December 10, 2016 - Needs a good 3 to 4 hour decant to open up, otherwise the finish is dryingly short. Shiraz upfront, dark red cherries, spice, a little juicy, then the cabernet kicks in with a savoury cigar box finish. Wonderful wine, still holding up nicely. Drink over the next 2 to 3 years,
April 17, 2014 - Good Friday Eve Tasting Dinner (Jan's Place, St. Paul, MN): Very dark red-purple color. PNP, drank 2 glasses over 3 hours. Wow, great nose with crushed wild blueberries, dark raspberry, spices, this becomes nicely earthy after 30 minutes and evolves to show creme de cassis as well. The palate is fresh and lively, elegant, savory, meaty, anise, blue and black fruits, dusty tannins, velvety texture, and a very, very long (100+ second) finish. This was full and rich, but still very elegant. Much better than when tasted 3 years ago. My and group WOTN, 94+pts.
March 16, 2014 - Very nice . Was rather apprehensive of the stated 15.5 alcohol but 10 years aging has obviously helped so no headache the following morning . Dark in colour and bursting with fruit . Good balance .
February 14, 2014 - Decanted 1 hour and paired with cheese fondue & pork loin cubes. Massive fruit on the nose, sweet blackberry, pepper, vanilla. Just a delicious, albeit HUGE wine. Love it!
December 24, 2012 - Great Cab/Syrah blend. Huge on the pop, but several hours of unattended air time later, it was smooth and so tasty. Still a bit of oak apparent, but drinking really well.
September 2, 2011 - Dark purple in color with a fruity nose. The flavor palette is dominated by a rich black cherry core with hints of liberica coffee, a faint hint of oak and a spicy finish. Its well balance and not as big as I expect it to be. Its was a little restrained on the first day but drinking great on the second.
August 19, 2011 - Still a very young wine but has the stuffing and structure to go for quite a while. Powerful depth of fruit displaying aniseed, coffee, dark fruits and balanced oak. A little alcohol heat but not overtly so. Velvety tannins and lovely long finish with good acid balance. Personally I prefer the 04 Godolphin in terms of style and focus but this isn't far behind.
August 7, 2011 - Minneapolis Does a Blind Tasting Part 2 (Tracy's House): Nice wine with blueberries, spice, minerals and cherry. Medium tannins and medium and concentrated finish. Should age nicely for five plus years.
August 6, 2011 - Minneapolis Wine Club - Blind Tasting (Tracy's): DArk purple red color. Nose is complex with blueberries, blackberries, earth, spice. The palate is deeply concentrated, black and blue fruits, a bit of alcohol bleeds through at tiems, the palate is medium - full bodied., nice finish. Initially, this was my WOTN, but I thought it tailed off a little over time and I finally ranked it #2 WOTN. This was very good, but I must say I was hoping for more.
August 23, 2010 - Decanted 30 min. Opaque purple. Nose of explosive berry fruit, black cherry, espresso, vanilla. Huge on the palate, perhaps darker fruit than the nose suggests, tart berry on the midpalate, rich smooth toasted oak, coffee, and berry notes on the end. Long, rich finish. Acidity lends balance and focus.