Very much still alive, and great. Nose focuses on dark blue & black fruits & melted licorice, with dried florals & a little herb included. Palate is well-balanced & shifts toward those dried elements & pepper. Hint of creamy vanilla in the midpalate transitions to a nice finish, still showing lively acid. Still could go a few years but I really enjoyed this today.
Edit/add: 3 days later after pumping under vacu vin...showing even better. More woodsy spice on the nose (think chicory), and a tilt from fruit toward structure on the finish. This could have gone at least a few more years pretty easily.
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Popped and poured, consumed over 4 hours. Nose: Very expressiveness showing smoked black berries, tar, and violets. Palate: Medium-full bodied, sweet dark fruit attack with black pepper, great mid-palate persistence, flavors build in intensity thru the back-end where a nice spice driven characteristic just adds more lift. Finish: Follows the explosive palate experience with a lengthy finish - 60+ seconds - dominated by spicy lightly smoked dark fruit. Seems to be drinking at it's peak right now.
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Quick TN. Last bottle. Popped and poured. Is this Shane or Alban Reva? Reductive notes jumped out the glass - fresh tar/burnt rubber. On the palate it is still a young, tannic, dark fruited beast. Even after an hour in the glass it had barley budged. Made a nice foil for giant grilled bone-in rib-eyes. If had more I'd let them sleep.
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Day 1 was similar to last bottle. Day 2, however, was a 180 degree effort. Refined and integrated, this is drinking young and need aging or air time to shine.
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Wow! it had been 4 years since I opened my other bottle of this. I thought it good back then but noted it could use some time to settle down. Did it ever. Popped and poured and had with pepper steak. This wine was extremely good. Full bodied, prominent dark fruit with excellent balance, and a silky smooth (as smooth as I can remember in a wine) mouth-feel. At the finish, a kick of some black pepper to kick it up a notch and add some nice closing oomph. Great effort. Time treated this wine very well. It is really in a great place right now.
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Popped 1 hour before first pour, consumed over 3 hours. Nose: Medium plus expressiveness, grape Jolly Rancher, black berry, earth, brush, black olive, and spice. Palate: Medium full bodied showing big power up front with sweet dark fruit joined by a lively black pepper and a spice kick through the mid-palate with hints of dark chocolate in the back-end. Finish: Medium plus length dominated by spicy dark fruit and black pepper.
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Decanted 1 hour. Palate of dark fruits that while not overly ripe is extremely extracted. Briny black olives dominate with some chalky tannins still evident. Nice bigger wine That showed fairly well and is ready to drink.
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Shane wine dinner, June 2010 (Lavanda Restaurant, Palo Alto): In contrast to the darker, blacker Unknown and Jemrose of this vintage, Valenti shows a brighter, more red fruit profile, still in its youth with substantial medium tannins, this is beautiful wine with a lot of interest and complexity.
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Popped and poured. Medium-plus deep violet hue, quite youthful. Forward, complex aromas of dark fruits, clay, Kalamata olives, crushed black peppercorns, a hint of smoke and dried herbs. Medium-plus body. Crushed blackberries, smoked peppercorns, herb coated salumi, and an underlying sense of minerals and earth on the palate...all-in-all, a great combination of expressive, pure fruit and intriguing complexity. Tannins have evolved and are now a bit more round and chewy but they work in perfect harmony with the fruit, and help to carry those flavors through on the moderate-plus finish. Drinking exceptionally well at present, especially with the right amount of aeration...however, this Syrah is still a bit youthful and should improve even more with another 2-3 years in cellar.
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I had just finished off a glass of Clio, the remnants of the night before, and wanted another glass of wine to close out the weekend. Looked in the bins and saw this on the shelf and figured it was a good choice to have over 2-3 days. I've had a few other Shane wines and to this point have not been all that impressed. This changed my mind. This is what I was hoping for and finally got. I really need to have this over the next few days and report back with an update, but nice Job. Enjoy!!
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Wow this took a long time to open up, but once it did it was a fantastic wine. A ton of black pepper on the nose, to go along with really dark fruits and earth. Full bodied wine yet not overbearing whatsoever. A very spicy finish with excellent structure to last a long time. Shane is a fantastic winemaker.
