Blind tasting at wine night with Prime Rib served. Below are the contestants, the list is how they finished, highest to lowest, for me personally and although all wines were very, very good some were just simply better than others but all paired extremely well with the meal.
2007 Joseph Phelps Insignia – Typical Insignia, spectacular.
2004 Colonial Estate Exile – As always, simply excellent.
2008 Don Melchor – This blind tasting showed it can hold its own with the big boys.
2010 Auma – My first experience with this Carménère blend and it was awesome!
2007 Dunn Howell Mountain Cab – First time with the Howell Mountain and was somewhat disappointed. I was really expecting more BOOM from this but it just didn’t knock my socks off.
2017 Cade Howell Mountain Cab – Again, not sure why but the Howell Mountains just didn’t perform as well as they have previously.
1997 BV Tapestry – Although it was a magnum and should’ve aged slower than a typical bottle I believe this was slightly past its prime. Still extremely good, just not one of the best sips of the night.
2005 Colonial Estate Explorateur – I truly enjoyed this wine, it was just sweeter in flavor and just a large drop off from the other Colonial Estate enjoyed this night.
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Full and round with elegant tannin and layers of flavors. Vivid body and fruity balanced the high alcohol quite well. Kind of dry on finish. Well on peak after 15 years of aging. A very price worthy bottle.
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Sweet sous bois and dark berry in the nose. Juicy blackberry, black pepper and fading oak notes. Still quite drinkable without be overwhelming from the bad days of over-wrought Shiraz.
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In a great window, at its peak. Notes of blueberry and blackberry on the nose. Incredible nose, enjoyed smelling this wine. In the mouth, well-balanced and lush with tannins resolved. A touch of oak on the finish.
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Big Bottle Night Dinner for 16 people: a 3L of 2012 Chappellet Signature Reserve, followed by 1.5 L bottles of : 1992 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Chalegmagne, 2009 Domaine La Roquete and 2004 The Colonial Estate Shiraz Exile. All were opened and allowed to breath in the bottle for at least 45 minutes. The Chappellet was decanted.
My notes on the Exile: We drank this one last, and more than half voted this as "very good" to "excellent", I was the lone "just ok" vote. It just wasn't my style. Very fruit driven, and not much structure, at this point. It was almost more suitable for drinking after diner with some almonds instead of with the diner.
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Excellent place right now. Well balanced with the ripe ref fruits and tannins. Smooth velvet finish . Went well before and after steak. Moderate sediment. Try again in another year.
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Overwhelmingly hot and extracted, to my taste at least. The oak is still prominent and the fruit very jammy. Even the nose is dominated by an off-putting, alcoholic note, mixed with some yeasty aromas.
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The wine looks Inky colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Blackberry, Blueberry, Black currant (cassis), Cherry, Mineral, Espresso, Black Pepper, and Tobacco. The body is Full. The wine has Satin-like texture. The wine finishes Long.
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Improving as it ages. This was better than the last bottle. Interesting nuances of leather and sweet tobacco in the black cherry laden nose. Creamy flavors of red raspberry. Silky tannins and a touch of green olive in the close.
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Jammy, loads of dark fruit and a bit of sweetness on the nose. I can see where this received such high marks upon release because of the sheer hedonism, however, this wine has serious flaws as the alcohol is not well integrated and the wine completely fell apart and became disjointed after 4 hours open in the bottle. It's good, not great, a solid 84.
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Awesome wine. Dark, fruit forward, and smooth taste. Had it with some nice Italian cheese listening to U2. The very pleasant aroma of flowers, oak, cranberries, lite peppers, and expresso. This is a big wine and a very good bargain at <$100.
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I liked this a lot, but it doesn't really go into the outstanding blockbuster range. Good up front fruit that continues through the mid palate to a nice long fruit finish. Great balance, alchohol is well contained. The weakness is that it is a bit one dimensional. Nice yummy fruit and secondary oak flavors. Very enjoyable.
