October 28, 2011 - Dark brick ruby. Toasted herb, a little nutmeg, hoisin bouquet. The body is medium. There is considerable acid present, but it's acting more as a preservative than imparting any drive. Faded fruit, some chalky minerality, walnut. No grace in its aging.
December 4, 2009 - Deep ruby. Quite intense initial nose of assorted spices (black pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon) and black cherry. Full-bodied on the palate, with low-to-medium acidity and medium ripe tannins. The flavors are initially spice-dominated like the nose. After 90 minutes in the glass, the spice simmers down on the nose and palate, allowing more black cherry to appear. Medium, fairly smooth finish. Quite drinkable, but not particularly varietally correct. Drink now-12/13.
October 16, 2009 - Thought I stocked my cellar a few years back with a handful of 2004's, which I really had enjoyed. Pulled this out, and it turned out to be a 2003 -- which I certainly had not bought intentionally. Oops. And, this is no way came close to the 2004 in quality. Strong up front fruit, almost jammy, but alcohol was to prominent, short finish and not much else going for it.
November 4, 2008 - Tasted again with consistent notes from the 5/4/2008: Hints of cherries and smoke on the nose with cedar and chocolate on the palate. fair finish
May 4, 2008 - Hints of cherries and smoke on the nose with cedar and chocolate on the palate. fair finish
February 1, 2008 - This wine went well with our dinner. I can see where it might not be the ideal critic's wine. It is not a lightweight Pinot but nor is it the type of complex taste experience that might push this over the 90 point mark. I had this wine with a roasted pork chop while my cousin had seafood. It was strong enough to not be overwhelmed by the pork chop but not too strong to blow away the fish.
November 26, 2007 - Light purple in color. Slight chocolate and cinamon on the nose, although muted. Simple on the palate showing chocolate covered cherry. This seemed a bit acidic currently.
December 30, 2006 - drinkable and would probably improve dramatically with a couple of years, but at the price one can do a LOT better.
July 17, 2006 - Opeed not decanted.Super sweet nose of dark blueberries; a high acid level for me, kind of rakes the tongue like a venetian blind going up and down with a dry tannic finish. Vaguely reminds me af an Archery Summitt OR PN that I had a couple of years ago. Ok.
Day 2. The acid level has dropped quite a bit, and everything is darker, deeper, with fig and licorice tones to it. It has gotten a lot better and I've now upgraded it to Good.