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Opened and enjoyed over two nights. Even better on night #2. Nose is tar, black fruits and hints of chocolate. Dense dark fruits and licorice flavors with depth and persistance. There is a streak of chocolate again, or maybe that is just wishful thinking. Chewy tannins and enough acidity that give the dark fruits some energy. A nod more toward the new world than the northern rhone. My clear favorite of the Shane lineup and unfortunaly the only bottle I had. I had passed on the latest offering, but will see if Shane has any left. A reason again to be excited about Syrah.
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black pepper still dominates this nose, has some blackberry also. mouth with more black pepper, blackberry, full bodied with a nice feel. touch of etoh on the finish.
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Quick impression: Great CA syrah. Big blueberry amd blackberry flavor gives way to a delicious savory, peppery, ground whole spice quality. But it bounces all over your tongue all the while. Concentrated and deep yet complex and layered. Terrific. 93+ pts.
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Popped and poured, fragrant bouquet upon pulling the cork (noticeable even with a cold). Dark, impenetrable hue. Prominent aromas of blackberry liqueur, fresh raspberries, a hint of anise, ground pepper and other spices. Medium-plus to full bodied. On the palate, this wine presents itself as a modern interpretation of a Northern Rhone from a ripe year, with tiers of black fruits complimented by ground spices, subtle herbs, and just a touch of melted chocolate and black licorice. Wonderful purity of blackberry fruit. Plus finish, with fine-grained tannins. NR due to the fact I'm still getting over a cold...but if I were to assign a score it would lie somewhere in the 91-93 point range - a serious improvement since last tasted about 12 months ago.
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Smoky nose. Deep dark black fruit.Juicy and concentrated. Tasted at al all Rhone tasting and it was clearly the biggest and most concentrated wine despite only having 14% alcohol. I think a few years will really help this wine.
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Outstanding wine. Dark fruit with a ton of Syrah spiciness. Nose was explosively fruity. A little hot to start, but it settled down. Would recommend decanting for an hour or 2.
Long flavorful finish.
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Saturday night Football and Wine (Chicago IL, Phillip's apt): nose: very quixotic nose that is rooted in both california fruit and old world style at the same time. Very well balanced with a smokey backdrop providing tones of rich red cherries, black cherries, tones of black pepper and some chalk tones behind it. This was drawing me in as I smelled it and was a very enjoyable nose as it was intriguing to smell the two styles working well together
taste: Well balanced with medium body and nice medium tannins. Rich on the palate without being overwhelming that gives off tones of smoke, black pepper, red and black cherries, with some bits of black licorice
overall: This is ready to drink right now, but can also age. So much for what was supposed to be a bad syrah vintage in california. This is a very intriguing syrah that works very well for both the new world and old world camp. Very well balanced with great texture and length on the palate and a good medium black cherry finish
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FootballPizzaCheeseWINE (Lincoln Park, Chicago): 4 hours in the decanter before tasting over the following hour or so. Ripe dark fruits on the nose, some smoke, pepper, a few spices, and slate. Serious nose. Taste brings big dark fruit, pepper, light spice rack hints and follows through with an impactful finish of very rich blue fruit, nice spice components, big tannins with acid to match and overall great balance. Pure fruit through & through, impressive balance, and great depth from a powerful wine.
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I like this. Pepper, ripe fruit and dusty tannin. Sort of mushroomy nose. It's big but chalky and savory enough that it's not cloying. I'd guess this would be better in a year or two, but not 5+ yrs.
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Shane Finley Comes to the OC (Casa Murray - San Juan Capistrano, CA): Rich and savory, boasting notes of of blackberries, black plums, coconut, dark chocolate, mixed peppercorns, and black olives. Racy acidity and a grippy finish. Drinking well now, but could certainly use some some more time in the cellar. 90-91 points.
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Shane Finley Visits The OC (The Murray's): Blue fruit, closed and still a bit tight. Rich and chalky in tannin so needs time. Was not able to retaste after an overnight settling so we'll have to wish this farewell, as this was my last bottle.
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ah,how do I say it, oh yeah-- PEPPER!!!! that is almost all I get, black pepper. a little raspberry , earth and saw dust on the nose, but all Black pepper in the mouth, some spice, some red fruits. i get BP on the attack, BP migrated toward the back in the middle, but on the finish it is front and center. not a bad wine IF YOU LIKE PEPPER!
