12/29/2015 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

this is a fantastic shiraz. smells like blueberries and blackberries, leather and vanilla. tastes like stewed berries with a metallic tinge. silky mouthfeel that hides the alcohol, resolved tannins and a very long finish. drinking very good right now but doesn't seem anywhere near its downslope.

12/7/2015 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

shared at DM's wedding. nose - blue and black fruit, pepper, sweet smoke. mouth - palate coating intense fruit with a touch of vanilla and mocha, smooth with a really long finish. always a very exciting, crowd pleasing wine.

7/20/2015 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

delicious. dark, dark purple, with no visual signs of age. smells of vanilla and blackberry. smooth mouthfeel and long finish, with lot's of dark fruit, oaky vanilla, some minerality and a touch of sweetness. drink now but no rush.

6/14/2015 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

Really nice wine. Kicked into high gear after being open for 4 hours. Lots of depth and delicious. Nose: slightly smoky, hint of dried venison/game meat, sun dried raspberry, horse barn. Mouth: cherry, raspberry, sweet charcuterie, white pepper.

2/24/2015 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

wonderful wine. smells of potpourri, strawberries, pencil lead and sweet charred wood... tastes of raspberry, violets, rose water, lava rocks. drinking well right, but seems to be at the beginning of it's drinking window.

12/6/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

really nice. heavy on the oak, lot's of vanilla and dessert-y notes. not much fruit. easy to drink and sang with our food, but was slightly outshined by the 2002 jordan cab.

12/6/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

drinking really well right now. still quite tannic, but nice balance or dark fruit, vanilla and graphite. actually outshined in some ways the 2001 robert craig mount veeder that we also drank.

11/6/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

Second try with this wine and a completely different experience. I think our first bottle may have been slightly off and we made the mistake of not enjoying it with a meal. We drank this bottle with a multi course dinner of pate, beat salad, squab, filet, and chocolate desert. It absolutely sang with every dish. Wow! This is a wine to be appreciated with varied food. Drinking it alone will keep you from teasing out all it has to offer. It was so smooth and perfectly complimentary to all the flavors of our meal - sweet, savory, bitter, salty, smoky, etc. This wine is smooth and balanced with amazing aromas of black and red fruits. It has a slight aroma a sweet smoked meat, and christmas spices. It has a lot of minerality on the palatte and some spicy notes but it mostly tastes of stewed or roasted fruits.

11/6/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

drinking great right now

5/2/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

very young. overwhelming floral and spice nose and palate. some fruit on the nose, but not much in the mouth. this is too young to drink, too tannic and too closed down. try again in ten years.

11/3/2014 - rrmcnees wrote:

corked. returned to binnys for a store credit.

11/3/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

strawberry and raspberry fruit on the nose. earth and smoke in the mouth, with quite a bit of acid and mouth drying tannins. quite enjoyable, went fantastic with bbq ribs, but still quite tannic and a little sharp... i imagine this will settle down and smooth out with some more age. i'll wait another five to drink another.

5/31/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

not what i was expecting given the monster scores this has received. this wine was on the sweeter side with a lot of fruit and dessert notes, and a lot of minerality. Overall, it seemed a little bit out of balance and came off a little bitter on the palate. after the 100 year old vine 2008 tanunda we had last week, this was a bit underwhelming. May have been a slightly off bottle. I'll try another this summer. If it's consistent, I'm not sure this is going to get better and we'll drink the rest in the near term.

4/15/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

decent nose of raspberry and cherry and cut grass or flowers. mouth was pretty flat, fruit on the front of the palette and tight tannins but not much else going on. it gained a little complexity of flavor with a couple hours of air, but still not very deep or interesting. this might improve a bit with some age or a long decant... there are some other timid flavors hiding in there.

4/7/2014 - rrmcnees wrote:

I really like these smoky, earthy wines from Stellenbosch and Paarll. Such great values! Nose of beautiful dark fruit, burnt leaves, roasted vanilla and crushed rocks. Tastes burnt wood, tobacco smoke and cassis. Amazing QPR.

11/28/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

wow. one of the most fragrant wines i've ever had... you could smell this from across the room. wonderful tart dark berries and deep, ripe raspberry. toasty vanilla, sweet charred oak and fennel. big and powerful now and extremely enjoyable.

2/12/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

very full and a mouth-filling. tons of concentrated red fruit. also had a nice smokey flavor to it, and some thyme and rosemary and green pepper.

2/9/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

still plenty of life in this bottle, but the magnum might have been showing younger. opened bottle for 2 hours and decanted for two hours in a riedel magnum decanter. incredible nose of baked fruit, vanilla and sweet tobacco. while pouring into the decanter the aroma filled the room. mouth of stewed red fruit and lightly charred orchard wood. nice mouthfeel, light and supple tannins and medium acidity, but a little hot on the finish. really tasty wine, and nicely balanced except for the bit of heat... in a very good spot right now. went really nicely with beat, arugula and goat cheese salad with garlic balsamic vinaigrette, but overpowered filet of beef.

1/31/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

similar notes as before. wonderful bottle for the price.

