93+ points Vinous Media
Cuvee 1: Saturated, bright ruby-red. Superripe, spicy aromas of blackberry, blueberry, violet, pepper, garrigue and roasted coffee. Dense, powerful and very fresh; quite peppery at this young stage. A huge, opulent wine with solid underlying structure and impressive persistence. Cuvee 2: Not quite as saturated. Less complex but even more surmuri on the nose. Fat and full, with pepper and leather notes and firm spine. A representative blend: Saturated ruby. Knockout syrah aromas of black fruits, leather, violet and roasted meat. Superconcentrated and dense, with great grip and thrust. Outstanding middle-palate sweetness. Strong pepper and garrigue character. Currently a bit cleaner than the ’95s and potentially great.- Stephen Tanzer
“Marlene Soria’s wild, mostly syrah wines, from yields that in most years are absurdly low, are still made without benefit of oak: Soria experimented with some used Bordeaux barrels but was unhappy with the experience. …her Syrah Leone plot, which features more porous limestone along with clay. The latter [Leone] bottling includes up to 30% grenache and, since 1994, 15% tempranillo, from vines planted in 1982.”
