December 2, 2014 - This has matured into a very nice, smooth wine. Still plenty of fruit for balance.
July 11, 2013 - This wine is very drinkable with meats and rich foods. It is not overly complex, focusing on ripe fruits as the vast majority of the flavor. It is a bit of a fruit bomb. Very low on tannins. Extremely dark in color.
January 27, 2013 - Added to a cioppino and drank along side
August 17, 2012 - A bit too much fruit for me. Not sufficiently integrated due to insufficient acidity.
December 8, 2011 - Fat and fruity on the nose and palate, with full components of ripe boysenberry, sweet cured tobacco, and touches of woodsmoke and caramel, but flabby and sweet - almost syrupy. Unfortunately, the wine doesn't offer sufficient acidic structure to compensate for its near-cloying ripeness. It deserves some credit for purity of flavor, but I can't recommend it.
November 6, 2011 - As before (March 201)... A very enjoyable Syrah for the price.
October 3, 2011 - Super ripe, plus American oak. Different experience than Shiraz. Like drinking vanilla scented chocolate milk. Hard to drink more than a glass, but interesting nonetheless. Must have been even better when it had more acidity to add lift. Comes across nicely when slightly chilled at the end of a meal.
September 14, 2011 - Blind tasting w/ DP, recorded next day. Purple, no rim variation, slight staining of tears, medium+ concentration, medium viscosity. High intensity, fruit forward nose; stewed black fruit, baking spices/dill indicative of new American oak, meat. Concentrated black fruit flavor (stewed), strong oak presence. Guessed South Aussie Shiraz, '08 (2 out of 3 correct).
August 27, 2011 - Madagascar vanilla beans, rye bread, whiskey, figs, wild rice and sunflower seeds. Tastes of pecan pie, denim, hazelnut, brie, more fig. Yes, jammy. Balanced by a decent sour backbone, but not quite structured enough, and has a metallic tinge if one is nitpicking. This gets 93s from Wine Enthusiast for a reason; the dramatically lower scores are a bit ridiculous.
July 22, 2011 - Meh. Dry and dusty fruit. Not a lot of vibrancy to this.