| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.4 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 64 notes) - hiding notes with no text |
| | Tasted by tjtrot on 8/26/2022 & rated 90 points: tjt mellow maybe slightly past peak; balanced with balanced tannins; nice dark fruit on the palate; probably a killer smooth blend 2 years ago. 90 (1059 views) |
| | Tasted by thunderfly on 6/22/2022 & rated 89 points: Wet good wine. Lighter tannins than other of their reds and probably lighter than it used to be. Good berry fruit and some earthiness on the backend. Decanted an hour before drinking. (1118 views) |
| | Tasted by thunderfly on 3/7/2021 & rated 82 points: Possibly “slightly” corked. Can wine be just a little corked? It definitely has a slight mustyness, however it wasn’t so bad that it was undrinkable. In fact the actual flavor of the wine was fine, the nose was what was off. (2286 views) |
| | Tasted by vincemcd61 on 11/29/2020 & rated 92 points: Very nice wine (2333 views) |
| | Tasted by WineJ2019 on 7/13/2020 & rated 91 points: Ready now (2725 views) |
| | Tasted by Bordeaux Lady on 5/15/2020 & rated 91 points: Better than the last bottle which was corked. Enjoyed from the cellar without decanting. This was full bodied & tannins have smoothed over the years since I opened the first bottle when it was younger. Much more enjoyable today than two years ago. Drink now! (2405 views) |
| | Tasted by bcahlbrandt on 5/7/2020 & rated 92 points: Bold dark fruit and complex earthy notes. Solid QPR. Quite enjoyable. (2297 views) |
| | Tasted by tominasia on 2/7/2020 & rated 90 points: Decanted for an hour. Bold, soft dark fruit, leather, mocha. Dry, complex and interesting - in a good way. Soft feeling in the mouth from start to its long finish. Enjoying it as an evening sipper - no food required. (1976 views) |
| | Tasted by cos65 on 12/22/2019: Modern styled, very tasty Napa cab
Ends on a slightly oaky note. (1951 views) |
| | Tasted by vincemcd61 on 12/15/2019 & rated 92 points: Delicious. Had with leftover Prima’s Bella pizza (1625 views) |
| | Tasted by Luvtexwine on 12/31/2018 & rated 89 points: Nice easy drinking Cabernet blend. Smooth mouthfeel and no flaws to speak of, but not as complex as we remembered from the initial tasting a few years ago. Perhaps past prime or just at an awkward stage in its maturing life. (2700 views) |
| | Tasted by kevrob822 on 11/29/2018 & rated 88 points: Found a bottle. From where, I have no idea. LOL
Have to say, this bottle was the worse of all the ‘12s I had. Is this vintage’s best days behind it? All of the previous bottles had been spectacular and the last one I had was only 4 months ago. This bottle just seemed a bit discombobulated and out of balance. Very unlike the other bottles. (2690 views) |
| | Tasted by kevrob822 on 7/24/2018 & rated 89 points: Another excellent bottle. I filtered and they decanted it for an hour and then chilled it slightly. As it warmed back up, it just got better and better and better.
Paired this with a nice bone-in New York steak, baked potato and salad. A very simple meal, but a great pairing.
Like every bottle of Fraternity, this bottle was just as excellent. (3034 views) |
| | Tasted by bambie321 on 5/1/2018 & rated 90 points: Coravined a glass two nights in a row. Absolutely big and bold. Plum, prune, tobacco, and a bit of mint/eucalyptus. As others have said, sediment is there but doesn’t get in the way. Solid QPR. (3179 views) |
| | Tasted by kevrob822 on 4/11/2018 & rated 90 points: Wow, this stuff just gets better and better. Still drinking fantastically. I’d guess another 5+ years? As with every bottle, there is absolutely tons of sediment, plan accordingly and filter!!! Color is still super dark with a purple rim. Aroma is big & strong, lots of black & blue fruit with Earth and oak. Taste, as always, a spectacular beast with a big and powerful blast of black fruit and oak. Full bodied (probably guessed that from the use of “big” & “powerful”) with a great balance, with smooth tannins and a med-low acidity.
A solid 90 Pointer and an Excellent QPR! This really is not a wimpy wine at all and not for the weak of heart, but probably one of my favorites. Every time I have a bottle, I wonder why I don’t keep a case+ on hand. Only have 2 bottles left on hand... time to get more! �� (3309 views) |
| | Tasted by gteran76 on 3/25/2018 & rated 89 points: This wine is passing its prime, still good, medium acidity medium+ body and medium finish. This may go for another 3-5 years but it won’t get better that what it’s is now. (2488 views) |
| | Tasted by kevrob822 on 1/19/2018 & rated 89 points: Nice bottle. Had this out in Lake Havasu. Opened and had a glass in the late afternoon and let it sit open (in the bottle - which admittedly doesn’t do much, but I had to deal with what I had ��) and finished it later that night with the spectacular Rosati’s Deep Dish Pizza! (2667 views) |
| | Tasted by kevrob822 on 12/28/2017 & rated 90 points: Wow, a solid 90 Point bottle. Big, dark and powerful. But still easy to drink on it’s own. Lots of dark (black & blue) fruit, earth, leather, cedar and oak. Everything I love in a wine!!! The Syrah is very much out in front on this bottle. More than I remember in the other bottles, but that’s not a bad thing as I Love Syrah.
Note: EVERY bottle has tons of Sediment. Not a bad thing... just pointing it out to those who are uninitiated with Fraternity. (2252 views) |
| | Tasted by kevrob822 on 12/13/2017 & rated 89 points: Another yummy bottle. Had this with a homemade grilled cheeseburger combined with a big baked russet and asparagus!
This one seemed a little bit more tart not quite as open. I will update this note if things change. (2124 views) |
| | Tasted by kevrob822 on 11/3/2017 & rated 90 points: Yep, this is just another terrific wine. Still need to find and get some of the 2013 and 2014 vintages. My local store still has 2011 and (lots) 2012 available. Yummy! (2729 views) |
| | Tasted by bubbachumps on 10/27/2017 & rated 90 points: Old work nose, notes of earth, leather, blackberry and spice. Well integrated in the mouth, medium bodied. Nice wine (2811 views) |
| | Tasted by NCWino1 on 10/2/2017 & rated 91 points: Wonderful full bodied fruit forward wine. Opens up beautifully with a two hour splash decant. Awesome QPR @ $25/bottle. If you see it, buy it, you won't be disappointed. (2730 views) |
| | Tasted by kevrob822 on 9/24/2017 & rated 90 points: Wow, just another lovely bottle. Time to get more!!! (2490 views) |
| | Tasted by millerarner on 9/12/2017 & rated 91 points: Surprised by how good this was. (2409 views) |
| | Tasted by kevrob822 on 8/30/2017 & rated 90 points: Yummy... just terrific. (1830 views) |
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