Opened and poured. Lots of sediment clinging to the side of the shoulder. Dry cork split in two. Dark with a little bricking. Deep nose, a bit of boysenberry funk, oaky, hoisin, black cherry. Full bodied, mostly smooth with chunky oak driven bass notes, soy and plum. Primal and solid, it's lacking nuance and levels of complexity, but understandable given the general appellation designation. Still, a nice offering. Day two, this has improved a little, with major black cherry on the nose, and some secondary dusty notes. A little more spice on the palate, with more age on the slightly Madeirized fruit profile. Big wine at 14.9%, and good!
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Drunk this because it's Adam Lee's 18th wedding anniversary and seemed like as good an excuse as any to pick out a wine to drink. 90 minute decant. This wine has progressively improved since I bought a case in 2006. This might be my last bottle, which would be a shame because I'd like to see where it keeps going. Right now, it presents a smooth and complex fruit melange without being jammy. There's discrenable plum, raspberry and cherry. A bit of pepper. No rough edges. Very smooth going down and easy to drink. There appears to remain a bit of unresolved tanins so it may have more life before it reaches its peak. Long finish. This bottle has been sitting without moving for a couple years at least, and there was plenty of sediment stuck to the bottom of the bottle, so decant carefully.
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I bought a case in 2006 but haven't opened one for three years so I decided it was time to peek in and see how it was doing. The wine continues to evolve nicely, with smooth syrah pepper making a stronger showing and cherry flavor with just a tiny tinge of apparent sweetness from the fruit. The are other red fruits mixed in as well. Any woodiness is gone and the mouth feel is very smooth and excellent. The finish is moderate to long. I did not have the opportunity to decant this. I think it could have used a bit of air because it got better in the glass.
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I've been drinking through a case of this for the past 2+ years. It is developing nicely. 30 minute decant. Red fruit is being augmented by pepper spice and a bit of background vanilla. Dark color with a very nice mouth feel. Develops more cherry flavor as it airs. No harsh or astringent tanins. A real bargain.
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Popped, decanted and poured. Not ready. Should have read my prior note. Fruit wakes up gradually. Cherry, raspberry and blueberry. With spices. Finish moderate. Color dark mut red. On this go round, the alcohol was a bit hot. Finish moderate to long. No wood. Mouth feel good but not great.
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I'm really surprised about how much acidity exists in this wine. It takes a center stage. It's kind of woven into a raspberry fruit that also acts as the other prominent note, so think of like crushed raspberries. Nose shows some caramel, too. But the wine is about the palate. Add some olive, a loamy/peaty note, a bit of chocolate and medium weight and that's the wine. Given the bright acidity, I don't see this wine disappearing in intensity anytime soon. Nice value.
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Half bottle - a perfect size and a very nice wine to go with the wild mushroom risotto tonight. A solid and balanced tasting. I would love to have more of these.
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This time, I decided to treat it right. I decanted it about 2 hours before dinner, poured at a cool temperature. Drank with nice, thick, spice rubbed, grilled porterhouse with fresh corn and cauliflower. The wine had a strong fruit flavor on the palate, a mixture of bright red cherry and blueberry with a bit of sweet plum. BUT no sugar on the palate, just sweet fruit. A bit of pepper and spice, but after the decant the fruit wins out over the spice. Very nice dark color. Smooth mouth feel. Nose was mostly blueberries and other dark berries. This wine is not intensely "overextracted" (not my prefrred term) and would not qualify as pancake syrup to those who complain about Aussie shiraz. I like Aussie shiraz, but this was different. I had to go out so I only wanted a glass or two, so I poured half the bottle directly from this bottle into a 375 and immediately recorked it. I will finish it tomorrow and update the post. I do not remember what I paid for this, but I do not think it was a lot. I would say anything under $35 for this wine is a good price. Anyone know what I paid when I bought it direct from the winery? :)
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expected wine to be hot and jammy from nose, so was pleasantly surprised upon tasting. chewy black fruit gives way to candied bing cherries and spice. pretty darn good finish. overall excellent QPR as are just about all of the Lee's appellation series.
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I've had a few of these and they are excellent. I have to stop drinking them so they can age. Nice color nice red fruton the palate. A bit overpowered by the Turley Zin but it still held up well.
