August 1, 2017 - Much more mature than one would expect for an 08 and unpleasantly so--almost no nose, full secondary development on the palate and some petroleum notes on the finish.
September 8, 2015 - Really tasty Southern Rhone blend; lots of red berry fruit, floral scents, anise and other spices, along with just a hint of leather. The palate is rich, but nicely delineated with good balance and nice freshness to the fruit. Goes well with food and has at least 4-6 years of solid aging potential.
January 11, 2014 - Nice warm fruits on the nose. No signs of heat on the palate (listed as 14.2%). Really well made wine, would have fooled me as So. rhone.
September 29, 2013 - Man, I thought this bottle was in a beautiful spot. Everthing was in proportion, the fruit was nicely balanced by the acid and had none of thecandied nonsense you find in many. Not old world earthy by any means and less airy and ephemeral as some of the others such as Betz, but a dang good bottle of wine.
August 18, 2013 - Decent N Rhone Syrah nose of peppered meat, herbs, olive, with a little warmth sneaking in. Decent palate of red and black fruit, pepper, herbs, and chocolate. Mid palate was lacking as was the finish. Enjoyable drink but for the money a bit underwhelmed.
July 28, 2013 - Terrific sleeper wine we found in Walla Walla. Local favorite. Nice deep color (grenache, sryah, mourvedre), fruity, great finish. Barnyard, grassy when first poured. This drifts off a little, but still more pronounced than earlier tasted bottles.
March 30, 2013 - Let breathe in the bottle about an hour.
First thing I noticed is the amount of pure fruit that's showing compared to all the savory notes last time.
A little more austere as a whole. Again, some spicy raspberries and other dark red and brown fruit. Not so much blue in this case.
Even the color of the juice had a tan hue - maroon. The palate shows some mildly tart cranberry. A fine wine but doesn't have the mouth feel and savory essence last time around. Drink now or hold for another five years. Shouldn't evolve much more.
September 28, 2012 - Vibrant purple-red. Gush of dark berry aroma. Initial oak tones melded with fruits and a whiff of anise within a 10 minutes so that it was perfectly integrated. Medium bodied, deep dark fruit with a raspberry tone and again a touch of licorice. Initial tannins were powdery rather than coarse and combined well with the rich fruit. Very good length. Just hitting the opening of its best drinking window. Very well made but there is a sense I have that it's not yet delivering all it promises. Would like to see if time brings on more nuance. 91+
May 27, 2012 - Big fruit, beautiful nose of raspberrry, licorice. Medium body with red fruits, juicy strawberry, tar. Crisp, clean finish with a bit of spice. Really good stuff.
March 11, 2012 - The nose has character of smoked meats and dark fruit with floral notes floating on top. The palate shows dark currants, clove and menthol with a slightly tart finish.