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Dark, inky, chewy...actually too much wine for some. Absolute blockbuster. AAll of the fruit and silky tannins any pallate can handle. can last many more years...but why wait.
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If I had this wine at a blind tasting I'd be dancing all over the room until I found out how much it cost. There is no doubt it's an Australian Shiraz, no doubt whatsoever. This could be the pinnacle of super exacted wine but with great complexity to compliment. Right from the pour all you get is super jammy black fruits, wine color is almost as black as tar and the scent of fruit and flowers is absolutely intoxicating. But just after about 10 minutes in the glass flavors of mint and crushed black peppers comes through and the fruit is almost secondary. In the mouth it starts out light and crisp but with the little swishing it build to a thick whipcream like profile. There's cherry, cream, currant, tangerine, with a touch of dried spices and coffee. Tannins are just velvety. The finishes goes on and on and on.
I had the opportunity to buy this wine below $60 and regret I didn't buy more. I consider it a screaming bargain at below $100 but a recent search show some dealers in Europe has it as much as $250 Euros. Uh no.. not that good.
Remember, you don't drink the label.
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From a 375. Second bottle of this, and not quite up to the level of the earlier showing. Still, this black-as-night shiraz shows massive fruit and huge concentration without a speck of heat. Which is an achievement. But its so big there really isn't much you can do with it at the table, being so utterly massive --almost port-like-- that it would overpower anything I could think to serve it with. (We paired it with truffles after dinner, which worked well. The 375 was more than enough for the four of us.) It suffered a bit in comparison to the breathtakingly graceful Cayuse syrah served immediately before. Still, one can't help but admire this for the clear, massive fruit it delivers without heat. A great example of the hedonistic Aussie fruit bomb genre. 93.
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From a 375. Popped and left standing about two hours prior to opening. Black as night. Gorgeous nose of blueberries and raspeberries. Those carry through pristinely to the palate, where they are joined by eucalyptus and bittersweet dark chocolate. Maginificent balance here, as the 15.5% alcohol betrays not even a speck of heat, which is particularly impressive given the massive concentration and extraction evident here. Release price on this was $150-$200, which maybe it lacks to aging track record to justify. Many full bottles of this are being cleared out between $50 and $75, anecdotally, and its a screaming buy at that price. A notch below a 1998 Grange I got to try recently but in the same class as some Clarendon Hills Syrah I've had. 94.
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Great again. Very rich but focused with a long finish. Give it just a little bit of air. On the second night it is a little messy. Still good but just a touch too sweet with out the focus from last night.
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This is a super extracted wine. The concentration of material is massive. Very dark fruit blubbery/raspberry keeps gaining prominence with decanter time. There is a strong element of bitter flavors but in a good way-the type you find in a good dark chocolate. I guess that's what RP calls espresso-scorched earth. While massive, it is not jammy nor is it over ripe but there is so much concentration that there appears to be an element of slight saltines to the back palate -similar to some vintages of Greenock Creek. The finish is long but not very complex, with a noticeable amount of mineral component. tannins are big but soft. I have not tried it at release and wonder if it may be a bit shut down at this point of it's life as I expected a little more complexity of flavors based on Parker and Tanzer's reviews. I think this has excellent potential with some cellar time. At original suggested price of 150-200 it is no bargain (for now until it proves it's age ability). I look forward to trying this again an about 5 years. Update: The leftovers were kept on Wine Preserve in the fridge for 2 days: A lot more of the Raspberry liquor aromatics with mint & cola notes. This has improved overall and became more integrated and soft. Velvety without the hint of saltines from before, and the tannins are softer with a nice finish of dark chocolate… impressive. .Revised original score to 95. I will probably wait another 3-4 years for my next bottle. For current consumption I would remove cork & slow ox (Aduze) for about 24 hrs.
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This is a difficult wine. Not my favorite. Drank with B and friends at dinner(duck). Dark and brooding...seems overly extracted. Nose and tastes of tar and cedar. Heavy and full bodied. Do not know what is wrong. RP 96 ST95... WS85! I will try again this winter.