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First of all, my wife's initial response was "I like it" and her second response was "I really like it!" That's alway a good thing when the answer to her inevitable "Do we have more of this?" is "Yes dear, we have 9 more bottles." Decanted for only about a half hour because I was late coming home and my wife's recovery from a broken leg precludes her going downstairs to rummage in the cellar. Next time I'll remember to bring the wine upstairs in the morning. This wine is a strong melange of blue and red fruits with a creamy very nice mouth feel and a moderate finish. There was some very specific cherry on the nose and palate. Not very much spice at first, but it that was coming through at 2-1/5 hours after decanting. There was a tiny appearance of a sweet taste, probably the fruit not the sugar, with an equally tiny bit of alcohol in the nose, but not so as to be annoying. Less extracted than the Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz I had a few weeks ago. If you want very delicate and subtle, this is probably not your style but I liked it a lot. No negative characteristics. Accidentally left about an ounce in the glass when I went to bed and I drank it for breakfast just to check it. Not bad considering a night on the kitchen table in an open glass. Much more spice but the fruit is fading.
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Popped and poured. Retasted 24 hrs later. Nice, hearty purple color (but by no means opaque). Dark fruits and prunes introduce the nose with hints of strawberry and cake batter beneath as spices frame it all. I found this nice right out of the bottle but a day later it's become dynamic and engaging. The palate smoothly shows a little strawberry and nice cherry and certainly a meatiness. Plenty of white pepper on the nice finish with just a touch of bitter chocolate. A wonderful mouthfeel for such a young wine, plenty of weight and with a nice tart tannic punch that is pleasant now but should smooth out a bit with some age. This is drinking well at present so don't hold back but it should be good (and perhaps better) for several more years. The price only makes it more of a good thing. I wish I had bought an extra dozen. 92 pts.
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I had to add this wine to CT in order to add the TN here so I guess I am first in on this one. My first foray into this bottle. This wine benefited very much from aeration, as my first pour from this left me a little uninspired, as it was coming off a little closed and thin. It put on a signficant amount of weight over 2 hours because when I retasted it towards the end of dinner, I had one of those aha moments, as I then blurted out to my guests 'man, has this wine really come around'. In addition to the weight, more forward fruit of chocolate, cherry and some meaty notes. There is some tannin grit still there and a little light pepper to the finish. Would not call this wine overly complex but very enjoyable and given its appelation intent, it did the trick. Will recheck this one in 6-12 months.
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2/4/2016 - Senso-beak wrote: 90 Points
Opened and poured. Lots of sediment clinging to the side of the shoulder. Dry cork split in two. Dark with a little bricking. Deep nose, a bit of boysenberry funk, oaky, hoisin, black cherry. Full bodied, mostly smooth with chunky oak driven bass notes, soy and plum. Primal and solid, it's lacking nuance and levels of complexity, but understandable given the general appellation designation. Still, a nice offering. Day two, this has improved a little, with major black cherry on the nose, and some secondary dusty notes. A little more spice on the palate, with more age on the slightly Madeirized fruit profile. Big wine at 14.9%, and good!
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3/25/2012 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 91 Points
Drunk this because it's Adam Lee's 18th wedding anniversary and seemed like as good an excuse as any to pick out a wine to drink. 90 minute decant. This wine has progressively improved since I bought a case in 2006. This might be my last bottle, which would be a shame because I'd like to see where it keeps going. Right now, it presents a smooth and complex fruit melange without being jammy. There's discrenable plum, raspberry and cherry. A bit of pepper. No rough edges. Very smooth going down and easy to drink. There appears to remain a bit of unresolved tanins so it may have more life before it reaches its peak. Long finish. This bottle has been sitting without moving for a couple years at least, and there was plenty of sediment stuck to the bottom of the bottle, so decant carefully.
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11/26/2011 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 91 Points
I bought a case in 2006 but haven't opened one for three years so I decided it was time to peek in and see how it was doing. The wine continues to evolve nicely, with smooth syrah pepper making a stronger showing and cherry flavor with just a tiny tinge of apparent sweetness from the fruit. The are other red fruits mixed in as well. Any woodiness is gone and the mouth feel is very smooth and excellent. The finish is moderate to long. I did not have the opportunity to decant this. I think it could have used a bit of air because it got better in the glass.
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11/18/2008 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 90 Points
I've been drinking through a case of this for the past 2+ years. It is developing nicely. 30 minute decant. Red fruit is being augmented by pepper spice and a bit of background vanilla. Dark color with a very nice mouth feel. Develops more cherry flavor as it airs. No harsh or astringent tanins. A real bargain.
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3/7/2008 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 89 Points
Popped, decanted and poured. Not ready. Should have read my prior note. Fruit wakes up gradually. Cherry, raspberry and blueberry. With spices. Finish moderate. Color dark mut red. On this go round, the alcohol was a bit hot. Finish moderate to long. No wood. Mouth feel good but not great.
