4/17/2021 - FormerWineSnob Likes this wine:

16 years old and 12 years since my last tasting of this wine and I can say this has certainly developed into a powerhouse of a wine, one of my favourites. Wish I had more. This wine had good providence, held in a wine cellar the whole time.

Color(4/5): Ruby red with tinges of purple.
Nose(10/10): Still a huge aroma that fills the room with Cher, blackberry, vanilla and oak, I could smell this wine all day.
Taste(14/15): This has integrated very very nicely. I think Parker was right and given time this one dimensional fruit bomb has developed into a balanced incredible wine that has held onto it's powerful fruit presence but also has cherry, blackberry, vanilla, oak, earth all intense and balanced. Be careful, you won't notice the 15.8% till well afterwards.
Length(9/10): Very long finish. Stays with you forever.
Overall(9/10): I wish I had more. Balanced, integrated, intense, big aroma. This can go the distance but is drinking optimally right now.

7/22/2017 - FormerWineSnob Likes this wine:

A: Deep ruby red in colour
S: Strong amazing bouquet of red fruits & spice
T: Smell follows through to the palate, minor lingering bitterness, low acidity
Overall: This has become a fabulous wine. All the initial bitterness has been turned into the wonderful aged characteristics you'd expect. This bottle was well stored so YMMV.

8/26/2016 - FormerWineSnob Likes this wine:

I remember drinking this young and thinking it was a bit closed/tanic as compared to previous vintages but still phenomenal. I decided to wait a bit before opening another and we were plesently surprised. At 6 years of age this wine tastes and smells like its just begining to open up. Very fruit forward but also developing other characteristics. Its thick too. This is definitely a people pleaser and probably not for someone looking for a more refined glass of wine. An excellent QPR.

4/2/2016 - FormerWineSnob Likes this wine:

This bottle was always in a temperature controlled environment (~54f) so compare this providence with your own.

Upon opening: Amazing aroma...tried this wine at varying stages of development and I can honesty say it's at peak now, won't get any better. The taste was equally good. Didn't need any air, just pop and pour.

30 minutes ish later ....wow, this wine certainly fell apart really quickly. If you got them, and you took care of them now's the time to enjoy them. If there good when you open them, then drink quickly otherwise you've probably missed the window on this one.

3/13/2016 - FormerWineSnob Does not like this wine:

Way too sugary

12/20/2015 - FormerWineSnob Likes this wine:

drank for 10th wedding anniversary...much better then what i remembered it to be

8/4/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

On the first day this was your typical Napa Valley Merlot. But on the second day this really gained a notch and impressed me with it's strong fruit profile. I would say cellar them for a couple of years and revisit then.

8/4/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

I loved the aromas of cassis, cedar & blueberries. The palate backed it up with balance and round tannins that mimicked the aroma's while keeping the minimal tannin's in check. This came across as a bit light as well. I'm thinking this would be a short term (1 to 3 years) cellar candidate.

8/4/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Very nice Shiraz with a very peppery palate and some fruit and decent aroma. Would buy again.

8/4/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

This is a full throttle, no holds bared, in your face, fruit bomb, over the top Shiraz, for those cold winter nights in the cottage when you need something to warm you up and at almost 16% this will do the trick.

I would buy a bunch of these and serve them to guests new to wine as this will most certainly appeal to the masses with the typical huge Aussie aroma and thick, fruity/spicy Shiraz profile all at a low cost package.

Lovers of port will surely like this.

Although, drink them up quickly (in the next year) since its definitely hitting its peak and likely to lose its big fruit profile quickly.

8/4/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

I feel it is at its peak now as the recent bottles I've had were outstanding bordering on excellent but started to fade and grow light after a few hours. I put the rest under a vacuum seal and the next day it was very much the same. Time to drink up.

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Very nice wine, with the typical napa cabernet fruit shining through surrounded by a core of oak.

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

It may just be me but I really do like the sonoma cabernet flavor profile of this wine with cherries and oak aging adding some vanilla to it.

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Very good Bordeaux with a nice old world feel to it.

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Drank this one too soon and could have used a few more years in the cellar. Its just starting to open up but still somewhat dry.

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Very tight & dry right now but starting to come around with a bit of air.

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Excellent, lots of soft strawberry & raspberry fruit with a nice grip to it. Everyone we shared the bottle with LOVED it.

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Needs time for everything to work it self out. I'll revisit this in a few years. Compared to some other notes maybe an off bottle?

