July 27, 2020 - The initial port-like, raisiny, prune, and fig flavors fade away after some air to reveal richly complex aromas dark cherry, cassis, floral, anise, black pepper, candied bacon, burnt toast, and clove. Resolved tannins, astringent black tea dries out the mouth leaving behind an earthy, menthol aftertaste. Aroma complexity surpasses the non-distinctive palate at this point.
March 20, 2016 - Still has the signs of a hot year 2003. Huge w volatile acidity and alcohol. It's a little better an hour in. Let's revisit this tomorrow.
January 23, 2016 - Dense, dark, lots of fruit and earthy. Still going strong
August 21, 2014 - -- popped and poured --
-- tasted non-blind over a few hours --
-- 80% Syrah, 9% Mourvedre, 7% Bobal, 4% Tempranillo --
NOSE: ripe red fruits; hints of mineral and flowers; black cherry and mineral; high-toned aspect suggests this will have decent-to-good acidity on the palate; not oaky or funky; expressive & complex.
BODY: fine particulate matter present; garnet-violet color of great depth; medium-full to full bodied.
TASTE: medium acidity; tannins still quite strong; good concentration of fruit --- dark, earthy; medium smoke note; light oak; hint of leather; paired well with steak; not particularly distinctive, but this strikes me as very well-made, and I bet this would continue to improve over another 5 – 10 years; drink or hold; my score may be a touch low.
50, 5, 13, 16, 7 = 91
June 25, 2014 - From 75cl, perfect cork, decanted 2 hours. Two years since my previous bottle, this has softened into a beautiful rich blackberry-fruited Syrah with velvety tannins, generous soft glycerine and just enough supremely ripe acidity to keep things lively. Delicious now, will certainly keep (but probably not improve) for 3-4 years. 90P
June 20, 2013 - Deep dark garnet - decanted with only a small amount of sediment but the bottle was totally stained. Clean and rich nose of smoke, fur, dark fruit, earth, forest floor and spices. Dry but with a sweet fruit on the front of the palate that carried all the way through the mid to the back palate - the tannins are fully resolved but still present, medium acidity, full body and medium + alcohol that doesn't intrude at all. Extremely well balanced and ready now but has years ahead of it. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was Mourvedre dominated - it has that animal sense to it... The finish is very long - minutes... We enjoyed it with a rich chocolate ganache. Very harmonious as the ganache was not overly sweet. One very special bottle!
April 10, 2013 - Aerate to decanter. Full body, crimson with lots of black hues, no sign of bricking, half teaspoon of sediment left in bottle. Big brooding bouquet of blackberries, ripe plums, hoisin sauce, tobacco, chocolate and a little oak. Dark ripe fruits on the palate along with dark chocolate, black tea, and earth. Medium acid and lots of soft tannins give it a velvety mouthfeel. Medium finish showing a bit of alcohol. Overall a big wine and enjoyable but fruit just a touch flabby so not quite as good as expected. Fair value at 28.
November 27, 2012 - Dark wine with heavy body and velvety mouth feel. Much better on day #2 as rough edges melted away. This is a big oak monster but very well integrated and pleasant to drink when you crave a cedar, dark fruited, earthy milkshake. It's very good for its style and a good QPR.
October 27, 2012 - quite chalky, bricky, thick upon opening. After about 1 hr, revealed blackberries, more balanced, some tobacco. Went very well with steak and bbq'd vegetables.
September 20, 2012 - From 75cl, v. gd. cork closure, P+P: Expressive leather-spice box and deep, ripe, dark mulberry-loganberry scent, much more open than a year ago. So far so good. Alas, the entry is compressed, more roughly tannic than ripely fruity; the mid-palate pure but without bloom or crescendo and the finish leaves my tongue feeling like a strip of raw cowhide. All in all a bumpy ride this evening, but in hope of it opening further and smoothing out with time, let's project 89P at maturity (2015?)