July 22, 2022 - Does need a hour or so to open but drinking very well at 15 years old. Dark fruit on the nose leading to a palate of dark berries, plums, pipe tobacco and a hint of chocolate. The finish was moderate to long.
April 4, 2022 - Drinking very well at 15 years old. Dark fruit on the nose leading to a palate of dark berries, plums, pipe tobacco and a hint of chocolate. The finish was moderate to long.
April 17, 2021 - Probably a bit past peak
March 25, 2021 - 92 points
January 23, 2021 - Initial taste on opening - very nice, some tannin, but soft. Not a lot of length but good depth. Decanted, opened up nicely.
July 9, 2020 - Fabulous wine. Blueberry and blackberry jam aromas jumping out of the class. Plum, dark chocolate, hint of tobacco, with same blue and red fruits on the palate. Awesome wine. 2nd bottle consumed, with first drank in 2017. Both were amazing.
April 21, 2020 - Pnp for initial and then 2 hour decant. With pasta. Insane amount of fruit left especially in the nose initially. Chills to a beautiful earthy bramble with some light smoke. Fruit bomb on initial taste. No discernable tannins. Drinks very zin-like at first. But give it some air and viola! Dark fruit, moderate tannins with mid to intermediate dryness. Thick and juicy with subtle long winded notes. I think it still has time left in it. But so good now, don't waste.
March 28, 2020 - Interesting that previous notes were good with pnp. This bottle’s first sip was like drinking a sweettart. It took about 3 hours before it mellowed, and was absolutely amazing after that. Definitely agree with the drink now as I can’t see it improving any from here.
January 18, 2020 - High alcohol integrated well. Drink now.
December 7, 2019 - This has been sitting in the cellar for quite some time now and came across it the other day and figured it was time to pop the cork on this one. I was a little concerned that it may have been oxidized because the cork literally pushed into the bottle when I started to screw the corkscrew in (this has never happened to me before).
But it was still very much alive! Does not need a decant, this was ready to go right out of the bottle with a few minutes in the glass. The nose is all tertiary - leather, cigar box, forest floor, dark chocolate. The palate is medium bodied, rich, with the tannins nicely integrated. Fruit is starting to fade so I suggest drinking up soon. The finish is decent - leaves you wanting to take another sip. Overall really enjoyed this. I have a 2009 of this also and will drink up soon because these are best drunk on the younger side.