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Popped a bottle last night, and let sit in glass for 45 minutes....then drank over next hour. This wine still needs much more time to settle down a bit. Has some big potential, as I got the Italian meats, that people were mentioning along with a concentrated layer of dark fruit mixed with some black pepper or other spice...I kept waiting for the concentrated fruit to open up and add a layer of depth - but it never really happened. Got a little bit of heat as well, and a finish that could have been a bit longer....I have another bottle that I will not touch for a couple of years...If this settles down a bit it could be great .Right now it is merely good IMHO...
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Again, this wine from Valenti ranch is a dead ringer for an MP No 9 Shiraz. This thing is over the top with blasts of sweet white pepper, smoked deli meats, spice rack, blackberry and sweet black cherry. This thing will almost make you sneeze!. What a treat for a California syrah. It is in your face, no doubt, but it is concentrated and so full of ripe and tantelizing flavors you've got to go back to the glass long before it even finishes. A fun wine that oozes with unique character.
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Tasted again from fresh bottle with Shane. 65% whole cluster and 65% new oak, taken from fruit in the cool north end of the Anderson Valley. With just 3 ozs in the glass, the wine is nearly opaque. Some pepper, hint of game/smoke, pure nose. Dense, bittersweet chocolate tar and creosote.
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Popped and took an initial taste from the bottle. Very dark purple color. Some initial notes of reduction on the nose that blew off quickly. Tastes of meat/game up front with a hint of black pepper. Dark fruit hiding in the back. Decanted for 4 hrs and consumed over 3 hrs. Dark fruit becomes more prominent with a nice mix of meat/game. Pepper was a bit overwhelming for my tastes. There appeared to be a lingering taste of band-aid (brett?) in the background that I noticed, but it was slight. Good structure with medium levels of acidity and supple tannins.
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Opened this bottle a couple of nights ago and all I can say is..WOW. Obviously this wine is extremely young. Decanted for about 3 hours and drank over about 2 hours. Very dark color, nearly black. Great nose of dark fruits, pepper and a floral component that was really nice. Really complex with the dark fruits, pepper/spice, meat/blood and tar. Firm tannins, no noticeable sweetness or jaminess that gets tiring with a lot of other syrah or shiraz . Just amazing. After nearly 5 hours of being open this wine was just beginning to show its stuff. Hard to throw a score on it at this point but I would easily say 91-92 now with certain improvement with a couple of years in bottle.
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Wow, This is so Barossa/McLaren Vale in style with huge black and white pepper dominating the palate. A black, sweet, unctous, wine with a nose that isn't forthcoming until several hours of air. There is the spicey, smokey, oaky, black fruit nose followed by the explosive palate of tree pepper, spiced Italian meats, smooth toasted oak and black cherry although not really a fruit bomb. The backend is lite though and while this may get better in the bottle (it is an '06), I'm not sure this has the balance and backbone to age well. I will add that this is a very distinctive wine and unlike any other California syrah I have had to date.
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Tasted at the 2nd Annual Freeman Caves Dinner for VinoCellar.com - (Sonoma area, California). Very dark purple in color, almost black. Very prominent black pepper aromas and flavors and not much else. The texture was slightly syrupy. It seemed to be missing fruit but had very prevalent oak on the finish. NR because I’m not sure when this was bottled. Rating would be about 84 points.
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3/29/2021 - Paul Lin wrote: 83 Points
Peppercorns and game over a core of plum fruit. This is a more savory and earthy Syrah. Perfect for some, but I like to see more fruit in mine.
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4/27/2019 - cobbpa wrote: 91 Points
Very much still alive, and great. Nose focuses on dark blue & black fruits & melted licorice, with dried florals & a little herb included. Palate is well-balanced & shifts toward those dried elements & pepper. Hint of creamy vanilla in the midpalate transitions to a nice finish, still showing lively acid. Still could go a few years but I really enjoyed this today.
Edit/add: 3 days later after pumping under vacu vin...showing even better. More woodsy spice on the nose (think chicory), and a tilt from fruit toward structure on the finish. This could have gone at least a few more years pretty easily.
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5/8/2016 - redz wrote: 88 Points
full bodied, but tired berries and prunes on palate. still tannic, but not optimistic for future
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12/4/2015 - Paul Lin wrote: 84 Points
An earthy, cool climate Syrah. Notes of blackberries, tar, campfire, and graphite. Not really my style.
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5/25/2015 - stevenjstein Likes this wine:
Still holding up fairly well.
