March 30, 2023 - 88 on open with nothin but earthy notes (mushrooms, dirt), 93 after 90 min of air when the fruit came to play. 91 overall.
March 30, 2020 - started off with pure funk, blew off and blossomed into a nicely polished and mature wine - ready to go!
November 22, 2019 - Much better than my other bottle, which I didn't score because I suspected it may have been tainted. Floral bouquet. Cherry and plum fruit, a little sweet on the fruit for my tastes but still a nice drinkable blend.
September 25, 2018 - After an hour in the decanter, this was a big, chewy, wild wine, showing mostly acids and tannins. Another 20 minutes in the glass allowed the wine to reveal a nice floral perfume, blackcurrant, blackberry, and oak spice. At 2:20 the wine relaxed, the tannins and acid receded, and black cherry, plum, and blueberry came to the fore, accented by patchouli incense. Altogether, this is a really nice wine, and it has the structure to run for years yet. Great QPR on this one.
April 19, 2018 - Very tasty Bordeaux blend. Can age for at least another few years.
March 9, 2018 - Took about 45 minutes to open up. Hints of licorice/anise, cranberry, blueberry, and some earth — there from the get go on the nose. Good fruit and acidity after it opened up on the palate.
October 5, 2017 - Holding strong.
This reminded me of an aged old world Bordeaux, showing graphite, earth, spice.
Still a good amount of rich fruit left, although not to be confused with a young Napa fruit bomb!
I think this still has a good 5+ years left.
Me - 91, Wife - 89/90
July 23, 2017 - This really started to sing after 3 hrs slow ox didnt do much, so a quick decant for an hour. Very, very nice. Gained alot of weight as it sat in the glass at the 4th hr. Nose was a touch hot with dust, black fruit and some dirt. A good blend between new world fruit, and old world balance and structure. Pretty strong sweet black and blue fruits, tannins were still there nicely integrated and did give some structure. I felt the acid was pretty strong with a medium body. Good early mature notes, with slightly bitter note and a log finish. I really enjoyed this.
June 21, 2017 - Adios, Ripple! (Ripple - Washington, DC): On the nose, lots of herbal liqueur, smoky earth, pepper, charcoal, grilled herbs, on top of some dark plums. On the palate, the tannins are really strong, the acid moderates it, but the fruit won't outlast the tannins, it seems. The black cherry and dark plum fruit is fading but still there, overpowered by complex elements of pepper, charcoal, grilled herbs and campfire smoke. Complex and nuanced, but time to drink up, I think.
January 2, 2017 - Slightly stewed fruit character. Some barnyard funk and a hint, maybe, of VA. Lots of mouthwatering acid. Asian long pepper. Plum. Tannins are still there, but well integrated. Big and lively wine. Secondary notes are definitely apparent.
Faded a bit while open for 3 hours or so, but still in a good place. Not sure if/how much this will continue to improve. Drink or hold.