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Wonderful. Rich, ripe and complex. Sweet tannin is so smooth you can't tell it's there. It may gain some complexity but these are so good now it will be tough to wait.
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2/24/2022 - DenverGreek Likes this wine: 95 Points
Blind tasting at wine night with Prime Rib served. Below are the contestants, the list is how they finished, highest to lowest, for me personally and although all wines were very, very good some were just simply better than others but all paired extremely well with the meal.
2007 Joseph Phelps Insignia – Typical Insignia, spectacular.
2004 Colonial Estate Exile – As always, simply excellent.
2008 Don Melchor – This blind tasting showed it can hold its own with the big boys.
2010 Auma – My first experience with this Carménère blend and it was awesome!
2007 Dunn Howell Mountain Cab – First time with the Howell Mountain and was somewhat disappointed. I was really expecting more BOOM from this but it just didn’t knock my socks off.
2017 Cade Howell Mountain Cab – Again, not sure why but the Howell Mountains just didn’t perform as well as they have previously.
1997 BV Tapestry – Although it was a magnum and should’ve aged slower than a typical bottle I believe this was slightly past its prime. Still extremely good, just not one of the best sips of the night.
2005 Colonial Estate Explorateur – I truly enjoyed this wine, it was just sweeter in flavor and just a large drop off from the other Colonial Estate enjoyed this night.
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4/22/2019 - boblu1993 Likes this wine: 98 Points
Full and round with elegant tannin and layers of flavors. Vivid body and fruity balanced the high alcohol quite well. Kind of dry on finish. Well on peak after 15 years of aging. A very price worthy bottle.
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10/16/2018 - guitarguy wrote: 90 Points
Sweet sous bois and dark berry in the nose. Juicy blackberry, black pepper and fading oak notes. Still quite drinkable without be overwhelming from the bad days of over-wrought Shiraz.
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10/6/2018 - Jack wrote: 88 Points
Same as last note.
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12/10/2017 - Jack wrote: 90 Points
Whilel still good this bottle wasn’t as vibrant as in the past. Open another one soon. They might be on the decline.
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11/25/2016 - bubbachumps wrote: 93 Points
In a great window, at its peak. Notes of blueberry and blackberry on the nose. Incredible nose, enjoyed smelling this wine. In the mouth, well-balanced and lush with tannins resolved. A touch of oak on the finish.
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2/16/2016 - SMHalps wrote: 88 Points
Big Bottle Night Dinner for 16 people: a 3L of 2012 Chappellet Signature Reserve, followed by 1.5 L bottles of : 1992 Bonneau du Martray Corton-Chalegmagne, 2009 Domaine La Roquete and 2004 The Colonial Estate Shiraz Exile. All were opened and allowed to breath in the bottle for at least 45 minutes. The Chappellet was decanted.
My notes on the Exile: We drank this one last, and more than half voted this as "very good" to "excellent", I was the lone "just ok" vote. It just wasn't my style. Very fruit driven, and not much structure, at this point. It was almost more suitable for drinking after diner with some almonds instead of with the diner.
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10/24/2015 - Jurgens wrote: 88 Points
Overwhelmingly and hot to my taste at least. very jammy. Nose is very dominated by blackcurrant. too much
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9/26/2015 - fedro Does not like this wine: flawed
corked and cooked through :(
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8/23/2015 - Jack wrote: 95 Points
Really enjoyable.
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7/26/2015 - ravbik wrote: 95 Points
Excellent place right now. Well balanced with the ripe ref fruits and tannins. Smooth velvet finish . Went well before and after steak. Moderate sediment. Try again in another year.
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4/16/2014 - Jurgens wrote: 82 Points
Over-cooked
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9/5/2013 - JonnyG wrote: 89 Points
Overwhelmingly hot and extracted, to my taste at least. The oak is still prominent and the fruit very jammy. Even the nose is dominated by an off-putting, alcoholic note, mixed with some yeasty aromas.
