10/10/2010 - chinese.bookie wrote:

Bought this two weeks ago at Wine Story in Manila. Had a tasting there, and liked it enough to buy it at a 50% premium over US prices. Immediate impression on opening was a nose of plums, licorice and maybe some leather. Very dark, almost opaque in the glass. After 1/2 hour or so, nose starts to show some fruits. After 2 hours, the blackberry and black cherry really starts to come out. It's not that impressive when first opened, but the flavor really starts to stand out a couple of hours in. Very full bodied and rich, much more so than when first opened.

10/10/2010 - chinese.bookie wrote:

Bought this two weeks ago at Wine Story in Manila. Had a tasting there, and liked it enough to buy it at a 50% premium over US prices. Immediate impression on opening was a nose of plums, licorice and maybe some leather. Very dark, almost opaque in the glass. After 1/2 hour or so, nose starts to show some fruits. After 2 hours, the blackberry and black cherry really starts to come out. It's not that impressive when first opened, but the flavor really starts to stand out a couple of hours in. Very full bodied and rich, much more so than when first opened.

9/19/2010 - chinese.bookie wrote:

Took this bottle with me to Manila in June 2010. Drank it on a humid September Sunday afternoon without food, Humphrey Bogart and Action in the North Atlantic on the telly. Wine has been refrigerated for the last 3 months, due to excessive heat and humidity in the Philippines. Still has tannins, but mellowing out 1/2 hour after popping the cork. Not terribly aromatic, black currant and blackberries are very apparent, lots of alcohol on the finish. -2nd glass update, poured from the bottle because my condo diesn;t have a frigging decanter: it is very obvious the wine became more volatile in the glass as it warmed, because the 2nd glass, poured cold, upon 1st taste, tasted very reserved. 2nd sip revealed huge blackberry on the back palate, incredible. Tannins dissipating, getting smoother, but with a little bite on the finish. 3rd glass update: incredible, very smooth and huge flavor, I taste fruits, maybe grapes :^) in there, complex but well integrated, a circus on my tongue.

7/28/2009 - chinese.bookie wrote:

Bought three bottles at auction, and just got on the allocation list, so I decided to try one last weekend. Deep, dark, red/purple color. Blackberry/dark fruit, peppery nose, hard to describe, but wonderful. Dense, powerful taste, took my breath away, I didn't know a Syrah could be this powerful. Smoke, pepper, hint of tobacco taste. I look forward to more, will try some later vintages to gauge if this wine is as bad as some reviewers say, or as good as others say. It's amazing that a wine from a single vintage could get ratings that vary from 80-100!