November 7, 2007 - This bottle was actually better than the last one. Beautiful spices were dominant on the nose and everything was more balanced and integrated.
March 18, 2007 - Dark color. On the nose dark fruits and vanilla oak.
On the palate, huge dark fruits and spices. Still overwhelming with some heat on the finish. Everything is well integrated. It's not gonna get better but should be drinkable for another 3-5 years at least.
As a side note, the bottle is so heavy this is ridiculous. I weighted the full bottle, 4.5 lb. I then weighted a bottle of Bordeaux, 2.13 lb. What's the point?
June 3, 2003 - Deep purplish red, opaque, aromas of plum, coffee, toffee, toasty oak, blueberry, exotic spices, b4, a3+, t2, thick, rhich, velvety, oak in balance, good tartness
November 8, 2002 - very powerful wine, simmers down after aeration, but still full bodied
November 4, 2002 - The wine was a dark reddish purple. The aroma included vanilla and toasted oak. This was a big, brawny, full bodied wine with notes of berry and cassis and firm tannins. Long finish. It was definitely New World in style and it stood in stark contrast to the 2 wines from Tuscany and Sicily at our dinner which were much more restrained in style. A solid 90 points.
July 21, 2002 - an outstanding wine...
February 4, 2002 - good dry fruit, mixes well (slightly overpowering) with smoked gouda cheese...full satisfying wine
December 7, 2001 - lingering taste (30+ seconds) upon opening...has enough backbone to last 5+ years...will be a great one...jammy..very deep coloring