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Semi dry flavor profile with typical warm climate Shiraz red fruits and a touch of spice.

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Still very dense but starting to show its stuff with an hour or two of air. I'm going to leave the rest for another year or two as I think this will get better as it balances out.

6/21/2011 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Classic Cab Franc flavor profile with a touch of spiciness to it, very enjoyable.

10/21/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Tasted at a tasting event in Toronto. The wine was profoundly different then what I had tasted at the winery under the pre-release bottle. Nose was muted and the wine exhibited a lot less of the previous outstanding qualities. I relate this to two things probably the first being 'bottle shock' and the second is it just needed more time to open up. At tasting events you rarely get the opportunity to taste wine at its peak and instead have to judge a bottle of wine very quickly as it were under less then ideal circumstances. Given time in the bottle this should come around.

8/20/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

I agree with Vinacull. Definite bricking around the edges. I would have liked to try this upon release as I am sure too it would have been a huge alcoholic fruit bomb. As it stands now, the label says 16.7% alcohol but it tastes more like 14.5%. The fruit is still there (not in the BOMB category) but nicely integrated with meaty and vanilla components. At $17.95 Canadian (High QPR!) this is a great opportunity to try an "aged" fruit bomb (5 years being very old for an Aussie fruit bomb). It is probably worth noting that my wife liked it a lot and she normally doesn't like the high alcohol wines.

edit: The wine opened up after about 30 to 60 minutes in the glass and held there. While most people suggest drinking this soon due to the bricking at the outer edges of the glass, the aroma & palate would suggest this will age gracefully. Of course so will the flavors of the wine so it really depends on what you want. If your looking for more earthy wines then hold them and try one ever so often to see how it develops those secondary flavors. If you just what to be in fruit heaven then let me pass you the funnel.

8/5/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Popped and poured - Not too impressed, had minimal aroma of typical shiraz/granche fruit and a decent palate of berries but very monotone with some herbs as some others previously noted.

Forget about in my cellar for about 5 days under a semi-vacuum seal (I pump the air out of the bottle but obviously some still stays in) - The aroma definitely picked up a huge notch and the palate was amazing showing a lot more complexity.

Find'm if you can then just sit on them for at least 5 to 8 years after the vintage date or go for a real long decant if you can't wait!

7/29/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Great everyday wine. Upon first opening there is a wonderful aroma of violets and the palate tastes like spicy blackberries with a hint of vanilla. After a an hour or two in the glass the wine does not change. This is a short term cellaring type of wine.

7/23/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

This was signing my song tonight. Nose had picked up from the previous bottle with a pronounced earthy feel to it. The palate was firing on all cylinders with that amazing vanilla and cherry integration that is typical of sonoma county/alexander valley terroir.

6/29/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Consistent with prior notes but this bottle is more muted in aroma and palate.

5/25/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Vanilla & cherries. I really love the vanilla component as it brings with it some oak spice and the cherries are a nice addition to balance out the wine.

7/23/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Cocoa, oak and black pepper with a nice touch of acidity. Not as smooth as the 2004 but may come around with age.

7/23/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

A very nice example of a little aged Cab. This had all the stuffing to just squeak into the 90 point range. Cedar & cherry, sweet and spicy. Its a fine example of the terroir of Alexander Valley. Its too bad they stopped making this wine. If your looking for this wine today you have two options, head over to the winery (they had about a case left when I was there in June) or search out for the Clos Du Bois Sonoma Reserve series. Both the Merlot and Cab are excellent and compare well to this wine.

6/17/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Tasted a pre-release sample, during a recent visit to the winery. This was amazing, much better then the 2005. Nose was very aromatic with prominent notes of blackberry and cedar and secondary notes of tobacco/cigar. The palate had very little tannins (this had probably been open for some time before I tried it-it was also not in a standard bottle but rather a non-labelled bottle as it was specially mixed from barrel). Lots of fruit, not over extracted but rather elegant and very little alcohol to taste, if I were to guess I would say around 14% or a little less. Secondary notes on the palate were consistent with the nose. The finish was about medium to long. To bad it was only available for pre-order as I would have bought a bunch depending on the price.

The thing to note about the 2006 vintage is the shortage of oak barrels. This means only the best fruit was chosen for the available oak barrels. This also means the rest of the fruit probably went into the lower tier wines which would have brought up their quality.

