September 22, 2022 - Popped and poured. Acquired via mailing list years ago. Previous bottle had a VA, thoughts were this could too. First pour into glass to check for a VA- no- it's has a beautiful dark fruit nose- very Grenache like. Loads of pepper too. Dark garnet in glass with just slight brown at rim. First sip: wonderful cherry/red fruits with again more spice and a LONG finish. Over a minute, lovely minerality and tannins complete finish. Excellent wine for how old this is. Probably not going to get better from here. Drink up.
February 1, 2020 - Outstanding! subtle, nice fruit
December 28, 2016 - Garnet center with pink rim. Red-fruited nose of cherry and pomegranate mixed with a wisp of playdoh. The palate was pure cherry and pomegranate as well as some earthy aspects, pepper, floral hints, minerals, and dusty notes. Structurally, this wine has a tannic bite, but there is ample acidity in this medium-bodied wine to balance the package. Overall, this paired beautifully with kale and pomegranate salad because they had like profiles. With italian sausage lasagnae, the wine really highlighted the lavender and anise notes in the meat in the dish.
August 19, 2015 - Needs about 3-4 hours of decanting before it really opens up. Lots of pepper on the mid-palate. Nice long finish once it opened up.
June 4, 2015 - Blue and black fruits, with a little pepper. Nice tension on the palate, with a strong fruit sweetness going into the finish where it shows some herbal spice. A nice drink, not a lot of complexity in the middle.
November 3, 2014 - Light nose - palate carries tart cherry and currents, with a touch of white pepper. Light body with short finish. Good, but nothing remarkable - particulalry at this price point (had hoped for a little more distinctive character). 88 points
Finished on day 2 and it got a little nicer, more integrated. Bumped it up to 89.
June 26, 2014 - Well made and enjoyable but I can't say that anything set it apart from similar CA Rhone blends. I wonder if this would've been better with less syrah, to let the grenache shine through a little more.
April 2, 2014 - Very nice blend with red fruits, some brambly notes, cola and black tea. Lighter body but with nice structure and acidic lift. Nice finish.
February 28, 2014 - Has gained some weight since the last time it was tried.
December 25, 2013 - Dark garnet color. This medium-bodied wine has an explosive nose of red fruits which gives the impression that the Grenache is more apparent at this time. The acidity is balanced and matches the fruit well. The finish is moderate and clean. Overall, this was appreciated by everyone for its honest, red fruit and easy going profile. Well made.