9/12/2021 - winesteward Likes this wine:

Takes a while to open up. Needs about 1.5 hours. Quite attractive nose. At first, mostly oriental spice - cumin etc. Gives way later on to tobacco and violets. Tannins are still pretty strong. Strawberry and raspberry. Meaty, a bit woody, and very dry. Good length. Worked pretty well with a bacon, sausage, and salami pizza. Best to leave alone for a couple of years to tame the tannins.

5/30/2021 - wormfarmer wrote:

Had a bottle of this two years back and enjoyed, even if I didn't find it particularly remarkable. This one was off in a way that wasn't quite premox, but was sufficiently unfun that it went straight into the sink.

8/11/2021 - Cal Bear Likes this wine:

Wow. Good stuff. Piles of open, big and balanced red fruit up front that lasts with linearity through the very long finish. Just works, and works well, whether alone (very nice) or with food (we happened to have had duck breast sautéed with cheeries). Lush, full, bright and balanced.

The nose is surprisingly restrained, given the wallop of the fruit forward flavors. There are nuanced flavors going on here, and they resolve nicely into a pleasant and balanced profile. My only lament is a lack of evolution. What starts out lush and anchored and deliciously fruity, ends exactly the same way on the elegant finish. I would ideally have liked more complexity and more change from initial sip to mid-palette and finish. Probably not a lot of upside to ageing. But otherwise no complaints.