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4/30/2015 - prasm Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped and poured, consumed over 4 hours. Nose: Very expressiveness showing smoked black berries, tar, and violets. Palate: Medium-full bodied, sweet dark fruit attack with black pepper, great mid-palate persistence, flavors build in intensity thru the back-end where a nice spice driven characteristic just adds more lift. Finish: Follows the explosive palate experience with a lengthy finish - 60+ seconds - dominated by spicy lightly smoked dark fruit. Seems to be drinking at it's peak right now.
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4/28/2013 - JFish wrote:
Quick TN. Last bottle. Popped and poured. Is this Shane or Alban Reva? Reductive notes jumped out the glass - fresh tar/burnt rubber. On the palate it is still a young, tannic, dark fruited beast. Even after an hour in the glass it had barley budged. Made a nice foil for giant grilled bone-in rib-eyes. If had more I'd let them sleep.
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3/3/2013 - snarfglk wrote: 91 Points
Day 1 was similar to last bottle. Day 2, however, was a 180 degree effort. Refined and integrated, this is drinking young and need aging or air time to shine.
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9/30/2012 - snarfglk wrote: 90 Points
Good solid wine, but the pepper (black or white?) is not my style.
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8/17/2012 - Coupe 60 wrote: 94 Points
Wow! it had been 4 years since I opened my other bottle of this. I thought it good back then but noted it could use some time to settle down. Did it ever. Popped and poured and had with pepper steak. This wine was extremely good. Full bodied, prominent dark fruit with excellent balance, and a silky smooth (as smooth as I can remember in a wine) mouth-feel. At the finish, a kick of some black pepper to kick it up a notch and add some nice closing oomph. Great effort. Time treated this wine very well. It is really in a great place right now.
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7/26/2012 - prasm wrote: 91 Points
Popped 1 hour before first pour, consumed over 3 hours. Nose: Medium plus expressiveness, grape Jolly Rancher, black berry, earth, brush, black olive, and spice. Palate: Medium full bodied showing big power up front with sweet dark fruit joined by a lively black pepper and a spice kick through the mid-palate with hints of dark chocolate in the back-end. Finish: Medium plus length dominated by spicy dark fruit and black pepper.
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2/12/2012 - glaze3 wrote:
Decanted 1 hour. Palate of dark fruits that while not overly ripe is extremely extracted. Briny black olives dominate with some chalky tannins still evident. Nice bigger wine That showed fairly well and is ready to drink.
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3/8/2011 - tarheel17 wrote: flawed
serious VA. unpalatable. BLECH.
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8/9/2010 - alanr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Shane wine dinner, June 2010 (Lavanda Restaurant, Palo Alto): In contrast to the darker, blacker Unknown and Jemrose of this vintage, Valenti shows a brighter, more red fruit profile, still in its youth with substantial medium tannins, this is beautiful wine with a lot of interest and complexity.
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5/10/2010 - *Vine* wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Medium-plus deep violet hue, quite youthful. Forward, complex aromas of dark fruits, clay, Kalamata olives, crushed black peppercorns, a hint of smoke and dried herbs. Medium-plus body. Crushed blackberries, smoked peppercorns, herb coated salumi, and an underlying sense of minerals and earth on the palate...all-in-all, a great combination of expressive, pure fruit and intriguing complexity. Tannins have evolved and are now a bit more round and chewy but they work in perfect harmony with the fruit, and help to carry those flavors through on the moderate-plus finish. Drinking exceptionally well at present, especially with the right amount of aeration...however, this Syrah is still a bit youthful and should improve even more with another 2-3 years in cellar.
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5/3/2010 - deltacop wrote: 91 Points
I had just finished off a glass of Clio, the remnants of the night before, and wanted another glass of wine to close out the weekend. Looked in the bins and saw this on the shelf and figured it was a good choice to have over 2-3 days. I've had a few other Shane wines and to this point have not been all that impressed. This changed my mind. This is what I was hoping for and finally got. I really need to have this over the next few days and report back with an update, but nice Job. Enjoy!!
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9/2/2009 - yonster24 wrote:
Wow this took a long time to open up, but once it did it was a fantastic wine. A ton of black pepper on the nose, to go along with really dark fruits and earth. Full bodied wine yet not overbearing whatsoever. A very spicy finish with excellent structure to last a long time. Shane is a fantastic winemaker.
