There’s no denying the wine’s power and intensity. It’s concentrated like a cement block, with richness, plummy aromas, sweetness and char. But it’s also candied and ultrarich in the mouth, with syrupy flavors of berry extract, cola and chocolate. A heavy wine that shows every ounce of its 15.5% alcohol. Ultimately it’s more sweet and powerful than it is precise. Drink now through 2013.——M.S.(2/1/2010)—— 90

If all you’re after is size, then sign on the dotted line. This blend is a monster that weighs in at 15.5%, so be ready for intensely sweet flavors of grape essence and licorice. To this judge, the wine has a lot of gumption but isn’t what I’d want to drink glass after glass, day after day. It’s lumbering, heavy but oh so sweet and dessert-like.——M.S.(12/15/2007)—— 87