6/27/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

This is a girls type of wine, my wife & friends liked it. Nice aroma of violets & berries. Follows through to the palate. A bit on the medium to high side for alcohol content but it is VERY smooth and not over the top. Finish is medium in length, its not short and in fact quite delicious but leaves me wanting more. Overall I would buy this wine again if the price was right.

6/27/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Did not show as well today as it did previously.

6/27/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

consistent with prior notes

6/27/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Consistent with prior notes

6/27/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Fruity, without being overly extracted. Chocolate covered cherries with a bit of a zip.

4/25/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Pop & pour - it is fairly closed on the nose and palate
After one hour in the glass - Aroma gets better, I get a noticeable amount of blackberry fruit on the palate with a spicy finish
Left overnight - did not get any better
Overall - I really liked the 'Vinas Centenaries' label from the same producer. This wine is similar but less complex and more monotone/primal with the fruit and spice a lot more pronounced and not much if any secondary flavors . Decant 1 hour to enjoy today or cellar for a year, should hold for 6-7 years after vintage date.

4/23/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

After reading some of the reviews on this wine I was expecting a lot more. Instead what I got was a reserved nose and a green pepper taste with a short finish. Maybe it was an off bottle or maybe I needed to decant it longer then the 2 hours I did.

3/22/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

A: Deep Purple color throughout with it being slightly lighter near the edges.
N: Green Pepper, Spice, Oak . . . the nose started to develop after 30 minutes in the glass.
P: Lots of Spice, oak & some green pepper. Some blackberry, not much.
F: Average length, still tannic so it kinda pulls your gums back.
O: Could use a few more years of aging to develop the secondary nuances. This is a crowd pleaser.

3/19/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

This seemed in a closed down phase, very tannic, the kind that just pulls your gums back. Very hard to rate. I get a kind of cassis intermixed with eucalyptus, spicy palate. I give it 91-95 for the potential this wine has.

3/19/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

A lot of spicy, smooth and elegant tannins. This is just a baby. Loooong finish. Too hard to judge at this point because it is to early in its life. Although this should be stupendous in 5 to 10 years.

3/13/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

This wine lacks structure and balance. It has very little acidity to hold the dark purple 'grape juice' fruit together. Therefore the wine completely falls apart with time in the glass. This wine is definitely not for cellaring. If you have any, drink up. [I completely agree with brigcampbell when he said, 'like adding vodka to grape juice']

10/26/2009 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

[One Night in Napa Event in Toronto] This was the WOTN for the One Night in Napa event in Toronto (& one of the few 2004's as they were mostly 2005's). The aroma was very enticing with cassis & cedar in abundance and it all flowed through to the palate. The palate had lots of velvety smooth tannins and was very balanced with cassis, cedar, smoke and berry flavors all making an appearance in style. The finish was extremely long. I would call this wine a juggernaut in sheep's clothing as it will only get better over time. I won't be opening my bottles till at least 2015 to 2020.

2/25/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

I had this bottle for quite some time and I just never got around to drinking it. Golden color, faint aromas of honey suckle, very little acidity, light fruit on the palate, I taste green apple & white berries. All in all I think this bottle held up surprisingly well for being a 12 year old white.

2/14/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Awesome QPR! This was exactly what I was looking for. I was searching for an inexpensive Californian Cabernet Sauvignon to compete with the Heitz & Robert Mondavi's of the region (That also cost 5 to 7 times the price) and I found it. This Merlot tastes more like a Cabernet Sauvignon then a Merlot. The wine starts off with some spicey elegant vanilla oak and dark chocolate aromas. This follows through to the palate and almost feels as if your mouth has been wrapped in smooth cedar and dark chocolate. All this without any decanting. It would be interesting to see how this wine develops but I don't think I'll be able to hold off to find out.

2/23/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

This wine is very delicious (Lots of Spice, faint fruit, very light alcohol 13.5%), but if you live in Ontario be careful where you buy it. All bottles I bought from the LCBO tasted worse then the ones I bought from wine rack outlets or the cellar door. I think this had a lot to do with improper storing or transport of the bottles (maybe kept on the shelf too long) rather then the wine itself.

2/23/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Very faint notes of Pepper and earth, faint aroma. Delicious wine you can gulp on a budget.

2/23/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Very elegant wine, but the 2006 Jackson-Triggs Proprietors' Reserve Shiraz tastes much better and at a better price point.

2/23/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

Consistent with prior notes

2/23/2010 - FormerWineSnob wrote:

No qualities come to the fore front upon initial tasting. Tastes like your average everyday wine.