1/30/2007 - LMA wrote:

Opened at the end of the night at a recent offline. It needed to find a place for the night so, what the hell, I was feeling good, I took it back to my place. It didn't disappoint even on the second night (which is what all the notes are based on). Deep, deep, deep dark purple; velvet-like and glass staining. Screw teeth-coating, this thing is soul-coating; not a light wine by any means. Hell, I don't think light could get through this. Taking in a big breath brings aromas of plum, blackberry, blueberry syrup and white pepper. With more time I got some oak and definite coffee in there. At 15.1% it was showing a bit hot on the nose., but this is still quite (too) young. On the palate was some big, bracing, mouth-puckering tannins. Yet, there was quite a bit of fruit interlaced. Hints of plums and blackberries; dark/black fruits. Dark chocolate, pepper and even wet stones came through. Really long finish. Mid-palate, not so much; seemed to be overwhelmed at this point. This is, of course, still a baby; but what a fun baby! I can't wait to get my hands on some more and see how it ages. Unless you get a few, I wouldn't touch for a while. Great job Thomas!

1/16/2007 - LMA wrote:

Popped and poured and tasted without food. Clean, light and pale yellow color. Nose was crisp and clean with hints of peaches and honey and a touch of lemon. It doesn't quite jump out of the glass but sits there waiting there for you. The empty glass gives off oak aromas. The palate comes across quite heavier than the nose. Oily and honeyed with a touch of minerality and wet stone. Nice level of acidity on the finish. All in all quite nice actually. Think I'll have to pick up more. 89-90.

1/11/2007 - LMA wrote:

Definitely starting to go downhill. Color was nice... Deep, golden straw. Not much left on the nose, barely a hint of what I am sure was there at an earlier date. And also not much on the palate.

11/10/2006 - LMA wrote:

My experience was very similar to the first note. Though, I'm not going to say it was all that pleasureable. Definitely cloudy, light cherry red, and throwing quite a bit of sediment. Nose was essentially all alcohol, if there was any fruit you had to cut through the alcohol curtain. On the palate, it was tart and hot with slight hints of cranberry. Not very syrah like in any regard. Inside, I'm sobbing.

10/6/2006 - LMA wrote:

Wow! First and foremost... wow! I could not believe this was twenty years old (my buddy who tasted this blind guessed Bordeaux, but thought it was from 2000 or 2001). This was so fresh and alive. The color was so vibrant and deep; a dark shade of ruby. Absolutely no hint of bricking or rust. The nose was jumping out of the decanter (I let this breathe for 1.5hr) with cedar, cigar, wet earth and dried flowers being the most prominent. The palate brought a fair amount of tannins, tobacco, a touch of blueberry and a slight sense of oak and wet wood in general. Overall, this such a nice wine and I have to believe that it has at least another 5-7 years in it; if not 10.

8/8/2006 - LMA wrote:

Quite nice. Well integrated tannins and subdued cherry mouth. Wish I had more.

8/25/2006 - LMA wrote:

Man, this was tight, big, tannic, all that to say the least. Popped and poured from the bottle into regular cab glasses by a friend prob a half hour before I arrived. I could barely take it for nearly an hour after that; insanely tight. I berated my buddy for not decating. Did an interesting test: poured the wine from the cabernet glass into a vinum extreme pinot glass and after half an hour, it really started to sing. We compared the nose on the pinot glass to the cab glass and it was night and day! The extra room helped open it up unbelievably. So, if you're going to have this monster any time soon, give it at least 2+ hours in a decanter. This will last for quite some time.

8/3/2006 - LMA wrote:

Had this the other night. Did not take formal notes; from memory. Nose was still quite fresh. Color was definitely on the lighter side. Was drinking quite well. For a Laurent was surprised at how light the oak was; well integrated. I'm not sure how much longer this has, but I would say it still has a bit of life in it.