94-96 Robert Parker - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"The proprietary Bordeaux blend, the 2004 The Puzzle (70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, and the rest Cabernet Franc) is a brilliant 1,000-case cuvee, showing the fabulous mountain terroir of the Newton Vineyard. This wine was still not in bottle when I tasted it, but by the time this report comes out, it will have been bottled unfiltered. Deep ruby/purple to the rim, with an exuberant display of aromatics consisting of black tea, creme de cassis, charcoal, incense, and again some truffle notes, the wine is full-bodied, with nicely integrated acidity, wood, tannin, and the influence of barriques kept well in the background. This is a big but impressively well-balanced wine that should come into its own in 3-4 years and last for 20-25 years."