December 29, 2023 - Pure fruit with nice acidity to keep it fresh and tasty. Balanced with integrated oak and alcohol. Will amazingly work with any braised meat with raisin in the braising liquid. Kudos.
March 24, 2020 - Not a bad wine, but I think I was more ape about the 2012 vs. the 2014. Now, compared to other wines at the price, this used to be a steal (not anymore). But compared to the 2012, this 2014 is fundamentally lacking something. There is still a black and purple fruit core on this, with a tar and dark black middle. Went very well with herbed chicken. Good acidity up front, nice finish with some dark baking chocolate and black fruit with some herbs. Enjoyable, but is not a 93-94 wine. The 2012 is much more enjoyable than the 2014.
August 14, 2019 - Dark and concentrated, nose is a little flat, mouth feel is pleasing with medium viscosity - flavors are still a bit bound up, hoping it will open over time - suggest giving it another year, check in in 2020
January 11, 2019 - Winorama: A winter in Wineland III; 1/4/2019-1/13/2019 (Portland/Willamette, Eureka, Napa): This wine is usually a favorite for me with the tastings although I find that it often needs quite a bit of time to wake up and show full potential. I'm not sure I gave it all of that. Swirled some in the glass, but esp with the food it was a nice combination. Still good. Kindof a blend between more dark fruits and woodsy notes.
October 25, 2018 - I always seem to screw up and not order nearly enough of this. This one goes more to the smoky, meaty side than the previous release(s), yet still has full court press of black fruit, black licorice, black pepper, and allspice. This wine does take an hour to figure itself out as this one was extremely acidic and somewhat disjointed initially. This wine poured a dark violet to the glass. The nose is black fruit, licorice with a hint of grilled meat, iodine, and a nutty character. The entry is dark black fruit, black licorice, smoke, leather, with plum and grilled meat character in the middle with some allspice kind of character. Finishes with nice acidity and a stiff, toasted tannin on the finish with lots of black pepper and fruit. This wine is on full blast, so make sure your suspenders are on. Gonna try to beg for more of this, as it will still be going strong for a while.
September 21, 2018 - Aroma: faint spicy cherry aromas with herbal, mineral and leather notes. Violets.
Palate: rich, balanced red plum and berry flavors with leather and meaty notes. Beautifully balanced with good acidity and smooth tannin. Very good.
January 13, 2018 - Winorama: A winter in Wineland II; 1/6/2018-1/14/2018 (Portland, Eureka, Napa): Targeted for release this fall, but we did a check-in on it at the winery. Boysenberry jumps out from the start. Very price and nice structure to the wine. Touch of rose petals. Usually when I drink these wines I feel like they need many hours to open up and hit another gear. This one was evolving throughout, but never quite kicked off the baby fat (not sure if it's vintage or the fact that it's still so young). Great wine though and always a favorite for me in these tastings.