Production: 9,380 cases Blend: 89% Shiraz/11% Cabernet Sauvignon

A blend of 98% Shiraz and 2% Viognier made just prior to bottling, the 2016 RunRig is a complete masterpiece. It kicks off with elegant notes of pencil shavings accenting blueberries and blackberries on the nose, then shows incredible, palate-staining intensity of fruit in the mouth. It's full-bodied, plush and velvety without being unstructured and manages to be fruit-forward yet savory on the long-lasting finish, where it picks up hints of mocha and black olives. This should be drinkable with pleasure throughout its entire two-decade life (it may live longer from cold cellars or in larger formats), but if I were lucky enough to have a bottle or two, I'd try the first one about 10 years out. Scheduled for June 2019 release.

Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2008 The Laird is a little restrained to begin, opening out after a few moments and much coaxing to an extraordinary array of creme de cassis and black plum-based aromas with underlying chocolate box, licorice, exotic spice, oolong tea and clove hints with a touch of earthy loam. Richly textured, dense and with a provocative meaty/earthy/savory, the palate is complex and layered revealing menthol and ripe black fruit notes interplaying with firm, velvety tannins through to a very long, opulent and harmonious finish. Drink it from 2015 to 2030+.

Served from an ex-chateau bottle. The 2009 Chateau d�Yquem is one showstopper of a wine and perhaps it is only in a vertical that you realize this is up there among the legendary wines of the past � the 2001 included. It has a wonderful nose that expresses the Semillon component majestically: heady aromas of lemon curd, nectarine, jasmine and honeysuckle that all gain momentum in the glass. The oak is supremely well-integrated. The palate is extremely well-balanced with an unctuous entry. You are immediately knocked sideways by the palpable weight and volume in the mouth, which is almost �bulbous,� with layer upon layer of heavily botrytized fruit. It builds to a spicy finish with hints of marzipan and pralines in the background that lend it an untrammeled sense of exoticism. The 2009 is utterly fabulous and decadent, a star that will blaze brightly and undimmed for many years. Drink now-2060+. Tasted March 2014.