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1/12/2008 - Frank Murray III wrote:
I'm really surprised about how much acidity exists in this wine. It takes a center stage. It's kind of woven into a raspberry fruit that also acts as the other prominent note, so think of like crushed raspberries. Nose shows some caramel, too. But the wine is about the palate. Add some olive, a loamy/peaty note, a bit of chocolate and medium weight and that's the wine. Given the bright acidity, I don't see this wine disappearing in intensity anytime soon. Nice value.
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11/8/2007 - brynmair wrote: 90 Points
Half bottle - a perfect size and a very nice wine to go with the wild mushroom risotto tonight. A solid and balanced tasting. I would love to have more of these.
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9/2/2007 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 91 Points
This time, I decided to treat it right. I decanted it about 2 hours before dinner, poured at a cool temperature. Drank with nice, thick, spice rubbed, grilled porterhouse with fresh corn and cauliflower. The wine had a strong fruit flavor on the palate, a mixture of bright red cherry and blueberry with a bit of sweet plum. BUT no sugar on the palate, just sweet fruit. A bit of pepper and spice, but after the decant the fruit wins out over the spice. Very nice dark color. Smooth mouth feel. Nose was mostly blueberries and other dark berries. This wine is not intensely "overextracted" (not my prefrred term) and would not qualify as pancake syrup to those who complain about Aussie shiraz. I like Aussie shiraz, but this was different. I had to go out so I only wanted a glass or two, so I poured half the bottle directly from this bottle into a 375 and immediately recorked it. I will finish it tomorrow and update the post. I do not remember what I paid for this, but I do not think it was a lot. I would say anything under $35 for this wine is a good price. Anyone know what I paid when I bought it direct from the winery? :)
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8/13/2007 - jwjon1 wrote: 89 Points
expected wine to be hot and jammy from nose, so was pleasantly surprised upon tasting. chewy black fruit gives way to candied bing cherries and spice. pretty darn good finish. overall excellent QPR as are just about all of the Lee's appellation series.
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4/20/2007 - ClassicWater wrote: 90 Points
This continues to be terrific. A great QPR.
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4/7/2007 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 89 Points
I've had a few of these and they are excellent. I have to stop drinking them so they can age. Nice color nice red fruton the palate. A bit overpowered by the Turley Zin but it still held up well.
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3/6/2007 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 90 Points
First of all, my wife's initial response was "I like it" and her second response was "I really like it!" That's alway a good thing when the answer to her inevitable "Do we have more of this?" is "Yes dear, we have 9 more bottles." Decanted for only about a half hour because I was late coming home and my wife's recovery from a broken leg precludes her going downstairs to rummage in the cellar. Next time I'll remember to bring the wine upstairs in the morning. This wine is a strong melange of blue and red fruits with a creamy very nice mouth feel and a moderate finish. There was some very specific cherry on the nose and palate. Not very much spice at first, but it that was coming through at 2-1/5 hours after decanting. There was a tiny appearance of a sweet taste, probably the fruit not the sugar, with an equally tiny bit of alcohol in the nose, but not so as to be annoying. Less extracted than the Schild Estate Barossa Shiraz I had a few weeks ago. If you want very delicate and subtle, this is probably not your style but I liked it a lot. No negative characteristics. Accidentally left about an ounce in the glass when I went to bed and I drank it for breakfast just to check it. Not bad considering a night on the kitchen table in an open glass. Much more spice but the fruit is fading.
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2/1/2007 - ClassicWater wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Retasted 24 hrs later. Nice, hearty purple color (but by no means opaque). Dark fruits and prunes introduce the nose with hints of strawberry and cake batter beneath as spices frame it all. I found this nice right out of the bottle but a day later it's become dynamic and engaging. The palate smoothly shows a little strawberry and nice cherry and certainly a meatiness. Plenty of white pepper on the nice finish with just a touch of bitter chocolate. A wonderful mouthfeel for such a young wine, plenty of weight and with a nice tart tannic punch that is pleasant now but should smooth out a bit with some age. This is drinking well at present so don't hold back but it should be good (and perhaps better) for several more years. The price only makes it more of a good thing. I wish I had bought an extra dozen. 92 pts.
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10/9/2006 - Frank Murray III wrote:
I had to add this wine to CT in order to add the TN here so I guess I am first in on this one. My first foray into this bottle. This wine benefited very much from aeration, as my first pour from this left me a little uninspired, as it was coming off a little closed and thin. It put on a signficant amount of weight over 2 hours because when I retasted it towards the end of dinner, I had one of those aha moments, as I then blurted out to my guests 'man, has this wine really come around'. In addition to the weight, more forward fruit of chocolate, cherry and some meaty notes. There is some tannin grit still there and a little light pepper to the finish. Would not call this wine overly complex but very enjoyable and given its appelation intent, it did the trick. Will recheck this one in 6-12 months.
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