3/9/2024 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

A solid wine but expected a bit more from this given the producer. This wine is past its peak drinkability.

3/3/2024 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Nice bottle but it’s not the 2014

11/10/2023 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Outstanding. Another random pull from the cellar.

11/10/2023 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

I have no idea what this. I have no idea how I got it, but it surprisingly solid.

10/7/2023 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Drank this tonight partially because the CT community said it was time. While this wine may not have many more years, I thought it drank fantastically well. Mature, earthy nose but not heavy bramble/barnyard. Opened a couple hours before we drank it and let it breath in the bottle.
If you have any of these left, it’s time to drink but if you waited a few more months, im sure you still won’t be disappointed. Drank with squid ink arroz negro and it stood up against it very nicely

10/7/2023 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Didn’t spend a lot of time analyzing this but it was a winner amongst multiple discerning palates. Can’t wait to buy more

10/7/2023 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Keeps on delivering. Arguably the best QPR I’ve ever purchased

3/30/2023 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Maybe the best 16.99 wine I’ve ever had. Mature, open, rounded, lovely. Just bought up every bottle I could find in the area.

2/18/2023 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Very tasty but popped and poured. Could have used a decant to fully realize the potential of this wine. The wine tasted like there was restraint where some extra air would have made this more impressive

2/18/2023 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

This was stellar. Drinking tremendously right now. Left the bottle open for about 30-40 mins before drinking. Consumed with rib eye and grilled chicken. Outstanding

12/25/2022 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Took til night three for this to be anything worthy of mentioning. A very long decant prior to drinking may allow this to reach its potential in one sitting

11/26/2022 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Just lucky to have drank this for as long as I did. Will continue to look for future strong vintages of this and buy when I have the opportunity. Have 3 more of the 2012. Hope this holds up like the ‘09 has.

11/26/2022 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Drinking great but could use just a little bit more time in the bottle. Overall great bottle. Only negative note is that it lacks much finish

9/17/2022 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

stellar. earthy, layered deliciousness. Absolutely mature Shiraz but showing so much life. Drank great right from the first pour.

8/19/2022 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Phenomenal zin blend that complimented smoked bbq beautifully. Integrated really well at this point vs some earlier notes from others.

7/23/2022 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Not bad, but not good either. Very ordinary but fine for a glass of something light.

7/22/2022 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Delightful. Cork was dry and broke. Had to decant which was a good move.

4/15/2022 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Stellar aged zin. No sign of fading, but maturity it there. I like the fruit bomb to bleed off and have a bit more complexity and drinking this at this point paid off. Fruit but not in your face. Really great. Loved drinking this.

4/10/2022 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Wine is still tight. Consider holding for a longer period of time.

4/10/2022 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Pretty fascinating wine. Never tasted an aged Chardonnay and it was a nose and taste profile unlike I’ve experienced before. Really solid wine. Glad we waited.

2/12/2022 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

So good already and will just get better.

1/21/2022 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Hope this gets better. The taste of grape stems was apparent, and not in a young tannin kind of way.

12/28/2021 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Delicious for this price point. Popped randomly as I have time to have a couple glasses this time of year. Will definitely buy again as an any time drinker.

5/14/2021 - HarlanPSU wrote:

This has exceeded it's drinkable life. I wanted to savor the maturity, and over analyze the remaining qualities in the wine, but some with more discerning palates may choose to pour out this bottle and move on. After decanting for 45 mins or so, we began to taste this against a Lebanese Bordeaux blend from '98, and the LB wine won hands down. I had the opportunity to drink this Souverain multiple different times over the years, but glad I don't have anymore of these to contemplate consuming.

5/8/2021 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Solid. Composed. Everything is want it to bed but initially the the first taste was overly fruit forward, and a little hot. It Burned off to find a wine that has achieved the right moment to be consumed.

1/23/2021 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Nothing bad about this wine, just a flat, uninspiring experience at this point. I held this longer than it should have as I had hoped a few more years to make it turn the corner from the reviews it had received. They did not help. Drink this to clear your cellar as it's neither good enough to celebrate nor bad enough to pour down the drain. An unfortunate one.

1/8/2021 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Very very light.

12/12/2020 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Outstanding.

9/18/2020 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Did what everyone else did. Popped a bottle to check the hype. Didn’t decant just popped it. Really excited to revisit in five years. Would revisit sooner but I shared the case and only have a few.

