interesting blend of grenache blanc, ugni blanc and bourbolenc. i got a lot of seashells on the nose. bright with medium+ acid. lemon zest, green apples and some pear on the palate. good wine, not great. but a nice start to the evening.

almost pitch colored. initially the nose was really tight, but i could tell there was some serious aromas just waiting to explode. after a while it got nice and dark on the nose, some smoke as well. this is a massive wine, but the structure and mouthfeel are wonderful. tannic as hell, the blackberry, toast, cocoa and almost tar-like flavors coat your palate. finish is impressive. if this goes the way i think it will, i could see scoring this higher in a few years.

dark purple colored and viscous in the glass. this was full, jammy and a bit sweet, with flavors of vanilla, toast and jam. i like the mouthfeel, but the tannins have softened. if it had a bit more structure to match up to the alcohol and fruit, i'd like this more. but for this kind of style, it's a good bottle. half cab and half syrah.

this wine caught me off-guard. it is very impressive, even more so considering it cost $15. could be one of the best qprs i've had all year. the nose explodes with raisenets. seriously. dead-on raisinets, dark, raisin fruit with rich chocolate. on the palate, this has tons of fruit, dark blueberries, chocolate, jam, backed up with solid tannic structure. what did it for me is the mouthfeel and the balance, as this has good acidity to keep it from feeling thick and flabby. very nice finish. really good stuff. i never would've guessed this as a portuguese table wine. maybe a nice cali syrah.

this is a young wine that would be better in three to five years. dark purple color. the nose opened up with time to show blueberries, earth and nice kick of pepper. on the palate, nice blackberry fruit with some meaty bloody notes, which added complexity. oak is well-integrated. very nice wine.

this bottle was even better than the last. decanted for several hours. everyone at the tasting agreed that this wine was the full package. dark and inky. the nose is full of currants and plums and smoke. there's this hint of, i want to say incense. very intoxicating nose. the palate is full. intense structure. the fruit and tannins coat your palate, but it's not offensive or overdone. even the smallest sip of this wine fills your palate with fruit, earth, toast and a velvety finish. i really want to have this with a high quality piece of marbled, grilled steak, but on it's own it's just so damn good. even though i'm raving about this wine, it would be better in a few years. it's still got more it's waiting to show you.

tasted this after it was opened over night with about the bottle half full. and, yes, it was half full, not half empty, because this wine always pulls at that hedonistic side of me. i can't help it. it's just damned yummy. i do have to say that tasting this right after the 06 anwilka, this seemed to be lacking a bit in strucutre. but with time, this just massaged the palate with gobs of fruit. this needs air or a few years. i know i said before that it was good to drink now, and it is, but this is definitely improving and will continue to do so.

tasted after being opened for a full 24 hours. didn't taste it upon opening, so maybe i'm being a little bit unfair in rating it. oh well. i calls em as i sees em. i really wanted to love this wine, because when tooch opens a bottle like this, i'm hoping it's gonna rock. but this was disappointing. nose had some sour cherries and some pepper on it. the palate was medium, kind of lacking in mouthfeel and structure. sour cherries with some smokiness, which i liked. but the finish drops off. tasted blind, i would've guessed this as an over-the-hill gigondas or crozes or something. has a bit of that old work earthiness, but just not enough umph.

what a find. what a gem. what a deal this bottle is. its wines like this that remind me why i love the southern rhone. you can get some amazing wines for good prices, especially in the 2007 vintage. dark purple with blueberries, chocolate and some wild game on the nose. full and creamy on the palate with sour cherries, plums, toast and anise. long finish. very nice wine that left my palate quite happy.

wine of the night. and there were some good wines! opened chilled and we let it warm up a bit. the first glass was full of crystals. the color on this wine is eyepopping. it's neon yellow. not golden like a sauternes, like serious neon lights. the nose is explosive. it full of clover, honey, dried pineapple, dried pears, mango slices. wow. i smelled this wine for like five minutes before even taking a sip. delicious on the palate. just unctuous. it's not a full-on palate assault, it's more like a long, streak of deliciousness. the flavors are so complex and extensive, i won't even list them here. actually, i'll try: honey, honey, honey, chammomile tea with honey, pineapple, but there's this terrific underlying minerality that is intense. the finish is ridiculously long. a wonderful example of why i love the hell out of chenin blanc.tooch will tell ya, i was ranting about this wine like a homeless man ranting about government conspiracies