March 10, 2018 - Excellent tannins came through after 2-3 hours decanting. Improved continuously. Elegant dark red fruits and dark chocolate on the nose & taste. Good to drink now - 2-3 years.
April 10, 2014 - Pop & poured, dark inky core, very evident american oak on the nose with vanilla scent and deep black fruits. After an hour or two it shows more mix of dark & red fruits with cedar oak.
Medium+ bodied and rich mouth-feel, jammy palate exhibits dark plums, blackberries, red fruits and oak. Silky smooth with good acidity backbone. A little bit more polished, elegant and less minty/herbal than the Peter Lehmann Cabernet Sauvignon The Barossa '08 which still has a bit of rough edge. A nice and well made wine at this price point but a bit more straightforward. Chewy tannins with medium+ finish. This bottle is drinking nicely at the moment.
March 29, 2014 - Very intense with ripe dark fruit flavors. Medium finish.
August 31, 2013 - nice bouquet. slightly bitter on the finish but hard to complain at 11.00
December 14, 2012 - Dark red, still hint of purple at the rim. Not much nose (too cold?) but big burst of fruit (cherry, plum, blackcurrant) and a hot of toasted oak, then lingering alcohol. Finish is a bit like cassis ! Simple but enjoyable.
April 10, 2012 - This is a deep dark garnet - still purple at the edges, impenetrable at the core. The nose is deep and rich - plenty of maturing aromas - leather, dark cherry, rhubarb, engine oil, cinnamon, chocolate, a little mint, alcohol sticks out slightly. On the palate, the texture is full bodied - like the engine oil detected on the nose, incredibly viscous. So viscous, it gets in the way of the flavours somewhat. Initially, it is quite oak dominated, coming through as coconut. Given some time to settle down (a few days), this eventually abates, but there is not much fruit to come through, some blueberry, cherry, maybe raspberry?, resulting in a slightly empty mid palate. Some spice - marzipan. Acid, and tannin are nicely balanced. The finish is of medium length and light intensity.
The thick texture is the standout feature of this wine, and if you like that, this is a good buy. Certainly some winemaking skills evident for the price, not sure of the quality of the base ingredients though.
September 12, 2011 - poured at a business dinner in Singapore. quite nice. I thought it was a Napa cab until I saw the bottle - it's fairly heavy on the oak with a smoky vanilla nose and a rich smooth palate. FWIW I didn't get any of the alcohol/heat that the previous reviewer tasted - and I'm very sensitive to alcohol in red wine so it's likely a bottle variation issue.
June 28, 2011 - Decanted for around an hour, but still feel the heat and sun on the nose - like a fireball attacking your nose. They try to make it complex with menthol, a bit dark fruit, a little bit of everything. Good begining, not bad in the middle and not bad finishing. Howver, soon after in the mouth the taste and the water seperate. Is it because the wine needs a few month to sink in? I appreciate their effort in making the wine but the quality of the grapes is very average. However, given the price, what can you expect?