Based on 89% Cabernet Sauvignon and 11% Syrah, the deep ruby/purple-hued 2018 The Lovers offers a rocking, Pauillac-like bouquet of blackcurrants, unsmoked tobacco, lead pencil, and earth. Medium to full-bodied and concentrated on the palate, it has a terrific core of sweet red, black, and blue fruits, ripe tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. It's easily my favorite vintage of this cuvée to date, and it has another two decades of prime drinking ahead of it! This is a hard mailing list to crack, yet winemaker Christophe Baron continues to deliver the goods, releasing singular, exotic, incredible wines from his bevy of single vineyards in the Rocks region of the Walla Walla Valley. The 2018s show the rich yet focused, straight, elegant style of the vintage beautifully and are going to be incredibly age-worthy.

Blackberry, blackcurrant, whole peppercorn, tobacco leaf, cocoa and stone on the nose. It’s full-bodied with firm, finely knit and well-integrated tannins. Plush and polished with a rounded, supple feel. Textured and refined. 89% cabernet sauvignon and 11% syrah. So delicious now.

Full medium red-ruby. Distinctly dark, pure aromas of blueberry, blackberry, violet and wild mint. Suave and smooth on entry, then tightly wound and a bit imploded in the middle palate but already revealing lovely sweetness, balance and personality. The addition of a bit of Syrah has a softening influence on the Cabernet Sauvignon tannins. Still, this is higher-pitched and less open than the 2017 was at the same stage last year--more floral and fruity and less saline. Finishes with a late dusting of fine-grained tannins and excellent length.

Cabernet Sauvignon makes up 89% of this wine, with Syrah 11%. This is a fleshy, full-bodied vintage of this wine, with aromas and flavors of peat, cassis, cocoa powder and plum. Like many wines from this producer and vintage, there's a light grip of tannin providing the scaffolding for the generous amounts of fruit. A hyperextended finish caps it off. It's a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, capturing the best of both varieties. SEAN P. SULLIVAN