, elegance, and silky feel to the tannins that set this beauty above just about every other wine out there. It’s unquestionably gorgeous today (give it an hour or more in a decanter) yet has a solid 15-20 years of prime drinking ahead of it.Jeb Dunnuck | 98 JDFantastic decadence and richness to this, but not overdone, offering intense dried fruit, tar, roasted walnuts and smoked almonds. It’s full-bodied, but remains fresh. The aromas follow through to a flavorful. round and juicy palate. Drink or hold.James Suckling | 98 JSPart of the magic that happens with the 2017 Syrah Bionic Frog is that it is opaque with neon purple edges without being inky and massive. With classic Syrah tones of smoked meat, leather, lavender, lilac and black pepper, the wine is rich with aromas of blackberry, black raspberry and smoked plum. Medium to full-bodied, the wine explodes with intention and precision on the palate, with an immaculate balance and crystal-clear focus. Brilliantly structured, the wine continues to evolve with subtle and seamlessly integrated spice tones compounded by a mineral tension and a floral lift to make this wine float across the mid-palate. The wine glides effortlessly to a long, winding finish with persistence and the elegance of silk. The vibrancy of flavor remains in the mouth long after the wine has left. For a wine this dark and this full-flavored, yet as graceful and agile on the palate as it is, you’ll be hard-pressed to put down the glass; I certainly can’t keep my hands off of it. This is stunningly beautiful, and with only 516 cases made, it should be sought after by top collectors from around the world.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPBright red-ruby. Pungent, pure, wonderfully complex scents of blackberry, dark raspberry, crushed herbs, meat, graphite and black olive accented by black pepper. Incredibly precise, concentrated, saline wine with a sexy wildness and exceptional inner-mouth lift to its flavors of dark berries, licorice, olive tapenade and luncheon meats. Thick and savory but not heavy or flat, this is a great New World Syrah. Finishes salty but alive, with terrific firm but integrated tannins and steadily building length. A great vintage for this wine--maybe better than the 2016--with superb lift and structure for aging. Keeps its thickness and juiciness through the peppery, wild, very long aftertaste. Wow!Vinous Media | 96 VMThe aromas start off reserved and then ramp up intensity, with notes of peat, black pepper, crushed flower, soot and charcuterie. The flavors are intense but far from full throttle, showing a mesmerizing sense of restraint to the savory and potpourri notes. A lingering finish caps it off.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEShows personality and refinement, with vivid cherry and raspberry flavors, laced with garrigue, bacon, orange peel and river stone notes. Picks up speed toward the vibrant finish. Drink now through 2029. 516 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Coming from higher density plantings just beside the estate, the 2020 Syrah Armada Vineyard is one of the standouts in the vintage and has a beautiful core of fruit as well as mid-palate density. Ripe black cherries, blackberries, ground pepper, iodine, rose petals, and crushed stone define the aromatics, and it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, a broad, layered mouthfeel, gorgeous tannins, and a great, great finish. This unquestionably competes with the top wines in the vintage. Give bottles 2-4 years in the cellar and enjoy through 2040.Jeb Dunnuuck | 98 JDPerhaps the most put-together and complete wine of the range this year, the 2020 Syrah Armada Vineyard has classic notes of potpourri, savory herbs, black olive, hints of green and black peppercorns and dusty cherry blossoms that sway with a delightful mineral essence. Medium to full-bodied, the wine is balanced on the palate, with a fine mineral tension, precision, focus and a lingering, food-friendly, savory finish with a tight tannic edge. The wine rested for 21 months in about 20% new French oak. 7,656 bottle produced. Bravo!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPThe 2020 Syrah Armada Vineyard is darkly floral. Dusty violet and lavender tones give way to musky black currants and blood orange aromas. Soft and enveloping, this possesses racy acidity that enlivens its tart wild berry fruits, taking on an almost-crunchy sensation toward the close, as nuances of sour citrus add contrast. This finishes with incredible energy and length, leaving a subtle balsamic twang yet remaining remarkably fresh. Impressive, to say the least, the 2020 Armada will win many hearts. This is about 80% whole-cluster fermentation and 10% new oak. This really sneaks up on the taster, and the nose prepares you for a bruiser, but the palate melts your heart.Vinous Media | 96 VMBlackcurrants, black cherries, cloves, tobacco, charcoal and smoked meat on the nose. It’s full-bodied with fine-grained yet firm, broad and mouth-coating tannins. Dark and inky. Tight and tense at the end. From biodynamically grown grapes. Try in 2025.James Suckling | 95 JSThe Armada sails on an ocean of blackcap raspberry and smoked brisket flavors, withadditional support provided by Earl Grey tea, shortbread and spearmint. Aromatic tradewinds are filled with black cherries and lavender. Soft acidity and velvety tannins make for a smooth voyage. Wine Enthusiast | 95 WE

Made from a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 9% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Sorella is fresh yet restrained and has a focused and red-fruited core of spiced potpourri. The nose is slightly compressed at the moment and takes some spinning in the glass to coax some of the more delicate and seductive nuances, revealing layers of complexity. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, this is a gorgeous, world-class wine whose true power comes from not being bold and massive but rather from being delicate, finessed and focused. The wine is balanced on the palate, with a compact frame, elegant structure, succulent acidity and fine-grained tannins before uncoiling across the mid-palate. The wine glides to a seductive and lingering finish and will undoubtedly be well-received when it is released in early 2025. It’s a fantastic bottling of Sorella, and I’ll end with a parting note that I shared with Chris and Will Camarda: “Bigger isn’t better... BETTER is better! This may be one of the most delicate Sorella bottlings I’ve had in many years. Although it comes in a more compact frame, the 2020 is just as devastatingly gorgeous as any I’ve had.” Only 9,030 bottles were filled after the wine rested for 22 months in 30% new French oak barrels.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2020 Sorella is darkly floral with a perfumed blend of dried violets and roses, giving way to hints of red plum, fig, stone dust and sage. This displays silken textures contrasted by a core of tart red and black fruits as tactile mineral tones add form. Brisk acidity maintains amazing freshness. The 2020 finishes long and potent, with grippy tannins tugging at the cheeks without detracting from the experience. The 2020 is a much softer and more approachable Sorella, but with that said, it has the balance for a long and harmonious evolution.Vinous Media | 94 VMI don’t think the 2020 Sorella is a match for recent vintages, but it’s clearly an outstanding wine. Offering ample red and black fruits as well as notions of gravelly earth, chocolate, and roasted herbs, it hits the palate with full-bodied richness, bright acidity, and firm tannins. It shows the more challenging style of the vintage with its narrower, firmer style, but it should round into form with 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for 15 years or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 93 JD