2/2/2022 - Eantnay Likes this wine:

Incredible herbal nose, with black cherry fruit and a long, lovely finish. If I had tasted this blindly, I would have pegged it as a Brunello di Montalcino. Sadly, this was my last bottle of this vintage.

5/28/2023 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine:

Wild and Crazy Memorial Weekend - Sunday (Chris' Castle aka Melissa's Manor): This was served blind. Pegged new world and cabernet, but thought California....never even considered WA....would like to think it was because I drank too much, but who am I kidding? I really would have never guessed WA anyway (although after the reveal, it certainly made sense...but hindsight is 20/20!)

Delicious wine that didn't get lost amount a group of superstars! While I will say that this tasting (both day 1 and day 2) was the best tasting I have ever had the privilege of attending, the down side is that all the superstars had to share the spotlight, even though each one deserved their own spotlight! This wine was no exception!

2008 Quilceda Creek - A very nice Cab that could pass for Bordeaux blend, as it has the dark fruit of a cab, but also seems to have the chocolate covered cherry you often see in Merlot (I did peg it for Cab, but in retrospect, I wouldn't have been surprised if it was a blend). The oak was well integrated and the wine showed notes of earth, bramble, anise and spice. The wine is very solid and would be a standout wine on its own...a nice and humbling blind wine that could stand proud with wines costing two to four times as much! Definitely a great QPR! Solid 94 for my palate, and that may be slightly conservative.

3/5/2023 - zinnut wrote:

Wow! This is drinking really well right now. Huge red fruit profile with a complexity that is mesmerizing. Soft tannins, with cigar box, pencil lead, raspberry, cherry. My experience was so different from what EATNAY described. Had to be a bad bottle because this one is simply amazing. My last bottle sorry to say.

2/26/2023 - Eantnay Does not like this wine:

In Feb 2019 this wine was rocking! Deep color, tantalizing nose, velvety tannin. One of the greatest wines I had ever experienced.

Today, that all changed. Sadly, the last two bottles I had were opened and both were over the hill, the first one being worse than the second. The color faded to brick red, the fruit was gone and the aromas went from tantalizing to medicinal. The first bottle did not have anything pleasurable to offer; the second was not as far gone and had some redeeming qualities, but could not hold a candle to what this wine was like 4 years ago.

The wines were stored laying down in a temperature controller wine refrigerator. The corks were in excellent shape. I learned a valuable lesson and will not hold the other vintages that I have of this wine as long.

8/19/2022 - Eantnay wrote:

Last bottle of the 4 that I purchased, suffering from the same problem as the rest of them. Secondary fermentation in the bottle created effervescence and rendered the wine undrinkable. Got a full refund from the retailer. What a shame.

10/5/2021 - TannicBeast Likes this wine:

Italian Wine Scholar Class at the Texas Wine School. 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Sangiovese. Deep, opaque ruby. M+ dried Damascus rose, ripe black fruit, red fruit, dried herbs, tobacco and mocha from 18 mos., in French Oak. Dry, with M+ acidity, M+, silky tannins and high alcohol (14.5%). Full-bodied, with M+ to pronounced flavor intensity and length. A delicious, complex, big yet well-balanced Super Tuscan from Eastern Tuscany, it is drinking better now than 11 and 3 yrs ago. Probably has quite a few years left. WS 96.

10/15/2016 - Derek Darth Taster wrote:

Tasted blind. Late night impromptu speed tasting session at ES.
Aired in decanter for 2 hours prior.
Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour. Legs.
Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of Chinese herbs, GuiLingGao, dark red cherries, dark plums. Developing. Tight and shut down at times.
On the palate, dry, high acidity, high alcohol (14.5%), grippy high tannins, full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of Chinese herbs, dark red cherries, dark plums. Some cassis and cedar flitting in and out with air. Medium+ finish.
Very good quality. Rather tight and still showing off more primary character. No tertiary development yet. I was guessing that this was a rather ripe Cabernet Sauvignon blend, possibly a well-made youngish Languedoc wine, as there was a smidgen of something wild-like on the palate.
Blend of 50% Sangiovese, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot. Aged in 100% new oak.
The last vintage with Sangiovese in the blend I think. No more Sangiovese from 2008 onwards.
I am kind of with Stephen Tanzer on this one, in that it feels Cabernet Sauvignon dominant. Maybe the Sangiovese is contributing to the slight wild sensation. Probably this wine is just tight at this point in time also. Give this another 5+ years.

10/27/2021 - MS86 Likes this wine:

From a cooler vintage and blended with 20% Sangiovese, the last year Oreno was made with this grape.
Medium plus intensity ruby with a youthful rim.
Aromas explode from the glass. Powerful, woody, campfire note. Brand spanking new belt leather. Rich core of black fruit. Ripe but not quite jammy. Blackberry, blueberry, black cherry.
Tannins are quite fine but still firm and youthful. Nicely balanced acidity, not overwhelming. Hot on the finish.
Flavours are almost sweet with ripe black plum, black cherry and blueberry. Milk chocolate.
Medium length finish. Still young. Will improve.

10/28/2021 - MS86 Likes this wine:

Blended with 50% Sangiovese. Very intense deep ruby in the glass. Youthful.
Powerful, young, oak dominant nose. New leather, chocolate, menthol, tobacco. Background suggestions of black cherry and blueberry.
Tannins are wonderful, very fine, if still firm and powerful. Well-balanced powerful and persistent acidity. Warm finish.
Flavours show more fruit than the nose. Black cherry and blueberry pie. New leather and mint.
Exceptionally long finish.
Needs a couple of years and will last for at least a decade.

9/30/2020 - isaacjamesbaker wrote:

Light purple color. Beautiful nose of blackberries, black cherries and roasted figs, laced with enticing notes of scorched earth, anise, graphite, with cocoa, sweet vanilla. On the palate, this is full and suave with well-built but velvety tannins, medium/low acidity, this is big but shows lots of nuance, too. Roasted fig, blackberry and dark plum fruit is tossed with mesquite, mint, eucalyptus and clove notes, along with pretty violets and earth that come out more and more with air. This really does need time and air to unwind, but it is delightful, delicious, complex stuff. Tons of Napa goodness for a reasonable price. Merlot with 23% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Malbec, aged 20 months in all new French oak.

1/1/2021 - kevin h wrote:

Great nutty complexity, dry, long and intense. Classic one of my favourites.

5/15/2020 - BuzzzzOff Does not like this wine:

Corked. We think 2014 may be finished, which is sad because we always have enjoyed this wine.

4/10/2016 - AllRed wrote:

Second Sunday Group: 2000 Bordeaux (R&D's): An inital burst of unripe melon gives way to citrus and mineral. Slightly grassy on the palate, along with mineral and flint. Bright acidity. My initial thought was Sancerre- it wasn't until this had been open for 45 minutes or so and warmed a bit that the richness from the Semillon began to show. Nice.

3/23/2015 - Rezy13 Likes this wine:

VinItaly Day 2 (Verona, Italy): Name means milestone; deep garnet; deeper more serious nose, big but elegant; very impressive, green, licorice, plum, vanilla; 4-5% Viognier.