9/18/2020 - HarlanPSU Does not like this wine:

When I bought this ten years ago I kept wanting this to blossom knit something great. It was muted then and was muted when I drank it this evening. We event decanted it for an hour and put it aside mid bottle in favor of other things. Too bad.

7/24/2020 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Consistently one of my favorite pop n pour wines. Always really good.

5/22/2020 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

A pleasant wine, if not a bit jammy and hot right now. Maybe I should have let the bottle shock of shipping die down a little before I opened, but not a ton of nose right off the bat, and the cork was barely inked. Very heavy, “high end” feeling bottle fwiw. Wine had nice legs in the glass and good body, but again very very fruit forward, with spice and alcohol on the end. Low tannins as well. Wine did not change complexity much over the life of the bottle. Wasn’t sure exactly what to expect on this one but overall pleasant but not great drinking experience.
Will try another in a couple months and then decide whether to lay them down or just drink them.

4/10/2020 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Tasty little bottle. Really tasty little bottle considering the price. Would pop n pour this again and again. Fun weeknight bottle. Stood up nicely to braised beef and vegetables.

3/13/2020 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Lovely but can’t live up to the 2010. Lovely bottle though.

3/13/2020 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Phenomenal. Full bodied, balanced tannins, tremendous bottle with lots of life left.

11/25/2019 - HarlanPSU Does not like this wine:

Just not good.

11/25/2019 - HarlanPSU wrote:

I think this wine punches way above its price range. It’s definitely a little indiscernible as to what flavor profile the blend is going for, but it’s priced to serve for people who don’t care about wine and it tastes good enough to serve to those who do. Perfect crowd pleaser. Will load up the cart with this stuff the next time I see it.

11/24/2019 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Solid all around at a great price. Was test driving this wine for thanksgiving. It’s a winner.

11/22/2019 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Really nice but not spectacular. This wine likely had more body a few years back. Very pleasant nose, some fruit, and towards the end of the bottle some lingering finish. Not a ton of body left and you’re not getting any of the “Rutherford dust” but it’s a nice drink. Drink it now if it’s still sitting in your cellar.

7/26/2019 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Crisp and lovely.

7/26/2019 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

I heeded another members note not to get distracted by the fact this is a twist off and not let it sit. Had the wine sit open in the bottle for about 45 mins prior to drinking. Was fantastic. Big, full, layered, slightly smoky, delicious. Drinking wonderfully and I don’t think it’s fallen off at all. Lots of meat still left on the bone here.

7/26/2019 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

This was drunk at the end of a long dinner where I knew I’d need a pop’n’pour ready should we need more wine. This wine is full throttle out of the bottle which is always fun, if not terribly high minded. It’s delicious and you can drink it right away.

7/26/2019 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Really needed this to decant over time. Only had it sit open in the bottle for 30 mins or so. A bit thin and austere initially but began to open up toward the end. Decanting this would have made the ending pleasurable drinking last longer through the entire bottle.

3/9/2019 - HarlanPSU wrote:

H

3/10/2019 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Bottle had oxidized. Cork was extremely dry.

12/8/2018 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Bramble nose. Lean body but still holding up nicely. French and non Frenchman applauding this wine this evening.

9/10/2018 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Still drinkable!

3/27/2018 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Gorgeous bottle of wine albeit paired with a very memorable meal. I’m not sure how much “value” I was getting at the restaurant price of $180, but everything with this wine worked. Cork looked perfect, color of wine, nose were all great. Legs for days, still a firm tannic structure but mature flavor. It was wonderful. If you have any of these, it’s drinking tremendously right now.

3/21/2018 - HarlanPSU Likes this wine:

Probably no one except my dad hung onto any of this for ten years. Thankfully that paid off. Cracked this open last night and drank after only letting it breathe for 15 minutes. Cork fully intact, little to no sediment in the bottle at all. The nose on this was almost remisncent of a right bank Bordeaux. The jamminess of the zin was completely mellowed out. The color was garnet to ever slightly brown but lovely. Mature, slight tannin, nice finish, nothing acidic or off putting.
If you happen to have saved this for any reason, it was a lovely drinking bottle.

12/15/2017 - HarlanPSU wrote:

Not going to add anything valuable that wasnt already noted by others. This is sadly a disappointment relative to the other great Maroon bottlings I’ve purchased.