2/3/2014 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

popped and tried a glass right away - wow. however, it got better and better over the next several hours. incredible wine. huge mix of blue and black fruit, spice and vanilla. mildly sharp tannins and fully coating mouthfeel. tannins will likely soften with some bottle age and this wine will be even more enjoyable. same tasting notes with second bottle, but decanted for 2 hours and funneled back into bottle and it was banging upon the first pour after the decant.

12/27/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

nice wine. floral on the palette with dried rose and lilac, cherry fruit and graphite. quite tannic at this stage and a little bit unbalanced. wait until 2016-2020 to try this again.

12/24/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

strange wine. overpowering new rubber aroma and flavor.

12/24/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

very tannic and closed at this stage, even with a lot of air. tough to score at this point, there's a lot going on, but its hard to pick out behind the allt he oak flavor and wood tannin.

12/24/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

great qpr. really enjoyed this interesting wine. lots of layers of flavor for a sub $20 bottle.

12/24/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

nice wine, very crisp with green apple and tropical fruits and zesty acidity.

12/24/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

could use 5-10 years in the cellar. opens up with several hours of air, but still very tight knit at this age. wonderful wine with great mix of dark fruit, oak, spice and cocoa.

12/24/2013 - rrmcnees Does not like this wine:

all fruit and sweet, not much else going on, lacks balance.

12/24/2013 - rrmcnees Does not like this wine:

Wow, not my style. Too fruit forward and sweet, with some gamey undertones.

12/24/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

this is a huge wine. amazing qpr at $23.

12/14/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

tasted at binny's lincoln park, chicago. really nice wine. very powerful nose of black fruit, black pepper, bay leaf, and sweet smoke. mouth of cherry and cigar box with nice smooth tannins. a powerhouse wine with finesse.

11/17/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

dark inky color. nose of cherry, oak and vanilla. medium bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. very elegant wine... bordeaux-ish.

11/16/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

drinking great right now, but it's plateaued and headed for the downslope. drink up.

11/16/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

great qpr at our local discount store. love this wine. very earthy and almost smokey. Also has some great dark fruit, mostly plum. The nose is all earth and leather and smoke, but the mouth has more going on - definitely earthy, but you get more of the fruit.

11/16/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

popped and let breathe for an hour before heading to byob italian. very nice wine. nose of cherry and cigar. good mouthfeel, and lot's going on - dark fruit, floral notes, a little cedar... already drinking well.

11/16/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

incredible wine. drinking wonderfully already with lots of air. very fruit forward, rich and full. looking forward to popping another in 5 years, then 10 years.

11/16/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

massive wine. stewed dark fruits. lots of earthy undertones.

10/29/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

i love this wine. it has some bite that grabs the back of your palate and throat, which i like, but could be off-putting to some. it has a bricking color to it, which is deceiving. it has a lot going on... tart fruit, charcoal, smoke and vanilla. excellent qpr... one of the most interesting wines i've found at the sub $15 point.

10/29/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

great qpr. complex and pleasant. takes a while to open up, best after a couple hours of air. graphite, plum, oaky vanilla, burnt wood. solid wine for the price.

10/21/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

very dark color, not visually showing any age. nose of dark fruit and some floral notes. good mouthfeel, still quite tannic. fruit on the front of the palate and little flat on the finish.

10/16/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

past it's prime... must be the off vintage. drink up.

ate with charcoal grilled lamb leg steaks marinated in balsamic, evoo and fresh herbs with cauliflower mash and asparagus flatbread. the food overpowered the wine... no guts left.

nose... pretty muted... oak and vanilla.

mouth... very little fruit, acid or tannin left. actually quite sweet. all oak, vanilla and some caramel. probably would have been banging with some dark chocolate.

6/8/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

interesting wine. crowd pleaser. lot's of dessert tones on the nose and in the mouth. i suspect this would go great with chocolate and dark fruit, or some sweet bbq.

6/8/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

good QPR for a SE. missing some of the earthy flavors that make a great SE, but it has plenty of dark fruit.

6/8/2013 - rrmcnees Does not like this wine:

overly dry. flat, without much character.

5/10/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

wow, drinking nicely already. tasted at the grand tour chicago. it lacked the elegance of some of the pauillacs, lynch bages and pontet-canet, but i preferred the more fruit forward style. i'm excited to open a bottle earlier than i had planned. i'll probably pop one in 2015.

5/10/2013 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

what a bargain. very interesting wine.
--color - showed some moderate bricking, light in color. strange and misleading.
--nose - earthy and kinda musty, with smoke and leather.
--mouth - smoky, with tar and leather, and red fruit. tastes somewhat like a left bank bordeaux with some age.

5/4/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

Huge wine. Nose: cherry, eucalyptus, cedar, tar. Mouth: layers of dark fruit, herbs and baking spices, oak and earth. Delicious now.

4/28/2013 - rrmcnees wrote:

Leather, dried flowers and sour cherries. Didn't open up much until an hour of decant.

3/7/2012 - rrmcnees Likes this wine:

Powerful, fruit-filled. Lot's of sweet blackberry and currant, with a hint of chocolate. Great value at $12.