12/4/2016 - Spook16 wrote:

Opened this today. Is this ever going to be ready? Still very tannic 8 years. tasty but still needs more time apparently.

10/17/2015 - Spook16 wrote:

I know its a highly rated petite syrah, but I'm getting too many tannins after hours of decant. Its fine, but I'm looking for more berry forward on my petite syarh.

6/13/2015 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

Ok, I agree with the previous notes on this wine. Jammy... blah blah blah.

Funny thing is that I let this decant for a couple/few hours tonight and it turned into a meat/beef jerk bomb. Delicious... didn't exactly go with my bbq brisket early on, but since dinner, wow, its a meat bomb. Last one I had near this was the "God only knows" Grenache, from Cayuse

For a wine enthusiast this is very interesting turn of taste.

10/26/2014 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

Ok, this is very very young. Started with 4-5 hour decant, and still way too much oak. After about 12 hours of decant its showing true character. Its very smooth. Will continue on tomorrow. I get the feeling this need to sit a few years before really being consumed.

5/12/2014 - Spook16 wrote:

Took this to a restaurant to drink. Started out well, there was the expected aroma of this Rhone blend. I have had some at the winery, and it is beautiful and voluptuous fruit. But here I am at dinner, and I couldn't get a whimper out of the grapes, and shortly after the bouquet died. I'm not sure what happened to this bottle. Perhaps it required some decanting to bring out its full charm. I know this is not what to expect as a norm from this bottle.

4/27/2014 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

30% Mourvedre, 30% Syrah, 30% Grenache, and 10% Cinsault

Delicious, Berry forward, very young. Gave it about 30minute decant. Bold/Intense aromas, smooth tannins, and terrific complexity. nice expansive pallet.

3/1/2014 - Spook16 wrote:

Popped the cork on this and something was wrong with this bottle. Let it breath for 1hr or so, and the chemical smell did not disparate. Must be flawed bottle

12/27/2013 - Spook16 wrote:

This was the last of the Bordeaux's of the night. It was decanted for 8-10hours. Still it followed the theme of night, and was great for the price.

12/27/2013 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

I was concerned with some of the latest notes that this wine would be past its prime, but it was a very nice wine. No signs of being past its peak. The aroma was a bit subdued but this following the 1982 Château Grand-Puy-Lacoste was hard to follow. Still this went very well.

12/27/2013 - Spook16 wrote:

Was concerned with the mold on this cork when we peeled back the foil, but the mold did not rot the whole cork. Did not need a bit of decant. This was was delicious, with lots of aroma.

12/28/2013 - Spook16 wrote:

Everyone raved about this wine. It is the 2nd one we've had, and both stole the show. This wine is purple, supple and rich.

12/30/2013 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

This wine was rich and delicious. Will have to see if we can get another.

12/7/2013 - Spook16 wrote:

Took this one Home for Thanksgiving weekend. Had 3 french wines that night 1 Bordeaux, and 2 Chateauneuf du pape. Decanted all of them for about 6-8hours, and they call came out nice and smooth.

This was the best of the 3 bottles. I have bought another to note it again later.

12/6/2013 - Spook16 wrote:

I enjoyed this wine for the aroma. started out floral, and migrated into green vegetable accents. I got rubber at some point, and this was nice for all the aroma's. Problem is that this wine even at 2005 is very chewy. I decanted for 2hrs, and drank slowly over the next 6, and it stayed very chewy the whole night. The tastes are bright and vibrant which leads me to believe this wine is just too young, and needs more time in the bottle.

12/2/2013 - Spook16 wrote:

Winner of the night. Dancing Bear introduced me to Howell mountain wines years ago, and I still find this one with good depth and character. Followed by a normal Cakebread cabernet which lacked much of the aforementioned depth and character. I thing again that Cakebread maybe a bit over valued, and find other how mountain cabs with similar or better character than this wine around the $80 price point.

12/2/2013 - Spook16 wrote:

Typical California Cab. did not stand out immensely. It was good, but I don't thing its worth the price of the label anymore. I used to love Cakebread before I knew wine, now it is just ho hum. Its good, but I know may sub-$50 cabs that are better. Took home over the holiday, and drank with the family.

11/22/2013 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

Very nice pop at pour, smooth, and elegant.

11/17/2013 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

Old world, earthy Bordeaux Blend. Drank a bottle with dinner at Eventide in Arlington. Dinner and Wine were great.

11/11/2013 - Spook16 wrote:

Tasty, it was very similar to another bottle we had drunk the night before. Berry forward, Cherry, Vanilla. Bordeaux in style, but it was quite acidic.

11/9/2013 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

Pop and pour, didn't require any decanting. This was delicious. Ruby red, Cherries abound, well balanced, berry forward, medium bodied, and Bordeaux in style.

10/27/2013 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

Talk about a bottle... physically the bottle is crazy heavy.

Beautiful blend, delicious to the last drop. Halloween wine :)

Cherry Vanilla spicy notes very aromatic, and just a delight to drink.

Wife and I loved it.

10/19/2013 - Spook16 wrote:

Opened on Saturday, and finished on Sunday. Started very oaky with decent complexity. Seemed to have a bit too much oak. By Sunday the oak had faded, and vanilla was very dominant.

8/25/2013 - Spook16 Likes this wine:

I had such a great experience with this wine I had to make it my first public tasting note.

In a word, beautiful. Smooth and elegant.

The cork had rotted through, but it didn't spoil the wine. Cleaned it up and decanted for 3hours. Taste at the beginning, I didn't think it was going to need much of a decant, and it probably didn't, but reservations were a few hours a way. So in the end decanting didn't do much. Tannins were smooth. This is my first experience with an aged wine, most have been 10years or less.

The wine looks Ruby colored. The legs are Slow.

It tastes like Black Pepper, Cherry, and Plum. The body is Full. The wine has Smooth texture. The wine finishes Medium.