3/10/2023 - schliecker wrote:

I love the nose on this right away. Getting blackberries and an earthiness to it but not heavy at all. Medium bodied with soft tannins. A little brighter on the tongue. Medium long finish. Great value for sure.

1/10/2020 - schliecker wrote:

Oxidized.

12/2/2012 - schliecker Likes this wine:

This was showing really well tonight. Very aromatic with strong secondary notes of leather/tar mixed in with dark fruit. Soft texture and a long finish with the dark fruit coming forth on the taste as well. I don't think this will improve any more and is at its peak. Very good.

8/12/2011 - schliecker wrote:

Last bottle of this. Fantastic wine. Spice, herbal, and red fruit aromatics. Dark cherry fruit on the palate with a bit of the cherry cola element. Long lush finish. Only noticable heat early on when the bottle was first opened. That element faded quickly.

12/11/2010 - schliecker wrote:

This may be the best showing of this wine to date for me. 5th time having it. Rich earth and cedar aroma alongside dark fruit. I also get minerality mixed in with the ripe fruit on the taste. Tannins were softer on this than I recall last time having it. Much smoother and a nice long finish. Excellent.

12/3/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Dark purple color with a perfumed floral nose. Dark fruits with cedar and spice come through as well. Soft mouth-coating texture with the dark berry coming through here as well. Medium-long finish. I felt this was a very good wine. I didn't get the heat so much on this and was surprised to see it was 14.5% abv when looking at the bottle. It carried (or hid) it well. Excellent wine and a much better showing that the last bottle from a month ago. This was able to air out a bit with about an hour in a decanter.

11/27/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Dark garnet color. Blueberry fruit really comes through strong with other dark fruit notes showing later. A bit of an earthy aspect with smoke as well on the nose. Mouth-coating texture with the blueberry lingering. Long finish. My one knock on this wine is that there is a slightly medicinal aspect to it at first. That faded for me after being open for about an hour. I agree with others that this will certainly last a few more years with no issues. Not sure how much better its going to get much better than this. Very enjoyable.

11/18/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Earthy aroma with tar notes especially but nicely mixed in with the dark fruit. The fruit is strong but I don't think the nose suggests its jammy. Dry and tannic with the fruit fighting through. Here is where the jamminess comes through making it a bit disjointed at the end. Sticking with the scale of 85-89 being "Very Good", I still give this an 87 as I enjoy the aromatics.

11/17/2010 - schliecker wrote:

The fruit is there on this wine. Blueberry and blackberry. A bit of a funk to the nose too that's not unpleasant. Full bodied with a long finish. The "funk" shows itself on the taste as well. Chewy texture. The heat really comes though though which is a detractor for me. This is a good wine but not sure if I would go back to it again.

11/14/2010 - schliecker wrote:

This remains a very good wine but the floral aromatics that I remember from previous bottles were a bit flat in this bottle. I'm hoping this is an off bottle on that front. But still has a nice full body and long finish.

11/11/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Excellent wine! Hey colored with a floral, orange peel and a bit of a smoked wood aroma. Also getting a good dose of minerality on this. Good balance. Nice acidity (good food wine) and a lingering finish with the citrus notes coming through. Glad I have more of this...

11/4/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Bright red color. Very fruit forward on the nose. Red Cherry up front but nice spice (nutmeg) and a wood/earthy element just underneath. Very fragrant. Great silky texture with a nice long lingering finish where the spice notes come out a bit more. Excellent wine. This will probably last a few years but I think its great right now.

11/1/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Deep red/garnet color. Dark fruit and cedar notes on the nose mixed in with a bit of an earthy funk. Chewy texture with dark fruits and vegetal notes on the taste. Medium long finish. I really felt that this wine had this in a positive way for the first hour but fell apart after a short while. Vegetal came on too strong for my taste with the exposure.

11/1/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Pale yellow color Hardly anything on the nose. The taste is a different story. Almost overwhelmingly acidic and tart. Almost like lemonade. My wife thinks there is a little bit of honey in there but you have to dig too hard to find it. This is not what I expected at all. Drinkable - yes. But tough to appreciate.

10/30/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Dark red color. An interesting dichotomy of wood being dominate on the nose with little fruit showing through. But red cherry and prune dominate on the taste. Medium bodied with a medium length finish. Lacks the level of acidity I'm looking for. Paired with meat loaf and the flavor profile worked but lack of acidity didn't.

10/27/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Deep ruby color. Spice and wood mixed in with red fruit. Drinking very well right nowSmooth texture with a medium finish and an easy drinker like others have noted. I agree that its a deal for the $16 I paid. Having gone through a bunch of these bottles, I wish I had more.

10/25/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Golden hued with honey and creme brulee notes. Also tropical notes with a little bit more air. The creme brulee essence really comes through on the taste for me, mixed in with the same tropical notes. Not cloying at all which is my usual complaint with some Sauternes. Nice long lingering finish. Very nice.

10/25/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Ruby red color with red fruit, spice, and light cedar notes. I'm also getting a bit of minerality coming through. Nice acidity. A little chewy with a medium long finish. Very nice and enjoyable. I don't tend to hold on to these for too long and think this is drinking great right now.

10/24/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Light gold color. Oak, vanilla and a light caramel on the nose but not overwhelming. They are restrained enough for a nice orange marmalade note to come through, especially on the taste. Heat is a bit noticable but you have to pay attention to note it. I also got a bit of a bitter note at the end but again, you had to look to find it. Paired with food (fish cakes in this case) - Great! On its own, some of these slight flaws come our (heat and bitter) but they are so slight not to take much away.

This is my fifth of six bottles and I've enjoyed them all.

10/22/2010 - schliecker wrote:

This still needs a bit of time. Purple hued with black and blue fruit aroma mixed in with a bit of spice and cedar notes. But you really had to give it an hour and swirl to get them to come out. A bit of a chalky texture with the blue fruit coming through on the taste. Dry with a medium long finish. I think this wine is really going to come around but thin this needs another two to three years before it starts to open up.

10/21/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Purple hued with cedar and currant notes mixed in with a little bit of spice. Black fruit on the taste. Starts to take on an "earthy" aspect with a bit of air. Smooth texture with a medium long finish. Lighter in style than I expected. Very enjoyable.

6/3/2010 - schliecker wrote:

Brick red color. Dark fruit aromas stand out up front. Also a little bit of herbicous notes as well. Smooth texture and a long, dry finish. Dark fruit emerges again on the taste. The texture softens up about an hour later. Very nice.