3/12/2017 - Loweeel wrote:

Pure cherry juice. Tasty, but much lighter fruit, tamer tannins than I expect from PS. Drink soon if you have any.

10/25/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Just delicious. Drinking so well right now. Resolved, dusty, abundant tannins provide ample structure to handle the ripe dark raspberry and blackberry fruit. The inviting nose seems to waft out of the glass to seek your nostrils. Highly, highly, highly recommended.

7/22/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Dark fruits, very round and full, but well-balanced. Drinking quite nicely at the moment.

7/22/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Just stellar stuff. Deep, dark black fruits, complex nose, dusty tannins, great acidity, perfectly balanced at 14.1% abv. Highly, highly recommended.

7/11/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

much more old world than last time. Not quite as enjoyable. Still lots of structure, but almost no fruit. Just animale and earth.

6/30/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Delicious. Vibrant and alive, wonderful acidity in perfect balance with the RS. Full-bodied and sublime. Still kicking even today.

6/10/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

much oakier than the last bottle. Just drowned in it, not particularly enjoyable.

6/7/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Just delicious dark fruit, bracing acidity, long finish. Quite enjoyable.

5/22/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Huge wine. Needs more time. Will blossom into a 91-92 pt wine. Rating is based on current enjoyment. Best to forget about this one for a few years.

5/19/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Nice tasty dark fruits, a bit over-oaked. Big, but flabby on the back end -- needed more tannin and acid. One dimensional, but delicious.

5/17/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Drinking really well right now. Bears no resemblance to earlier reviews. Pretty tasty stuff -- nice red fruits, good acidity. Nothing special or distinguished, but a very enjoyable quaffer.

5/13/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Delicious on the front end, but flabby on the back. Nice suisun dark fruits, but too much oak, too little tannin and acid. It's a wine with ADD -- starts out great, but just loses focus.

4/21/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Very nice bordeaux-style blend with some good dark fruit and mysterious undercurrents. Could definitely benefit from more age/time in the decanter -- probably drank this one a bit too fast.

4/19/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Delicious. Medium-bodied, balanced, great dark berries, meat, and funk. Fine tannins, balanced acidity.

4/19/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

A little too new world and oaky. Not enough meaty smokey mourved funk. Not overoaked, and the fruit was delicious, but could have used more acidity.

4/16/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Great nose that didn't quite follow through on the body. Blueberries and umami-meat. just shy of medium-bodied, wonderful acidity. Got disjointed and too acidic (fruit disappeared) about 3 hours after opening. 88+

4/9/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

A 3-4 outside linebacker. Lean, muscular, but quick and nimble. Great dark fruit, extraction, lots of complexity. Still a baby.

4/6/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

A bit thin in fruit for the tannins and acid.

4/6/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Honeysuckle out of the fridge, gets grassier as it warms and oxygenates. Could use more focus and a touch more acidity but a very pleasant sipping wine that paired perfectly with lemon thyme chicken breast.

4/3/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Paired well with Buffalo Wings. Drinking very nicely right now.

4/2/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Pop'n'pour: Wow. Delicious dark fruit and berries, supple acidity. But holy cow, by the size of these tannins (typical of AlexVal, -- think Field Stone), you wouldn't peg this for a 2002. This has ways to go before it dies. Let's see how it opens in the glass....
The tannins stay but the fruit sort of disappears. Should probably decant next time.

4/2/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Drinking fantastically right now on pop and pour. Great extraction, nice black raspberry, strawberry, and cola. Typical twiggy pinot finish. Very nice, especially at this price.

3/19/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Absolutely delicious red berries, tannins, and structure. Wonderful acidity, paired well with chicken. Not a huge big bordeaux style, softer. Needed about an hour to really open up. This one has a while longer to live.

3/10/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Tasty but off-balance. Weird Frissante upon opening. Awkward transition to the finish. But the fruit is just so good... pure, borderline jammy blackberry and boysenberry, going to blueberry pie filling on the finish. If you like Aussie style wines (only with more structure), try younger vintages of this. I think this may be past it's prime, but who knows? Might just be the pop'n'pour crankiness.

3/6/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Not nearly as good as previous bottle

3/3/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Definitely benefits from air. Red fruit, massive tannins, a bit weak in the midpalate, could use better mouthfeel -- thin for a PS. A bit awkward right now -- give it a few more years in bottle.

3/2/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Very dry-smelling (as in dusty) on the nose and palate. Faint cherry cola and adobe nose. Palate adds faint red fruits. Probably in some sort of a dumb phase. I didn't give this a ton of air, so it's mostly my fault. I expect better things with my next bottle. 90-.

3/2/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Inky, massive, brooding, but not overpowering. Still a baby, but fucking delicious. Great Suisun dark fruits. A lovely petite.

2/16/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Great dark berry fruit, walking the line between jam and purity. Lots of fresh black pepper exploding on the midpalate. Full-bodied for a zin, handled its alcohol well for a Turley. Decent acidity, nice fine-grained silty tannins.