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8/22/2009 - DukeDrew wrote: 93 Points
This is ridiculously good right now. No formal note, but really, really enjoyed the bottle.
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3/30/2009 - tim_c wrote: 92 Points
Opened and enjoyed over two nights. Even better on night #2. Nose is tar, black fruits and hints of chocolate. Dense dark fruits and licorice flavors with depth and persistance. There is a streak of chocolate again, or maybe that is just wishful thinking. Chewy tannins and enough acidity that give the dark fruits some energy. A nod more toward the new world than the northern rhone. My clear favorite of the Shane lineup and unfortunaly the only bottle I had. I had passed on the latest offering, but will see if Shane has any left. A reason again to be excited about Syrah.
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3/26/2009 - goofy Yno wrote: 87 Points
black pepper still dominates this nose, has some blackberry also. mouth with more black pepper, blackberry, full bodied with a nice feel. touch of etoh on the finish.
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3/19/2009 - ClassicWater wrote: 93 Points
Quick impression: Great CA syrah. Big blueberry amd blackberry flavor gives way to a delicious savory, peppery, ground whole spice quality. But it bounces all over your tongue all the while. Concentrated and deep yet complex and layered. Terrific. 93+ pts.
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3/15/2009 - *Vine* wrote:
Popped and poured, fragrant bouquet upon pulling the cork (noticeable even with a cold). Dark, impenetrable hue. Prominent aromas of blackberry liqueur, fresh raspberries, a hint of anise, ground pepper and other spices. Medium-plus to full bodied. On the palate, this wine presents itself as a modern interpretation of a Northern Rhone from a ripe year, with tiers of black fruits complimented by ground spices, subtle herbs, and just a touch of melted chocolate and black licorice. Wonderful purity of blackberry fruit. Plus finish, with fine-grained tannins.
NR due to the fact I'm still getting over a cold...but if I were to assign a score it would lie somewhere in the 91-93 point range - a serious improvement since last tasted about 12 months ago.
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2/8/2009 - henrychinaski wrote: 93 Points
Smoky nose. Deep dark black fruit.Juicy and concentrated. Tasted at al all Rhone tasting and it was clearly the biggest and most concentrated wine despite only having 14% alcohol. I think a few years will really help this wine.
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2/7/2009 - pkbackman wrote: 90 Points
Outstanding wine. Dark fruit with a ton of Syrah spiciness. Nose was explosively fruity. A little hot to start, but it settled down. Would recommend decanting for an hour or 2.
Long flavorful finish.
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1/10/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 92 Points
Saturday night Football and Wine (Chicago IL, Phillip's apt): nose: very quixotic nose that is rooted in both california fruit and old world style at the same time. Very well balanced with a smokey backdrop providing tones of rich red cherries, black cherries, tones of black pepper and some chalk tones behind it. This was drawing me in as I smelled it and was a very enjoyable nose as it was intriguing to smell the two styles working well together
taste: Well balanced with medium body and nice medium tannins. Rich on the palate without being overwhelming that gives off tones of smoke, black pepper, red and black cherries, with some bits of black licorice
overall: This is ready to drink right now, but can also age. So much for what was supposed to be a bad syrah vintage in california. This is a very intriguing syrah that works very well for both the new world and old world camp. Very well balanced with great texture and length on the palate and a good medium black cherry finish
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1/10/2009 - cobbpa wrote: 92 Points
FootballPizzaCheeseWINE (Lincoln Park, Chicago): 4 hours in the decanter before tasting over the following hour or so. Ripe dark fruits on the nose, some smoke, pepper, a few spices, and slate. Serious nose. Taste brings big dark fruit, pepper, light spice rack hints and follows through with an impactful finish of very rich blue fruit, nice spice components, big tannins with acid to match and overall great balance. Pure fruit through & through, impressive balance, and great depth from a powerful wine.
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12/16/2008 - Chasse wrote: 89 Points
I like this. Pepper, ripe fruit and dusty tannin. Sort of mushroomy nose. It's big but chalky and savory enough that it's not cloying. I'd guess this would be better in a year or two, but not 5+ yrs.
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12/13/2008 - Paul Lin wrote: 90 Points
Shane Finley Comes to the OC (Casa Murray - San Juan Capistrano, CA): Rich and savory, boasting notes of of blackberries, black plums, coconut, dark chocolate, mixed peppercorns, and black olives. Racy acidity and a grippy finish. Drinking well now, but could certainly use some some more time in the cellar. 90-91 points.
