January 24, 2016 - Both bottles were corked....
January 14, 2014 - I bought (stole!) this on auction. Drank over 2 weeks with the help of Coravin. Beautiful wine; fairly large scaled, dense black fruit, modest wood, still fairly tannic, with only early tertiary aromas and flavors. Youthfulness surprised me; this is not nearly at peak. If I had another, I'd hold it for several more years.
December 16, 2012 - Still firmly tannic, like my last note, but this bottle didn't exhibit the same astringent woodiness of my previous bottle. Good fruit, tart cherries. Still needs time.
March 29, 2012 - From a perfectly stored bottle, popped and poured. Initially, very oaky on the palate, not vanilla oaky, but somewhat astringent woodiness. Unpleasant, and I gave up on it until an hour or so later, when others were saying it was getting better. Indeed, it had improved dramatically with air, still firmly tannic, but very nice. Drink over the next 2-5 years, but give it time to breathe!
March 14, 2010 - Decanted for 2 hours. Opened very nicely. Tasted very tight at first, then smoothed out. Was great with the steak and rositto
December 16, 2009 - Still holding up well. Deep red color with lots of sediment. I decanted for an hour and the wine was well balanced with a lot of cherry flavors mixed with some vanilla notes. A nice long finish that left you wishing you had more of this wine.
March 9, 2008 - Nice cherry fruit with a hint of menthol on the nose. Good but light mouthfeel. Short finish but no flaws. Still has life
November 24, 2005 - This bottle was a magnum. Again, this wine was great right out of the bottle. This bottle was a medium to dark red color and little signs of aging. It had a great nose right away. The palate was of cherry and medium berries with some oak. This bottle also had a nice long finish. I am not sure how much longer this wine will age but I cannot imagine it getting better than it is now.
February 6, 2005 - This bottle was a magnum. Based on reading the other reviews in Cellartracker, I was expecting to be a bit disappointed. Good news - I was wrong. This wine was great right out of the bottle. It had a deep red color and little signs of aging. The palate was full of rich berry and cherry and balanced oak. It had a nice long finish. Helping me with this were Cellartrackers Inthecloset and Thebonnydooner, both of whom have good wine sense and they also really liked this wine. I would be happy to drink this anytime. Unfortunately, I only have one magnum left. Is it possible the size of the bottle effects tasting results this dramatically?
October 11, 2003 - Opened to have a glass with dinner. Very fruity, not a super nose, but didn't give it much time. May be a little past its prime. I was hoping for a little more. Waiting to see what it will be like after a day opening up.