2/2/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

My last bottle. Very sad. Drinking perfectly right now. Great tobacco, cedar, but unlike Rioja, balanced by abundant ripe cherries galore and hints of cranberries. No jam or compote, just perfectly ripe fruit. 90++

1/4/2010 - Loweeel wrote:

Yum! This one is ripe and ready. It will benefit from a few more years' aging, but does not need a ton of air right now. Plummy dark fruits, transitioning to dark berries as it opens further. Nice chewy viscous mouthfeelwith fine-grained, abundant, dusty tannins. This is really a PleaSant surprise from WTSO. 90-.

12/24/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

nose: blackberries, black olive tapenade, creamy oak, a bit of alcohol heat
mouth: tight on pop'n'pour. After one vinturi, opened up somewhat, but still a bit awkward and bitter on the finish. This is big fruit from a big vineyard. Judging by the Thackrey Sirius (which also uses the Eaglepoint fruit), this may be in a dumb phase or just may not be ready yet. Needs about 3 hrs in the decanter to be enjoyable.

12/21/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Full-bodied new world zin. Structured, brambly fruit, but lean and nimble on the finish. The nicest old vines in a while.

12/10/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Well past its prime. Not getting much of anything. Maybe it's just in a massive dumb phase, but this is probably one of the most disappointing wines I've had from this producer, from woot, and zins in general. There just wasn't anything there -- it's the wine equivalent of neutral spirits. It had a pleasant nose that didn't last too long, but absolutely nothing on the palate. If you have it, it's probably best used in cooking if you plan on opening it soon. Maybe it will open back up, but I doubt it.

This may have been corked -- i'm fairly insensitive to cork taint -- but it could also have just been BAD. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Otherwise, a weak 80 pts.

12/9/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

PerhaPS the best vintage of this yet! Delicious herbal/gamey notes on darker-than-dark fruit, and impenetrably dark color. Delicious aroma cramming its way into your nostrils. Massive, not too tannic -- these elephants can dance. Great value and a very enjoyable bottle. Best paired with burgers, bbq meats, or something gamey with a hint of sweetness. 89++ (just not quite enough acidity to make it to 90). This is approachable, and delicious and highly recommended to introduce people to PS.

11/29/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Still alive and kicking... bits of seepage, and a smidgin of frizzante on the palate, but wow. Great big bold smokey dark fruits galore. This one is still alive and kicking. Very impressive bottle!

11/12/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Perfectly balanced, lean, elegant PS. Raspberry, black cherry, blueberry, and great tannins and acidity. will go at least another 5 years. A steal at 20 from winebid.

11/4/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Massive, tannic, lots of sediment. Incredibly dark and dense. Drinking really well right now. 92+.

11/2/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

tight. Needs more time. Good depth of flavor but buried in immature tannin. 88 right now, 93 potential.

10/27/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Much better! Plums, anise, lilac soap. Soft tannins with a hint of chalk. So much better than last year! Drink now through mid-2011.

10/12/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Big, round, lush dark fruits. Great extraction, nice glycerin giving it a chewy, viscous mouthfeel, phenomenal inky color. Moderate tannins, for PS. Went perfectly with hearty, spicy, lamb and barley stew.

Comparing wines to football players, this is a 3-4 outside linebacker. It rocks. 93+

9/2/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Delicious dark fruits and spice, lots of structure including a nice gravelly minerality on the finish. Very enjoyable, perhaps my favorite varietally-labeled CF to date. A winner at retail, gonzo at the $15 I paid.

8/12/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Nice red fruit, great cigar tobacco and cedar. Probably on the down slope, but I have enough left to see how it will do tonight. Another powerful, full-bodied, merlot from adults from Reininger.

8/1/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Leather bomb.

7/29/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

On it's way out... sad to say. This has just hints of the fruit buried under leather with hints of what will soon be vinegar. This bottle showed no signs of leakage or seepage but the cork cracked when trying to extract with an Ah-So. However, that blew off, revealing the fruit underneath. Still oodles of structure -- a tight, modern, leather couch of a PS painted with cranberries and not-quite-ripe raspberries. Still advise drinking this soon, but if the bottle was well-cellared, it will still be good once the bottle funk blows off. Very dark, clear, garnet, with about 3/16" of bricking on the edges.

7/21/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Very nice, round, well made, a medium-bodied, cool weather PS. Very enjoyable. 87+

6/24/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

consistent with previous notes, more in balance at the moment.

5/31/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

90+. One of the best low-end zins I've had. Very new-world style, but not over the top. Black raz/boysenberry standing out among other bramble aggregate fruits, a hint of oak but not vanilla candy or char.

Scott Harvey does it again. Kudos.

This is a GREAT gift wine as well for people who are not yet into wine. This could be their gateway drug.

5/28/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

91+. This is drinking amazingly right now. Dusty tannins, great acidity, a hint of brett, and black cherry/black raspberry fruit. Just lovely.

5/25/2009 - Loweeel wrote:

Outstanding. Nice bottle bouquet adding to the compexity of the nose, comprising strawberry jam, cherry, violet, white flower petals, and now, after breathing for a few hours, smoke. Surprisingly tannic for a fleurie (almost austere at times), well balanced, very long finish with some pepper, and will last another 3-5 years.

An out-and-out steal at $12.