A solid effort from a solid winery. This is a wine to enjoy on "daily" occasion (versus a special occasion/event). Very nice balance of acidity, tannins, dark fruit and body. While this is a product of the vaunted 2007 harvest, this wine will not get better with any additional age. Drink soon. The wine looks inky colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle.
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Pleasant, easy drinking wine. Agree with others: cherry, plums and tobacco. Smooth tannins, medium finish. A little disappointed because 07 was a great vintage in Napa and I expected this to be special.
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Last bottle at Chinook Tavern in Englewood, Co. Big wine that was very young even after a decant. Lots of fruit, lots of mocha, spine of tannins underneath indicating it could soften with age.
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Nice. Plums, pencil shavings, cedar and hints of something minty. The fruit opens up with a little air. The tannins are pretty soft. This probably won't get better with more time in the bottle, but it's still very nice right now. The color is not too deep and shows just the slightest hint of bricking around the edge of the glass. The wine is the tiniest bit foxy, but I don't think it's flawed or corked and it's not unpleasant. Had with a steak and potatoes and was an excellent pairing.
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Nice wine. A bit thin on the mouthfeel, a bit astringent and tannic, but much of this blew off after some aeration. Dust and cedar on the front with some mild hints of white pepper and pencil shavings. The fruit is there but it isn't terribly robust. Not a bad bottle but may improve with some additional time.
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Wonderful nose, dark fruit, cherry and a bit of spice. Still seems a bit young with the tannins present. Decanted for 1 hour...could have used more. Nice!
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Slow-O 1 hour, consumed over the following hour. One of the better vintages for this wine in some time. Still, it needs another year or so to soften up and lose some of soapy new oak qualities. For $29 a great value for those that prefer new world wines. Not something I would seek out at any price. Best enjoyed at cellar temp.
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Amazing nose of candied currant, smoke, and leather. Great gravelly mouth feel with minerals and cocoa mixing with black cherry on the end. Fruit is definitely secondary on the palate, or at least well integrated to not steal the show. Still probably a little young for my taste. The nose steals the show for me. 90-91 with a little more potential.
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Purchased and consumed at a restaurant in West Palm Beach. Reasonably priced at $65. PNP. Nose of black fruit, spice and leather. Similar flavors on the palate with additional veggie components and even a touch of mint. Smooth finish of medium length. If scoring 88-90.
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Much better than previous bottles from this multi-bottle purchase earlier in the year. Previous bottles were good. This one was very good. I decanted for close to two hours. This may have made the difference. Integrated, complex and smooth. I'll leave the various subjective tastes of this and that to others. Very good for the sub $30 price.
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18th Annual Central Carolina Food & Wine Festival (Medallion Center, Columbia, SC.): This is my first taste of this somewhat famous wine outside of the tasting room in almost a decade. My first impression was the dark and concentrated deep blue color. The blend almost automatically brings some complexity on the nose and palate. Starting with the nose, all kinds of things are happening, smoke, leather, black tea, violets, brown spice, and of course big dark fruit. As it it hits the lips, there is a seamless transition of the fruit and non fruit items that are well integrated, and to their credit, not overly oaked. Not huge, just solid and elegant. Very balanced and smooth, I think the extra bottle age has helped round things out. The fruit is almost restrained. There is no doubt about the 14.5% alcohol, but it works. Nice dry finish with graphite, cocoa, leather and dark cherry.
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Tasted a bottle today at a liquor store event. This wine is VERY tight and will improve greatly with some bottle age and decanting/aeration. Very well-structured and good fruit but I'd wait at least a year or two before opening my own bottle.
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Very good, needed over 2 hours in decanter for the tannins to subside and that was after pouring through an aerator. Good, long finish. Can't wait to try again in a year or so.
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2/21/2024 - Ed B Likes this wine: 94 Points
PnP. No detailed notes. Smooth and wonderful.
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3/13/2018 - dalewortham wrote: 88 Points
Funny smell. Not corked. Was ok.
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7/10/2017 - Ed B wrote: 92 Points
PnP at restaurant. No detailed notes. Very smooth and flavorful. Drinking well now.
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5/7/2017 - vino_Kaz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Exceptional right now
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3/13/2016 - jedwilson Likes this wine: 90 Points
A solid effort from a solid winery. This is a wine to enjoy on "daily" occasion (versus a special occasion/event). Very nice balance of acidity, tannins, dark fruit and body. While this is a product of the vaunted 2007 harvest, this wine will not get better with any additional age. Drink soon.
The wine looks inky colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle.
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10/29/2015 - JCGuthrie wrote: flawed
Corked
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12/27/2014 - Matches wrote: 91 Points
Smoky fireplace affecting my senses, so this won't be a very high quality review.
Pretty dark ruby in the glass. Fresh and young nose, lovely berry pie notes.
Ripe, full fruit. Rich flavor. Focused and clean. A bit of grain to the fine tannins, and enough acid to keep things defined.
In my limited experience, these type of wines don't gain a lot of complexity over time. I would drink this stuff now before the fruit starts to fade.
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12/4/2014 - Tyler C Likes this wine: 90 Points
Opened up after an hour or so. Not a lot complexity, but was nice.
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11/10/2014 - Vailman wrote: 90 Points
Pleasant, easy drinking wine. Agree with others: cherry, plums and tobacco. Smooth tannins, medium finish. A little disappointed because 07 was a great vintage in Napa and I expected this to be special.
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9/14/2014 - Zuperdaave wrote: 95 Points
Delicious! Inky purple color with slow, thin legs. Cherry on the nose. Soft, smooth flavors of cherry, tobacco, and chocolate. A favorite.
