- 95 points -

This is a deep, richer palate with currants, flowers, white chocolate and some almonds. It’s full-bodied with plush tannins and a chewy finish. Yet, it’s so attractive and pretty. A blend of 50% cabernet sauvignon, 21% merlot, 11% cabernet franc, 9% petit verdot and 9% malbec. Needs more time. Try after 2022.

- 94 points -

One of the standouts in the lineup is the 2013 Perigee Seven Hills Vineyard Estate, which is all from the Seven Hills Vineyard and is a Cabernet Sauvignon dominated blend that includes 20% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Franc, 9% Malbec and the balance Petit Verdot. Aged in 50% new French oak, this full-bodied beauty offers sensational notes of dark fruits, chocolate and smoked herbs, as well as terrific purity, building tannin and a great finish. It will be better in 4-5 years and keep through 2033.

- 94 points -

A true blockbuster from this estate is the 2014 Perigee Seven Hills Vineyard Estate and it’s 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot and the rest Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec. It offers killer notes of blackberries, cassis, crushed rocks and graphite, with a mineral-laced, full-bodied, concentrated style on the palate. Impeccably balanced, with terrific purity and building tannin, drink it anytime over the coming decade or two.

- 94 points -

Based on 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc, the rest Petit Verdot and Malbec, the 2017 Perigee Estate Seven Hills Vineyard offers more classic cassis, tobacco, and sappy herbs as well as a solid sense of minerality. Full-bodied, concentrated, and beautifully balanced as well as elegant, give it 3-5 years of bottle age and enjoy over the following two decades or more.

- 94 points -

A lovely nose of chocolate, plum and blackberry. Full-bodied with velvety tannins. Bright acidity and fresh black fruit on the palate. Layered and well composed. Subtle and charming spice. Delicious. 52% cabernet sauvignon, 19% merlot, 17% cabernet franc, 7% petit verdot and 5% malbec. Sustainable.

- 93 points -

Dark ruby-red. Pretty perfume of cassis, black cherry, lavender, licorice and cedar. Large-scaled, velvety and dry; conveys a sweeter, more pliant impression than most of the foregoing wines, no doubt partly due to the silky richness of the Merlot component, but also boasts terrific vinosity. Inky blackberry and violet flavors are complicated by minerality. Suave, fine-grained tannins arrive late and harmonize well with the wine's ripe acidity. I find this a bit sweeter and richer today than the 2013 was at the same stage.

- 93 points -

Bright, saturated ruby-red. Blackberry, boysenberry, licorice and minerals on the nose, lifted by topnotes of Tellicherry pepper and violet. Very suave, silky and smooth, conveying enticing sweetness to its refined dark berry, spice and mineral flavors. Terrific energy and delineation here, and long and suave on the rising finish, where the dusty tannins are beautifully buffered by the wine’s material. A lovely showing, even if this very juicy wine is still a bit youthfully imploded. This may be the most floral of the current red wine releases from L’Ecole.

- 92 points -

The 2017 Perigee Seven Hills Vineyard Estate is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 11% Cabernet Franc and 9% each of Petit Verdot and Malbec. The nose opens to an expressive fruit core, highlighting juicy dark red fruit and spiced blackberry essence. Aromas of cinnamon-spiced dark cherries, sweet plums and a dusty minerality sway out of the glass with elements of an exotic floral bouquet. Fullbodied, the wine shows layers and a delineated, fresh frame with succulent tannins, offering a balanced structure across the mid-palate. The mouthfeel shows finesse with a purity of fruit before lingering with persistence, vibrancy and a subtle red spice reflection over the elongated finish. This is delicious juice. Drink date: 2020-2032.

- 91 points -

Bright red-ruby. Perfumed, inviting nose combines cassis, black cherry, blackberry, licorice, bitter chocolate and violet, along with a distinct herbal element and good savory lift. Wonderfully juicy and fine-grained but quite reticent; possesses lovely texture even if the wine is a bit hermetic today. This penetrating, youthfully medicinal blend combines firm acidity and strong saline minerality. Finishes with somewhat rough tannins that will require patience--and yet this wine is still a bit more delicate than the Apogee. Marty Clubb noted that the big expansion in Seven Hills took place in 1997 and 1998, so these vines are now beginning to mature. The older vines are planted along a north-south axis, giving less even ripening. Incidentally, there's 12 to 15 feet of accumulated loess here on top of the flood silts.

- 91 points -

Cabernet Sauvignon makes up half of this wine, with the rest Merlot (21%), Cabernet Franc (11%), Petit Verdot (9%) and Malbec (9%). rooding aromas of cherry, plum, mocha, graphite, cherry and herb lead to medium-bodied fruit flavors, backed by tart acidity and firm, grainy tannins. The structure is lovely. It needs some time to stretch its legs, with the tannins giving a bigger impression than they often do from this vineyard. Best after 2024.

- 90 points -

Well-built and framed by firm tannins, offering deep flavors of blackberry, stony mineral and spice. Hands off for now. Best after 2018. 1,450 cases made. — TF

- 16 points -

Well-integrated ripe nose with a slight lack of fruit weight in the middle. Just a little scrawny, but well balanced and no excess of alcohol.

2017