92 Jay Miller - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

"Totally different than the Dos but every bit as good is the 2003 Minimum, composed of 70% Monastrell and 30% Cabernet Franc. This beast of a wine was aged 16 months in new French oak and bottled unfiltered. Almost black in color, with coaxing, aromas of smoke, black currants, tar, licorice and vanilla bean reluctantly emerge. On the palate the wine is massive and mouth-filling yet harmonious with tannin, alcohol, fruit, and acidity in balance. This is a wine for younger readers because the 2003 Minimum will require extreme patience of at least another decade of bottle aging. The winery has no track record but I can imagine this behemoth drinking well for 30+ years. If it blossoms as I think it will, my score will look stingy indeed."