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7/1/2013 - ctjared wrote:
Not as good as I remember
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4/26/2013 - ctjared wrote:
Drinking very well. Consistent with previous.
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12/25/2012 - ravbik Likes this wine: 94 Points
The wine looks Inky colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Blackberry, Blueberry, Black currant (cassis), Cherry, Mineral, Espresso, Black Pepper, and Tobacco. The body is Full. The wine has Satin-like texture. The wine finishes Long.
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11/8/2012 - ctjared wrote:
More like I remember it. Super fruity, massive nose. Not for every night, but when you want fruit this is where you go.
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3/31/2012 - kietkopelli wrote: 93 Points
Same notes as 3 years ago but less fruit, more peppers and earth.
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10/1/2011 - ctjared wrote:
Massive nose, but less then it used to. Fruit has mellowed a bit making this very nice and less of a fruit bomb.
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1/26/2011 - stocksandbondage wrote: 92 Points
Showed pretty well, pretty similar flavor profile to the last bottle I tried. It appears to be improving with age.
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1/19/2011 - stocksandbondage wrote: 92 Points
Improving as it ages. This was better than the last bottle. Interesting nuances of leather and sweet tobacco in the black cherry laden nose. Creamy flavors of red raspberry. Silky tannins and a touch of green olive in the close.
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12/11/2010 - mukden wrote: 90 Points
YES. Not as good as 2002 but reapply attractive.
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6/12/2010 - 1961Vintage wrote: 92 Points
At NoHo bistro\. consumed with hangar Steak and mashed potatoes.,. Perfect combo
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4/12/2010 - gatormatt wrote: 84 Points
Jammy, loads of dark fruit and a bit of sweetness on the nose. I can see where this received such high marks upon release because of the sheer hedonism, however, this wine has serious flaws as the alcohol is not well integrated and the wine completely fell apart and became disjointed after 4 hours open in the bottle. It's good, not great, a solid 84.
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12/12/2009 - brewking wrote: 84 Points
drinkable but not something is off. highly seperated fruit and heat, nothing integrated. WAY to much money
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10/13/2009 - EmilyE wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 1 hour. Too sweet and fruity. Nice finish.
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7/14/2009 - otisabdul wrote: 88 Points
Rhubarb and fruitcake notes. Good depth. Polished texture. Medium finish. Lots of spice, but not as much ripe fruit as I like in my shirazes.
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3/13/2009 - fjd1960 wrote: 94 Points
Awesome wine. Dark, fruit forward, and smooth taste. Had it with some nice Italian cheese listening to U2. The very pleasant aroma of flowers, oak, cranberries, lite peppers, and expresso. This is a big wine and a very good bargain at <$100.
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2/20/2009 - KWC3141 wrote: 90 Points
I liked this a lot, but it doesn't really go into the outstanding blockbuster range. Good up front fruit that continues through the mid palate to a nice long fruit finish. Great balance, alchohol is well contained. The weakness is that it is a bit one dimensional. Nice yummy fruit and secondary oak flavors. Very enjoyable.
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2/14/2009 - 1961Vintage wrote: 94 Points
Dark, inky, chewy...actually too much wine for some. Absolute blockbuster. AAll of the fruit and silky tannins any pallate can handle. can last many more years...but why wait.
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1/26/2009 - kietkopelli wrote: 95 Points
If I had this wine at a blind tasting I'd be dancing all over the room until I found out how much it cost. There is no doubt it's an Australian Shiraz, no doubt whatsoever. This could be the pinnacle of super exacted wine but with great complexity to compliment. Right from the pour all you get is super jammy black fruits, wine color is almost as black as tar and the scent of fruit and flowers is absolutely intoxicating. But just after about 10 minutes in the glass flavors of mint and crushed black peppers comes through and the fruit is almost secondary. In the mouth it starts out light and crisp but with the little swishing it build to a thick whipcream like profile. There's cherry, cream, currant, tangerine, with a touch of dried spices and coffee. Tannins are just velvety. The finishes goes on and on and on.