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12/13/2008 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Shane Finley Visits The OC (The Murray's): Blue fruit, closed and still a bit tight. Rich and chalky in tannin so needs time. Was not able to retaste after an overnight settling so we'll have to wish this farewell, as this was my last bottle.
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10/26/2008 - goofy Yno wrote: 87 Points
ah,how do I say it, oh yeah-- PEPPER!!!! that is almost all I get, black pepper. a little raspberry , earth and saw dust on the nose, but all Black pepper in the mouth, some spice, some red fruits. i get BP on the attack, BP migrated toward the back in the middle, but on the finish it is front and center. not a bad wine IF YOU LIKE PEPPER!
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7/25/2008 - Coupe 60 wrote:
Popped a bottle last night, and let sit in glass for 45 minutes....then drank over next hour. This wine still needs much more time to settle down a bit. Has some big potential, as I got the Italian meats, that people were mentioning along with a concentrated layer of dark fruit mixed with some black pepper or other spice...I kept waiting for the concentrated fruit to open up and add a layer of depth - but it never really happened. Got a little bit of heat as well, and a finish that could have been a bit longer....I have another bottle that I will not touch for a couple of years...If this settles down a bit it could be great .Right now it is merely good IMHO...
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7/1/2008 - N2Vin wrote: 91 Points
Again, this wine from Valenti ranch is a dead ringer for an MP No 9 Shiraz. This thing is over the top with blasts of sweet white pepper, smoked deli meats, spice rack, blackberry and sweet black cherry. This thing will almost make you sneeze!. What a treat for a California syrah. It is in your face, no doubt, but it is concentrated and so full of ripe and tantelizing flavors you've got to go back to the glass long before it even finishes.
A fun wine that oozes with unique character.
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4/7/2008 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Tasted again from fresh bottle with Shane. 65% whole cluster and 65% new oak, taken from fruit in the cool north end of the Anderson Valley. With just 3 ozs in the glass, the wine is nearly opaque. Some pepper, hint of game/smoke, pure nose. Dense, bittersweet chocolate tar and creosote.
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3/29/2008 - jflanagan wrote:
Popped and took an initial taste from the bottle. Very dark purple color. Some initial notes of reduction on the nose that blew off quickly. Tastes of meat/game up front with a hint of black pepper. Dark fruit hiding in the back. Decanted for 4 hrs and consumed over 3 hrs. Dark fruit becomes more prominent with a nice mix of meat/game. Pepper was a bit overwhelming for my tastes. There appeared to be a lingering taste of band-aid (brett?) in the background that I noticed, but it was slight. Good structure with medium levels of acidity and supple tannins.
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3/29/2008 - dky wrote: 92 Points
Opened this bottle a couple of nights ago and all I can say is..WOW. Obviously this wine is extremely young. Decanted for about 3 hours and drank over about 2 hours. Very dark color, nearly black. Great nose of dark fruits, pepper and a floral component that was really nice. Really complex with the dark fruits, pepper/spice, meat/blood and tar. Firm tannins, no noticeable sweetness or jaminess that gets tiring with a lot of other syrah or shiraz . Just amazing. After nearly 5 hours of being open this wine was just beginning to show its stuff. Hard to throw a score on it at this point but I would easily say 91-92 now with certain improvement with a couple of years in bottle.
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3/7/2008 - N2Vin wrote: 90 Points
Wow, This is so Barossa/McLaren Vale in style with huge black and white pepper dominating the palate. A black, sweet, unctous, wine with a nose that isn't forthcoming until several hours of air. There is the spicey, smokey, oaky, black fruit nose followed by the explosive palate of tree pepper, spiced Italian meats, smooth toasted oak and black cherry although not really a fruit bomb. The backend is lite though and while this may get better in the bottle (it is an '06), I'm not sure this has the balance and backbone to age well. I will add that this is a very distinctive wine and unlike any other California syrah I have had to date.
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2/9/2008 - Winetex wrote:
Tasted at the 2nd Annual Freeman Caves Dinner for VinoCellar.com - (Sonoma area, California). Very dark purple in color, almost black. Very prominent black pepper aromas and flavors and not much else. The texture was slightly syrupy. It seemed to be missing fruit but had very prevalent oak on the finish. NR because I’m not sure when this was bottled. Rating would be about 84 points.
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