Showed substantial bricking in the glass, with substantial sediment evident as well, clinging to the bottle. Should have decanted or let sit upright longer than I did. Cork cracked upon attempted opening via corkscrew.
I likely would not have called this WA Merlot (or even Merlot) had I tasted it blind... which might have been a good thing. Good level of acidity for pairing with food, well-balanced and thankfully not swaddled in sweet oak. Speculating, but this might have been better in the last year or two, so I'd say drink it if you've got it. Just a little less interesting than I'd hoped for. 89-90pts
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Inky dark ruby, strong nose of cedar. Dry with bold acid and flinty petrol, bold chewy fruit, blackberries, loganberries. A bold wine with balanced acid, fruit and tannins. A phosphorous note. Let's see how this develops over the next several days, very promising. Not for the timid! A merlot I can sink my teeth into. Oh Boy, another night and just getting better. To think I was being disappointed with WA Merlot. This is super, bright sweet & sour cherries, lively tannins. I think we have another point in here with some more time. Not bad for under 40 bucks. Gone and got that point with cheese and crackers.
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Popped and poured. Was very nervous when I first poured this wine as there was a distinct orange/brown coloring. Wondering if it was the lighting in the room, since when I brought it into the dining room it was much more saturated with a deep purple. The first sip was all aggressive tannin little else. However, the next two glasses just sang. Aromas of caramel, melted black licorice and blackberries on the nose. The flavors matched the aroma profile almost to a T. By the third glass there were more cooked plum flavors on the palate. As always, the mouth feel on Rob's wines are sublime. Would purchase again.
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Steaks and wines at Dan's house (Bellevue, Washington): Tasted single blind. Strong berry character. Blackberry, boysenberry, green herbs, acetone, caramel, and aged oak nuances on the nose. Cassis, blackberry, caramel, herbs, and chocolate on the palate. Still hard to believe this is so low in alcohol, given how big this wine is. The berry and acetone character made it easy to identify. Probably needed to be decanted a lot longer, as it was much better the next day. Seemed a lot more mature than the previous bottle. Wasn't much of a favorite with the group.
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Friends brought this over for a grilled steak dinner on 4/29/12 (after the Delille Spring Barrel tasting). It had a soft, mild bouquet of plum, black currant, cocoa, burnt toast, licorice and spice aromas. The palate had good acid and moderate tannins with flavors that followed the nose. It was much better than the bottle we had six months ago. 90+
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Needs decanting time...more than two hours which is what we gave it and it opened more in the course of consuming the bottle - I'd easily give it four to six hours. Ripe bing cherries on the nose and in the first taste. Opened to ripe plums, blueberries and chocolate. Very nice!
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wow, what a full bodied wine. Opened and decanted nearly two hours. Not super dark, but a great nose, full mouth. Well integrated at this time and feel it'll go another 3-5 years. Glad I have another!
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Even though I had decanted for 3 hours before rebottling, this wine was still loaded with big tannins! Not your typical mild, smooth Merlot. This wine is big and bold, in your face! That being said, I really liked it. I liked the flavor so much, that I wanted to conquer this beast. After a couple of glasses and a little more time, it laid down in submission and became a very good friend. Would like some more bottles in order to see how this evolves over the next 5-10 years.
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Yowza, you have to be in the right mood for this wine. I was. Cassis, blueberry, herbs, butterscotch, strawberry, milk chocolate, smoke, a little acetone, and a faint amount of cedar on the nose. Blueberry, blackberry, chocolate, caramel, and spice on the palate. Good acidity. Very tannic and fairly rough, but at the same time kind of supple and pretty. Big and viscous and yet under 14% abv. There seems to be a period about an hour after pop-and-pour where this wine is really lovely. Before that, it's rough and the acetone smell is bothersome, after that, the green elements come out. Yeah, acetone would be considered a flaw...but 91 points during that magic period.
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Critic's Comparison: This had a pleasant, but reserved bouquet of plum, blueberry, chocolate, burnt toast, black cherry and spice. The palate was tannic, astringent and powerful with flavors of plum, blueberry, black cherry, chocolate, burnt toast and spice. The group’s average score was 88.2 points.
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Couldn't take detailed notes, but this got better after two hours in the decanter. Big chocolate with cherry and spice. Still quite tannic with nice acidity. Will go a while from here - delicious.
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Holy tannins, Batman – this thing is HUGE! And a verified tooth stripper. Very, very young. Felt to me like it will become smooth over time (5 – 10 years?) and/or a lot of decanting, but it was very angry at us for having woken it from its youthful slumber. That said, everything’s there – the body, the weight, the suppler dark fruit, leather and smoke notes – and this is a very nice Merlot. It’s not as supple and elegant as say a Blackbird or even a Pedestal, but give it some time and this wine will be fantastic.
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3/31/2017 - SeaWine wrote: 90 Points
Showed substantial bricking in the glass, with substantial sediment evident as well, clinging to the bottle. Should have decanted or let sit upright longer than I did. Cork cracked upon attempted opening via corkscrew.
