12/16/2021 - texaswino wrote:

Got this from a friend who was moving and cleaning out their wine rack. No idea how it’s been stored over the last 20 years. Dark color that shows little hint of its age. Nose is dark fruit, cedar, and slight herbal. Dry, fruit is pretty fresh for a 2000. Wouldn’t have thought it would be holding up so well.

8/24/2021 - texaswino Likes this wine:

This Merlot based Meritage is really growing on me. Opens up very nicely after an hour decant. Plums, blueberry, sage, hints of rosemary, chocolate. Smooth fine tannins and a medium+ finish. I’ve had several bottles of this and it keeps getting better.

4/6/2021 - texaswino Likes this wine:

This is amazing. Give it an hour plus decant and have it with a nice steak and you’ll be rewarded. It keeps getting better and better. Lovely fruit, plum, currant, smooth and with a long wonderful finish. Great value. Bought a case at around $30/btl.

9/11/2020 - texaswino wrote:

Dark and meaty wine. Blueberry, earth, tannin.

5/8/2020 - texaswino Likes this wine:

4.2⭐️ 91-94 pts. This has settled down and smoothed out from the first bottle I tried 5 months back. It was tight as a drum then so I put them in the wine rack in the closet and left them alone until today. Big difference.
82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 5% Petite Verdot, 4% Cabernet Franc, 2% Malbec.
Black currant, pencil lead, juicy dark cherry. Ripe medium+ tannins. Nice long finish. Impressive Bordeaux blend from Beringer. Drink now with a decant or hold. This will have 10-15 years of life easily.

3/15/2015 - texaswino Likes this wine:

aging very nicely. still full of life and smooth with very nice aromatics. obtained from CC wine club. this has several more years ahead of it, probably through 2020.

2/17/2015 - texaswino Likes this wine:

beautiful Red blend from WA. Not a fruit bomb but sophisticated and lovely. Needs a decant but is starting to come into its drinking window. aromas of currant, cherry, straw, earth, herb and leather. Chewy tannins and a lingering finish.

10/25/2014 - texaswino wrote:

Well aged and delicious. Drank after an Australian shiraz that kicked butt too. Somewhat similar in style.

9/29/2013 - texaswino Likes this wine:

Dark fruit, well balanced. Needs a decant at this point but will reward that. Dried currant, cherry, a bit short on the finish but dry and well rounded. A bargain at $20-25.

8/29/2013 - texaswino Likes this wine:

give this a little time to open up and be rewarded. Notes from day two...
The wine looks Ruby colored. It smells like Cranberry, Raspberry, Red Currant, Medium Toast, Cinnamon, and Meaty.
The body is Medium. The wine has Leathery texture. The wine finishes Medium.

4/12/2013 - texaswino wrote:

This has many years ahead of it. Has barely moved from 2+ years ago. Decant. Lovely red and black fruit with nice minerality and staunch tannin.

3/20/2013 - texaswino Likes this wine:

of the 3 2011 Carlisle Zins I have tasted this is the tastiest for drinking now. The Sonoma Cty and Monte Rosso both need more time IMO. Wonderful aromatics, clean fruit, long finish.

8/2/2012 - texaswino wrote:

Nice quaffable merlot.

7/26/2012 - texaswino Likes this wine:

spicy, dark fruits

7/17/2012 - texaswino wrote:

I find this a very tasty blend. Cherries from the Merlot, tannic bite from the Cab. This will improve over time but I like it now too. Admittedly I was drinking it with chips and fire roasted salsa so that may have cut some of the tannin.

7/14/2012 - texaswino wrote:

Outstanding. Give it a couple hours decant and taste it sing.

7/6/2012 - texaswino wrote:

Needs a little air to open up but there is definite bang for the buck with this wine.

6/7/2012 - texaswino wrote:

In your face aromas of black and blue fruits. Heat of alcohol too. Big brawny and full bodied but has fine acidity and dusty tannins. 16% alc is apparent but not overpowering. Fruit bomb.

5/21/2012 - texaswino wrote:

gutsy, dark fruit, firm tannin, finishes with a burst of fruit. gets better with air, improving over 3 hours

4/14/2012 - texaswino wrote:

wow...no decant this time around and compared to 14 months ago this has fleshed out dramatically. This is what I was hoping for. Sexy aromatics and loads of dark rich fruit and a nice spicy edge as well. Mocha, berry, leather, hint of tobacco and a lingering bright finish. Outstanding Merlot.

3/17/2012 - texaswino wrote:

napa knights valley, yummy nice structure. a well balanced cab. if I can find it for this price, I will buy more. plums, nice flavors. Under $25 is a bargain.

1/25/2012 - texaswino wrote:

for an $11 wine this was pretty tasty and surprisingly full bodied.

12/25/2011 - texaswino wrote:

drank with Christmas dinner and over the following couple of hours. Lovely smooth pinot fruit. Got better as it opened up after dinner.

1/21/2012 - texaswino wrote:

super nose, nice fruit, really enjoyable Zin. Will be looking for more.

