2007 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Magnum ( 1.5lts)

95 points, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate February 2010 Tasted too late to make it into the December issue, Merus’s 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits an inky/purple color as well as an extraordinary bouquet of blueberry liqueur intermixed with graphite, charcoal, cassis, and spice. The wood seems pushed to the background given the extraordinary concentration of fruit. Full-bodied, powerful, and rich with chocolaty espresso notes intermixed with blackberries and blueberries, this pure, impressively textured, long Cabernet should evolve for two decades.

93 points, Stephen Tanzer's IWC June 2010 Deep, bright ruby. Explosive nose offers cassis, blueberry, bitter chocolate, violet and minerals. Downright sexy on the palate, with penetrating blackberry, graphite, coffee bean, licorice and violet flavors carrying a full load of sweet oak that gives a slight youthful bitter edge to the long, seriously tannic finish. Not particularly fleshy but conveys an insidious sweetness of fruit. Merus is aged in 100% new oak, with Darnajou and Seguin-Moreau the preferred coopers. 93(+?) points

92 points, Wine Spectator May 2010 Ultrarich and concentrated, with tiers of earthy currant, anise, huckleberry, leather, gravel and sage, full-blown and progressively dry and earthy, somewhat offsetting the dense, pure core of Cabernet flavors. Drink now through 2017. 1,200 cases made. –JL