Pop and pour with dinner; center cut pork chop with smoky paprika and chipotle rub. Plush and pleasant mouthfeel with juicy burst of acid and dark cherry, and pomegranate flavors. Medium body but juicy. Nice upfront fruit on the tongue, lightly sweet. Finish isn't bad. There's a little heat and pleasant tartness. Drink now, but will likely improve with one more year in the bottle. Great food wine! 90/100
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Had this wine before dinner. Pop and pour. Swirling, swirling, swirling. Very tight as expected from such a baby with a massive tannic grip. Nose of pencil lead, light cedar, oak, barnyard funk, and earth. The first taste is rich, and acidic on the tongue. Nice immediate burst of cherry and pomegranate with excellent tannin structure. The wine quickly retreats after about 15 minutes and suddenly it feels like I'm licking the inside of an oak barrel--the flavors are thin, watery, cherry and cedar. 2nd night I have 3/4 bottle left...wine seems balanced, more viscous, with classic cedar, lead pencil, and bing cherry flavors. 3rd night, 1/4 bottle left...wine has released most of its grip and is playing nice on the tongue! Still a very dry wine, but the tannins mellowed a bit, and the nose and flavors seemed much much more in harmony. No doubt this infant will age nicely. 89/100
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Had this with dinner last night. First time with this monster, but a long lover of good shiraz. Decanted for 1 hour. The color is blackish purple with a deep garnet rim. The smells were classic jammy Aussie shiraz; deep, rich, sweet, ripened black fruit, with a coconutty, candied vapor. So far so good, right? Took one sip off the bat to wet my palate, and I was immediately concerned. This wine is deeply syrupy--my first thought was cough syrup--and too sweet. I wasn't expecting a late harvest desert wine, but that's what I got. The mouthfeel is pure glycerine like a Sauternes. The flavors of toasted coconut, blackberry cobbler, melted vanilla ice cream, and candied black cherries burst on my tongue--it was very cloying. There is a nice acid and peppery component on the back of the tongue that was pleasant, but the finish makes you want to guzzle a giant bottled water. Overall, the nose was killer, but the taste left me thinking of flat cola syrup. This wine is over the top sweet, flat, and without a great tannic background that I could detect. If you want some refinement, grab a Grange. And this may sound like sacrilege, but the 2001 Elderton Shiraz (not the Command mind you) was a better wine at its peak than the Run Rig. I'm starting to think that "hedonistic" is just another wine word for syrupy, sloppy, unrefined mess. For the money, just skip this. It tastes better on paper! 90/100
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2010 Buehler Vineyards Zinfandel
11/14/2011 - Evilchicken wrote: 90 Points
Pop and pour with dinner; center cut pork chop with smoky paprika and chipotle rub. Plush and pleasant mouthfeel with juicy burst of acid and dark cherry, and pomegranate flavors. Medium body but juicy. Nice upfront fruit on the tongue, lightly sweet. Finish isn't bad. There's a little heat and pleasant tartness. Drink now, but will likely improve with one more year in the bottle. Great food wine! 90/100
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2008 Château Lynch-Bages
11/14/2011 - Evilchicken wrote: 89 Points
Had this wine before dinner. Pop and pour. Swirling, swirling, swirling. Very tight as expected from such a baby with a massive tannic grip. Nose of pencil lead, light cedar, oak, barnyard funk, and earth. The first taste is rich, and acidic on the tongue. Nice immediate burst of cherry and pomegranate with excellent tannin structure. The wine quickly retreats after about 15 minutes and suddenly it feels like I'm licking the inside of an oak barrel--the flavors are thin, watery, cherry and cedar. 2nd night I have 3/4 bottle left...wine seems balanced, more viscous, with classic cedar, lead pencil, and bing cherry flavors. 3rd night, 1/4 bottle left...wine has released most of its grip and is playing nice on the tongue! Still a very dry wine, but the tannins mellowed a bit, and the nose and flavors seemed much much more in harmony. No doubt this infant will age nicely. 89/100
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2005 Torbreck RunRig
11/14/2011 - Evilchicken wrote: 90 Points
Had this with dinner last night. First time with this monster, but a long lover of good shiraz. Decanted for 1 hour. The color is blackish purple with a deep garnet rim. The smells were classic jammy Aussie shiraz; deep, rich, sweet, ripened black fruit, with a coconutty, candied vapor. So far so good, right? Took one sip off the bat to wet my palate, and I was immediately concerned. This wine is deeply syrupy--my first thought was cough syrup--and too sweet. I wasn't expecting a late harvest desert wine, but that's what I got. The mouthfeel is pure glycerine like a Sauternes. The flavors of toasted coconut, blackberry cobbler, melted vanilla ice cream, and candied black cherries burst on my tongue--it was very cloying. There is a nice acid and peppery component on the back of the tongue that was pleasant, but the finish makes you want to guzzle a giant bottled water. Overall, the nose was killer, but the taste left me thinking of flat cola syrup. This wine is over the top sweet, flat, and without a great tannic background that I could detect. If you want some refinement, grab a Grange. And this may sound like sacrilege, but the 2001 Elderton Shiraz (not the Command mind you) was a better wine at its peak than the Run Rig. I'm starting to think that "hedonistic" is just another wine word for syrupy, sloppy, unrefined mess. For the money, just skip this. It tastes better on paper! 90/100
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