1/16/2010 - darlenee1 wrote:

This is definitely peaking now. Beautiful flavor of cherry and vanilla. I would rate it a 91 now.

6/24/2009 - darlenee1 wrote:

Nose of raisins, leather, strawberry. Good tannic structure, tart cherry and tobacco flavors. Solid wine for the price.

6/16/2009 - darlenee1 wrote:

Elegant, with deep berry and cocoa flavors. Nice tannic finish.

4/4/2009 - darlenee1 wrote:

This wine was fantastic, one of the top two ones at the tasting. The fruit was very prominent, with dark berries, vanilla, and a little cocoa on the nose and palate. The first sniff was boozy, but that dissipated rapidly. This wine did not disappoint, and is an excellent under $20 value.

4/4/2009 - darlenee1 wrote:

Very tart, and tight. I think I just don;t care for the grenache grape. Decanted for several hours, and it just didn't do much for me. I won't rate this as I'm not sure that I can do so fairly since I learned at the tasting that I don't really care for this particular varietal.

3/13/2009 - darlenee1 wrote:

Not very full bodied, especially for a Paso zinfandel. Virtually no nose. Tastes strongly of strawberry, has some mild pepper. Has decent tannin structure that lingers for about 60 seconds. Really not much else to say. It's mediocre, but infinitely better than the Picaro I tried the other week.

3/7/2009 - darlenee1 wrote:

Very unimpressive to me. It had a thin taste to it, like a box wine (Franzia, not one of the "good" ones). Very little in the way of tannins. I expected more from this wine since it's over half zinfandel, but it had none of the fruitiness or heft I associate with the grape.

1/9/2009 - darlenee1 wrote:

Upon opening, nose is mostly alcohol, with a little tobacco/strawberry. Initial sip before decanting is BIG tannins that coat the top of my tongue, and some tart fruit (cranberry?). Two and a half hours later the alcohol nose has blown off, and I get plum and vegetal scents. A taste reveals that the tannins have calmed down some, and grip the sides of my tongues instead of all of it. The flavors that come through are predominately blackberry and floral (violet?), with a red licorice finish. Hour 3.5 reveals black pepper and more alcohol flavors. Hour six has begun to reveal very clean dark fruit flavors. I'm tasting a mix of blackberries and blueberries, and there's just a hint of tannins. I really like it now! Hour seven has continued to showcase the dark fruits, and there is definitely a floral character to the wine, like violets. So basically you need to decant this for six hours if you want to drink it now, or lay it down for a few years.

1/1/2009 - darlenee1 wrote:

The sake was very good. I tasted a lot of coconut, and maybe some banana. There was definitely a tropical flavor to it, my husband and I agreed that the sake was very colada-like. I don't know an awful lot about sake, but I thought his was a solid representation of the nigori style. Not something I would drink often, but quite good for what it is.

12/5/2008 - darlenee1 wrote:

Very good! Very strong cherry nose. The oak becomes more apparent as the night goes on. Tannins are present, but not overwhelming. This will be able to age for several years. There's a little heat, but it doesn't detract from the flavor of the wine. EHP didn't need food to enhance it, but would probably go well with just about any meat or tomato dish.

11/27/2008 - darlenee1 wrote:

On opening, it's a pale blush color. Lots of bubbles, that are rising in a vortex pattern (served in a classic skinny flute). I'm not great at picking out smells, but I get strawberry(cranberry?), and yeast. Doesn't taste sweet at all. The chardonnay grapes are really coming through for me. There's a good amount of acidity, which makes it tart. The finish lingers forever. There's really not a lot to say about this sparkler, except it's good, but not amazing. I would probably rate it 87, if I was one to rate wines :)

8/12/2008 - darlenee1 wrote:

Strong smell of blackberry jam when opened. Tastes of raspberry with pepper, and there's a lot of heat noticed on the side of my tongue. Good value.