1/24/2012 - texaswino wrote:

Ran across this wine the other day and being a HUGE fan of the 2005, and considering the price, I picked up a couple of bottles. Similar in many ways to the 2005. A wonderful wine, has a bit more tannin structure than the 2005, to be expected of the vintage, but also has the smooth flavors, beautiful nose and fullness of the 05. Another winner and I will be back for more, probably tomorrow. ;)

12/8/2011 - texaswino wrote:

Ripe fruit, some herbal notes of sage, earth, vanilla. Very ripe and a touch sweet on the palate, nice earthy edge, dry finish that lingers. Will try again.

9/23/2011 - texaswino wrote:

I just have a hard time wrapping my nose around some of these SA wines. The aromas are so green. I have to admit that the palate is much less aggressively green but its hard to get past the nose.

9/23/2011 - texaswino Likes this wine:

this is very impressive at the age of 10. It actually takes about an hour to open up, and then it sings with notes of berries and chocolate, earth. The nose is wonderful. Seamless and smooth, this has aged beautifully. Outstanding!

9/18/2011 - texaswino wrote:

Found this bottle marked down and picked it up. It has held up very nicely. Enjoyed it very much as did my parents.

9/11/2011 - texaswino wrote:

much better on second day but it seems to be out of balance. Has some nice red fruit, but the first day there was a funky aroma and too much heat. The second day the funk had faded but was still in the background. Fruit flavors came through much better on second day and I enjoyed it much more. Tough to rate. Day 1 ...84. Day 2...90.

8/22/2011 - texaswino wrote:

delicious, juicy wine. Cherry, strawberry, smoke, spice, touch of tobacco. well balanced

7/10/2011 - texaswino wrote:

Different, a bit green, but has some decent fruit. Won't be buying again.

7/3/2011 - texaswino wrote:

thoroughly enjoyed this and will be picking up some more

7/1/2011 - texaswino wrote:

Really delicious zin. Better tonight than previous bottles. The Four Vines wines are impressive.

6/17/2011 - texaswino Likes this wine:

a notch below the 2008 Biker but very tasty.

6/23/2011 - texaswino wrote:

not bad...tasty...fruity. Blueberries, vanilla, cream. Light tannins, well made

bought this in Branson, MO on a weekend visit. Stopped off at the store/winery down the street from out hotel on a whim. Took the tour (nothing to write home about) and tasted through some of the mostly overly sweet wine selection. After the rest of the non-winos left the tasting asked to taste their dry wines. The Norton was tasty so decided to buy a sampling to give a try. A Norton reserve, a Norton, the Chambourcin and something called a NV Hermannsberger Brand which is a blend of Norton and Chambourcin. This is the first to be popped and I have to say for the price its a good wine. No off flavors, smooth and well made. Not a great wine but certainly drinkable and enjoyable.

6/14/2011 - texaswino wrote:

Delicious wine. Big, lush, but not overly sweet. Smokey, dark, plenty of grip and a dry finish. Balanced delightful wine. The price is just a bonus. Outstanding value.

5/21/2011 - texaswino wrote:

Not as good as the 07 at this point but still nice.

5/24/2011 - texaswino wrote:

Enjoyed this with some grilled barramundi. New world but not too oaky. Nice citrus, some butter, nice acidity. Nice qpr.

5/14/2011 - texaswino wrote:

different from almost all the CA wines I drink...old school with high toned currant, mineral and sage on the nose.A touch of petrol as well. Needs a long decant at this point. Dark cherry, firmly tannic and tight but also very intriguing. Needs time and I will give the remaining bottles at least 5 years.

Update day 3: has evolved very nicely. Mouth watering cherry fruit, tannins still there, juicy acidity and sweet minerality. Wonderful!
Upping my rating a point. Decant for several hours if drinking now. Wait if you can.

4/28/2011 - texaswino wrote:

Very tasty tonight with some salmon cakes. Nice fruit character. Dark berry, cola, cherries. Nice finish.

4/4/2011 - texaswino wrote:

very nice, delicious wine

4/10/2011 - texaswino wrote:

still awesome, consistent with earlier notes if not a touch better

4/11/2011 - texaswino wrote:

second bottle of this in the last month and this one is much better than first, probably better from sitting for a month. Tannins were much more pronounced a month ago and the fruit is shining more tonight.

3/23/2011 - texaswino Likes this wine:

great bargain for $17 IMO. Sure the oak is a bit overdone but let it sit for a couple of hours and it opens up and shows its fruit nicely.

2/6/2011 - texaswino wrote:

need a long decant at this time. I decanted for a couple of hours and drank over the next 3. It continued to improve over the course of the evening. Will hold on to the other two I have for a couple of years

2/9/2011 - texaswino wrote:

Its ok but not impressive compared to the 06 which is more complex, richer fruit and more complete. This seems a bit hollow in comparison. I'm hoping that it may improve with time but not so sure.

2/4/2011 - texaswino wrote:

better now that it has had a few weeks sitting in the cellar after shipping. More complex now, fruity, brambly, dry finish. Nice stuff

1/25/2011 - texaswino wrote:

buttered popcorn notes, figs, hazlenut, apple. Nice acidity, long finish.

1/19/2011 - texaswino wrote:

big bold rich extracted and totally delicious...lol. Not a complicated wine but tasty and enjoyable. For the price its hard to beat.