10/19/2013 - TheWinedown Likes this wine:

1 hour of air. NOSE: Lighter than expected. Raisins, black cherries, stewed dark fruits, and only very slight wood (if any). PALATE: Black pepper shows up, raisins, stewed fruits, a little stone, medium-plus acid, medium-plus tannins (fairly bitter tannins too), nice long length.

Overall, this is clearly a great wine. I'm not sure if it's going through a dead period, or if it's peaking to be honest. I don't know if another hour of air is going to open this up any more. I expected more out of this. If I had more bottles, I'd sit on them for another year or two and see where they stand then. It certainly won't decline any between now and then.

10/5/2013 - TheWinedown Likes this wine:

Pop and poured, but didn't seem to need a lot of air. Drank with deep dish pizza. The bottle had no vintage indication, strangely. QR code on the back label took me to a 2011 bottle info, but upon pulling the cork, discovered it was a 2009. Bonus!

NOSE: Cooked strawberries, violet petals, stone dust, very soft soft leather. PALATE: Medium-minus body, medium acidity, medium tannin (well integrated), strawberries, cooked down cherries. Almost no oak flavors noticeable. The tannins are the only thing that seem to give it away. Medium-long length. For $25, a great wine. Awesome with the pizza too, I might add. Buy.