The rating for 1998 Merus Cabernet Sauvignon is 93 points from Robert Parker and the tasting note - A joint effort of Mark Herold, a former research oenologist at Joseph Phelps, and Erika Gottl, has produced 230 cases of their first wine, the 1998 Merus. The wine is a blend of 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, and 1% Petit Verdot. The wine was made from fruit picked extremely ripe, aged largely in French new oak. It was slightly fined but not filtered. The 1998 (14.9% alcohol) is indeed an impressive wine from a much-maligned vintage. The color is intense ruby/purple. The nose offers up notes of creme de cassis and sweet black cherries, intermixed with nicely-infused toasty oak, mineral, and floral notes. The acidity seems low in this full-bodied, expressive, rich, multi-layered wine with a terrific texture and exceptional purity. This is a superb 1998, and certainly one of the finest wines of the vintage. It is also one heck of a debut wine from this small operation ... a California garage wine perhaps? Again, purity, symmetry, and intensity are hallmarks of this wine. The rating for 2005 Larkin Cabernet Franc is 92 points from Robert Parker and the tasting note - Larkin continues to demonstrate a brilliant touch with Cabernet Franc. The dark ruby/purple-tinged 2005 reveals this varietal’s intense fragrance of sweet cherries, raspberries, blueberries, bay leaf, and a hint of volcanic ash. Elegant in the mouth with impressive purity and fruit, medium body, and sweet, silky tannin, it can be enjoyed over the next decade.