I had the opportunity to buy this wine below $60 and regret I didn't buy more. I consider it a screaming bargain at below $100 but a recent search show some dealers in Europe has it as much as $250 Euros. Uh no.. not that good.
Remember, you don't drink the label.
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1/1/2009 - jmull wrote: 93 Points
From a 375. Second bottle of this, and not quite up to the level of the earlier showing. Still, this black-as-night shiraz shows massive fruit and huge concentration without a speck of heat. Which is an achievement. But its so big there really isn't much you can do with it at the table, being so utterly massive --almost port-like-- that it would overpower anything I could think to serve it with. (We paired it with truffles after dinner, which worked well. The 375 was more than enough for the four of us.) It suffered a bit in comparison to the breathtakingly graceful Cayuse syrah served immediately before. Still, one can't help but admire this for the clear, massive fruit it delivers without heat. A great example of the hedonistic Aussie fruit bomb genre. 93.
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12/20/2008 - jmull wrote: 94 Points
From a 375. Popped and left standing about two hours prior to opening. Black as night. Gorgeous nose of blueberries and raspeberries. Those carry through pristinely to the palate, where they are joined by eucalyptus and bittersweet dark chocolate. Maginificent balance here, as the 15.5% alcohol betrays not even a speck of heat, which is particularly impressive given the massive concentration and extraction evident here. Release price on this was $150-$200, which maybe it lacks to aging track record to justify. Many full bottles of this are being cleared out between $50 and $75, anecdotally, and its a screaming buy at that price. A notch below a 1998 Grange I got to try recently but in the same class as some Clarendon Hills Syrah I've had. 94.
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11/23/2008 - Jack wrote: 95 Points
Great again. Very rich but focused with a long finish. Give it just a little bit of air. On the second night it is a little messy. Still good but just a touch too sweet with out the focus from last night.
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6/8/2008 - bon vivant wrote: 93 Points
This is a super extracted wine. The concentration of material is massive. Very dark fruit blubbery/raspberry keeps gaining prominence with decanter time. There is a strong element of bitter flavors but in a good way-the type you find in a good dark chocolate. I guess that's what RP calls espresso-scorched earth. While massive, it is not jammy nor is it over ripe but there is so much concentration that there appears to be an element of slight saltines to the back palate -similar to some vintages of Greenock Creek. The finish is long but not very complex, with a noticeable amount of mineral component. tannins are big but soft. I have not tried it at release and wonder if it may be a bit shut down at this point of it's life as I expected a little more complexity of flavors based on Parker and Tanzer's reviews. I think this has excellent potential with some cellar time. At original suggested price of 150-200 it is no bargain (for now until it proves it's age ability). I look forward to trying this again an about 5 years.
Update: The leftovers were kept on Wine Preserve in the fridge for 2 days: A lot more of the Raspberry liquor aromatics with mint & cola notes. This has improved overall and became more integrated and soft. Velvety without the hint of saltines from before, and the tannins are softer with a nice finish of dark chocolate… impressive. .Revised original score to 95. I will probably wait another 3-4 years for my next bottle. For current consumption I would remove cork & slow ox (Aduze) for about 24 hrs.
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6/4/2008 - lewisrise wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for 2 hours. Rough tannins, pepper is overwhelming. Somewhat disjointed, needs more cellaring.
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4/26/2008 - cmr wrote: 93 Points
Outstanding, full bodied and rich with dark fruit on the palate and the smell of black olives on the nose.
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11/4/2007 - benny wrote: 89 Points
This is a difficult wine. Not my favorite. Drank with B and friends at dinner(duck). Dark and brooding...seems overly extracted. Nose and tastes of tar and cedar. Heavy and full bodied. Do not know what is wrong. RP 96 ST95... WS85!
I will try again this winter.
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11/2/2007 - Jack wrote: 96 Points
Wonderful. Rich, ripe and complex. Sweet tannin is so smooth you can't tell it's there. It may gain some complexity but these are so good now it will be tough to wait.
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