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4/27/2014 - Nils1921 wrote: 89 Points
black fruit; the bottle we opened had just a hint of cork in the after taste; we will revisit in a year
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4/27/2014 - Nils1921 wrote:
black fruit; the bottle we opened had just a hint of cork in the after taste; we will revisit in a year
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3/26/2014 - Furry Goat wrote: 89 Points
Drinking well right now. 1 hour decant.
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3/10/2014 - JLPwine wrote: 90 Points
Decant minimum 1 hour. Very nice! Seems like peak drinking now. Must drink the balance of the case during the next year.
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3/9/2014 - dboatguy Likes this wine: 92 Points
excellent - very nicely aged
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2/17/2014 - Celts86 wrote: 90 Points
This is drinking really well right now, one of my favorites. Fruit is mellowing a bit, decanted for 1.5 hours. Have four left.
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11/21/2013 - skifree wrote: 91 Points
Last bottle at Chinook Tavern in Englewood, Co. Big wine that was very young even after a decant. Lots of fruit, lots of mocha, spine of tannins underneath indicating it could soften with age.
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11/2/2013 - rkosd wrote: 89 Points
Great with steak. Not so great on its own
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10/24/2013 - Skinneyku wrote:
Gave to Hugh!
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10/11/2013 - gavinesq wrote: 89 Points
Nice. Plums, pencil shavings, cedar and hints of something minty. The fruit opens up with a little air. The tannins are pretty soft. This probably won't get better with more time in the bottle, but it's still very nice right now. The color is not too deep and shows just the slightest hint of bricking around the edge of the glass. The wine is the tiniest bit foxy, but I don't think it's flawed or corked and it's not unpleasant. Had with a steak and potatoes and was an excellent pairing.
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9/19/2013 - Furry Goat wrote: 90 Points
1.5 hr decant. Went fantastically with porterhouse and asparagus. Currant, great structure. Drinking fantastically right now.
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12/25/2012 - gavinesq Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nice wine. A bit thin on the mouthfeel, a bit astringent and tannic, but much of this blew off after some aeration. Dust and cedar on the front with some mild hints of white pepper and pencil shavings. The fruit is there but it isn't terribly robust. Not a bad bottle but may improve with some additional time.
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12/5/2012 - JLPwine wrote: 91 Points
Wonderful nose, dark fruit, cherry and a bit of spice. Still seems a bit young with the tannins present. Decanted for 1 hour...could have used more. Nice!
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11/17/2012 - soyhead wrote: 90 Points
nose- blackberry, maple, mocha
mouth - supple dark fruit, cassis, licorice. not complex but yummy.
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11/11/2012 - Tim Heaton wrote:
Slow-O 1 hour, consumed over the following hour. One of the better vintages for this wine in some time. Still, it needs another year or so to soften up and lose some of soapy new oak qualities. For $29 a great value for those that prefer new world wines. Not something I would seek out at any price. Best enjoyed at cellar temp.
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10/17/2012 - Furry Goat wrote: 90 Points
Amazing nose of candied currant, smoke, and leather. Great gravelly mouth feel with minerals and cocoa mixing with black cherry on the end. Fruit is definitely secondary on the palate, or at least well integrated to not steal the show. Still probably a little young for my taste. The nose steals the show for me. 90-91 with a little more potential.
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10/6/2012 - manny651 wrote: 92 Points
Excellent
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8/20/2012 - dontime wrote:
Purchased and consumed at a restaurant in West Palm Beach. Reasonably priced at $65. PNP. Nose of black fruit, spice and leather. Similar flavors on the palate with additional veggie components and even a touch of mint. Smooth finish of medium length. If scoring 88-90.
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7/4/2012 - mdp.blue wrote: 89 Points
Much better than previous bottles from this multi-bottle purchase earlier in the year. Previous bottles were good. This one was very good. I decanted for close to two hours. This may have made the difference. Integrated, complex and smooth. I'll leave the various subjective tastes of this and that to others. Very good for the sub $30 price.
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5/26/2012 - manny651 wrote: 92 Points
Give it at least an hour to open up. Great finish.
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4/17/2012 - Mike Kopanski wrote: 90 Points
18th Annual Central Carolina Food & Wine Festival (Medallion Center, Columbia, SC.): This is my first taste of this somewhat famous wine outside of the tasting room in almost a decade. My first impression was the dark and concentrated deep blue color. The blend almost automatically brings some complexity on the nose and palate. Starting with the nose, all kinds of things are happening, smoke, leather, black tea, violets, brown spice, and of course big dark fruit. As it it hits the lips, there is a seamless transition of the fruit and non fruit items that are well integrated, and to their credit, not overly oaked. Not huge, just solid and elegant. Very balanced and smooth, I think the extra bottle age has helped round things out. The fruit is almost restrained. There is no doubt about the 14.5% alcohol, but it works. Nice dry finish with graphite, cocoa, leather and dark cherry.
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3/1/2012 - lucasone2 wrote:
Needs about 20-30 minutes to breathe. Nice nose. Fruit forward with a dry tannin finish.
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2/10/2012 - Winerut wrote: 90 Points
Not worth the price
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12/23/2011 - Box57 wrote: 89 Points
Well balanced, fruit forward palate, with medium tanins.
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12/23/2011 - gavinesq wrote:
Tasted a bottle today at a liquor store event. This wine is VERY tight and will improve greatly with some bottle age and decanting/aeration. Very well-structured and good fruit but I'd wait at least a year or two before opening my own bottle.
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7/15/2011 - n8white wrote: 90 Points
Very good, needed over 2 hours in decanter for the tannins to subside and that was after pouring through an aerator. Good, long finish. Can't wait to try again in a year or so.
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3/8/2011 - bpvrm wrote: 87 Points
Very tight. Could use either more time
To open, or mature in bottle. Drank on a pop and pour, and then the next night.
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