December 24, 2022 - Excellent bottle with aged right bank Bordeaux notes.
September 16, 2018 - Second Sunday Group: 2015 Burgundy (Augie's): Dark fruit and spice elements in the bouquet follow through on the palate. Incense notes add complexity but then there's an odd chemical insecticide-like element that emerges and takes over. Too bad.
November 3, 2012 - Cellar Diminishment Party (M/M thelostverse): Terrific red fruit on the nose and palate.
May 3, 2012 - Aromatic on the nose with perfumed red fruits and a bit of secondary funk and smoke. On the palate medium to full in body with good balancing acidity and a hint of resin that draws out the finish. Some very mild tannins. Good QPR and probably approaching peak drinking window. Update: 5 hours later - I didn't notice this at first, and 5 hours later my wife didn't notice it either. But, there was something lurking, like "lightly corked". Very, very lightly corked. A slight must on the nose, a bit sharp on the finish.
So, second bottle sacrificed as an educational experience. Sure enough, the second bottle was spot on, without any hint of the flaws in the first. Even more open and forward on the nose, better balanced and smoother on the palate. I guess the real test would be to try this second bottle after 5 hours. Not sure that I'll last 'til 1am to see it through....:).
Score is for the second bottle, though I rated the first one 90 points out of the gate.
December 11, 2010 - Had with a burger. Very nice.
November 24, 2010 - Nice Napa merlot. Very smooth wine that lacks a bit of tannin, but very enjoyable nonetheless.
July 23, 2009 - Blue fruits - cherry cola - good acidity - after an hour some chocolate and vanilla were were more prominent. Good example of mountain fruit.
January 17, 2009 - Dark red and blue fruits with biting acidity.
May 15, 2008 - Poured the '03 the night before and enjoyed more than I expected. This didn't follow through quite as well, however is still a very nice Napa Merlot at a reasonable price. Had a nice mouthfeel with dusty tannins, some bitter-sweet chocolate, tobacco and black cherry. Hints of spice, particularly on the finish made it interesting. Acidity wasn't as balanced as the '03, but was still prevalent.
May 15, 2008 - Michael Keenan Pours some of his wines: This is a damn fine merlot. Huge nose. This is a full and powerful wine, nothing like I expect Merlot from Cali to taste like. Meaty, with some heavy duty tannins. You can tell that most of the fruit comes from mountain fruit. Dark fruits and mocha qaulities. The texture fills the mouth. 91+