I likely would not have called this WA Merlot (or even Merlot) had I tasted it blind... which might have been a good thing. Good level of acidity for pairing with food, well-balanced and thankfully not swaddled in sweet oak. Speculating, but this might have been better in the last year or two, so I'd say drink it if you've got it. Just a little less interesting than I'd hoped for. 89-90pts
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4/19/2014 - dsgris Likes this wine: 93 Points
Inky dark ruby, strong nose of cedar. Dry with bold acid and flinty petrol, bold chewy fruit, blackberries, loganberries. A bold wine with balanced acid, fruit and tannins. A phosphorous note. Let's see how this develops over the next several days, very promising. Not for the timid! A merlot I can sink my teeth into. Oh Boy, another night and just getting better. To think I was being disappointed with WA Merlot. This is super, bright sweet & sour cherries, lively tannins. I think we have another point in here with some more time. Not bad for under 40 bucks. Gone and got that point with cheese and crackers.
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1/7/2014 - MagnumGourmet Likes this wine:
Popped and poured. Was very nervous when I first poured this wine as there was a distinct orange/brown coloring. Wondering if it was the lighting in the room, since when I brought it into the dining room it was much more saturated with a deep purple. The first sip was all aggressive tannin little else. However, the next two glasses just sang. Aromas of caramel, melted black licorice and blackberries on the nose. The flavors matched the aroma profile almost to a T. By the third glass there were more cooked plum flavors on the palate. As always, the mouth feel on Rob's wines are sublime. Would purchase again.
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10/8/2012 - beezer6 wrote: 93 Points
Wines of Luxury at Chicago Cut (Chicago Cut): Big savory rich wine. Great blue fruit.
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6/18/2012 - rmh66 wrote: 90 Points
Steaks and wines at Dan's house (Bellevue, Washington): Tasted single blind. Strong berry character. Blackberry, boysenberry, green herbs, acetone, caramel, and aged oak nuances on the nose. Cassis, blackberry, caramel, herbs, and chocolate on the palate. Still hard to believe this is so low in alcohol, given how big this wine is. The berry and acetone character made it easy to identify. Probably needed to be decanted a lot longer, as it was much better the next day. Seemed a lot more mature than the previous bottle. Wasn't much of a favorite with the group.
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4/29/2012 - garambler wrote: 90 Points
Friends brought this over for a grilled steak dinner on 4/29/12 (after the Delille Spring Barrel tasting). It had a soft, mild bouquet of plum, black currant, cocoa, burnt toast, licorice and spice aromas. The palate had good acid and moderate tannins with flavors that followed the nose. It was much better than the bottle we had six months ago. 90+
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4/22/2012 - wineboat wrote: 91 Points
Needs decanting time...more than two hours which is what we gave it and it opened more in the course of consuming the bottle - I'd easily give it four to six hours. Ripe bing cherries on the nose and in the first taste. Opened to ripe plums, blueberries and chocolate. Very nice!
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3/30/2012 - W2WineGuy Likes this wine: 91 Points
wow, what a full bodied wine. Opened and decanted nearly two hours. Not super dark, but a great nose, full mouth. Well integrated at this time and feel it'll go another 3-5 years. Glad I have another!
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1/9/2012 - hende14 wrote: 91 Points
Even though I had decanted for 3 hours before rebottling, this wine was still loaded with big tannins! Not your typical mild, smooth Merlot. This wine is big and bold, in your face! That being said, I really liked it. I liked the flavor so much, that I wanted to conquer this beast. After a couple of glasses and a little more time, it laid down in submission and became a very good friend. Would like some more bottles in order to see how this evolves over the next 5-10 years.
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1/4/2012 - rmh66 wrote: 91 Points
Yowza, you have to be in the right mood for this wine. I was. Cassis, blueberry, herbs, butterscotch, strawberry, milk chocolate, smoke, a little acetone, and a faint amount of cedar on the nose. Blueberry, blackberry, chocolate, caramel, and spice on the palate. Good acidity. Very tannic and fairly rough, but at the same time kind of supple and pretty. Big and viscous and yet under 14% abv. There seems to be a period about an hour after pop-and-pour where this wine is really lovely. Before that, it's rough and the acetone smell is bothersome, after that, the green elements come out. Yeah, acetone would be considered a flaw...but 91 points during that magic period.
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10/8/2011 - garambler wrote: 89 Points
Critic's Comparison: This had a pleasant, but reserved bouquet of plum, blueberry, chocolate, burnt toast, black cherry and spice. The palate was tannic, astringent and powerful with flavors of plum, blueberry, black cherry, chocolate, burnt toast and spice. The group’s average score was 88.2 points.
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9/26/2011 - absolutvodka wrote: 91 Points
Big Tannins. Love it.
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8/31/2011 - cbkamp Likes this wine: 92 Points
Couldn't take detailed notes, but this got better after two hours in the decanter. Big chocolate with cherry and spice. Still quite tannic with nice acidity. Will go a while from here - delicious.
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2/26/2011 - Dunkles wrote: 91 Points
Big bold merlot. Tasty!
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11/5/2010 - rjhilgers@gmail.com Likes this wine: 91 Points
Holy tannins, Batman – this thing is HUGE! And a verified tooth stripper. Very, very young. Felt to me like it will become smooth over time (5 – 10 years?) and/or a lot of decanting, but it was very angry at us for having woken it from its youthful slumber. That said, everything’s there – the body, the weight, the suppler dark fruit, leather and smoke notes – and this is a very nice Merlot. It’s not as supple and elegant as say a Blackbird or even a Pedestal, but give it some time and this wine will be fantastic.
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