September 20, 2020 - twisty purchased in '11, and at 14.1% quiet reserved for Swilly. One more but I'd gladly accept additional.
February 25, 2013 - I preferred this to the 2 Cameron Huges releases of the former Havens Black & Blue. Lovely fresh acidity and much lighter on the oak. Delicious.
July 5, 2012 - Kind of brambly nose, lots of big dark cherry taste. Delicious.
February 19, 2012 - this was a force to be reckoned with, lots of terroir in the glass - woodsy, turned earth. dark fruit up front and lots of acidity on the back end. high qpr. great label on the bottle.
December 8, 2011 - Big, intense, spicey. Ready to drink with a minimal amout of air time. Not overly complex, but is fun to drink. Highly recommend. Glad I have more bottles.
September 22, 2011 - Bright and powerful.
July 10, 2010 - Dark ruby red. Intense red berries, violets, and vanilla on the nose. Blackberries, dark slightly tart cherries, oak, good acid, integrated tannins, and a medium finish. All nicely balanced and delicious.
May 9, 2010 - Excellent.
April 17, 2010 - Straight out of the bottle, it is quite subtle, Give the glass a few swirls and take it in because the wine explodes with fruit.
This is a dark medium bodied wine, with loads of light and dark fruit in the nose and palate.
I took such a deep breath at one point that I got a little up my nose.
I thoroughly enjoyed this bottle and would purchase it again.
April 16, 2010 - We've decided that Red Zeps are just a bit strange. Good-strange, like they're lookin' for rules to break, and are sneaking around to surprise you with something ... this here is one of those rabble rouser wines.
- The Screw Cap was in Good condition with a Metal disk seal. When we'd put the vacuum cork in it would push back out, like pressure was increasing from within ... spooky ~
- The wine is Ruby colored, with Medium legs.
- It smells GREAT before and after aeration: before, I smell Burnt Sugar, Carmel, and Cherries and detected lots of interesting character, so I was looking forward to related interesting tanniny flavors; after Vinturi aeration smells moved to very Fresh Red Grapes, new Rubbery Running Shoes, Molasses, and Band Aids ... the smells kept surprising me.
- Here's where it got strange: aeration, though improving it, had the inverse effect on tannins then we're used to. Pre-aeration: it was very shy, fruit-flat, and kind of watery, no tannins at all, somewhat uninteresting (and disappointing after the great smells) ... after swirling the glass a bit, it starting giving a slight bitter kick in the final 10% of a long finish. Post-Vinturi it opened up by expressing it's true tannins, so now it still starts fresh, but goes angular 20% in! From there it tastes of Band Aids, Cedar, and Black Cherry.
- The body is Light all around and the wine is textured increasingly Angular, after starting Juicy.
- The wine finishes Long ... so is this me, or related to the Taco Bell chicken quesadilla I ate before, but try this: drink the wine and taste it full mouth, then wait a minute and massage your mouth with your tongue ... I get brand new flavors of Fresh Green Grape Skins and Romain Lettuce. Isn't that odd?
I'm telling you, Zeps are weird ... but good!