February 5, 2024 - Fifth Element delivers again. Love this Bordeaux blend.
Smooth on the pallet, blackberry fruits are plentiful with a nose that lifts you off your chair. Spicy notes complete this excellent wine.
November 5, 2023 - PnPd. Bursting aromatics out of the glass. Evolved fruit to tertiary. Dried date and fig paste. Charred wood and mocha. This has definitely hit its peak. A bit tired on the backend of the finish. Don’t get me wrong, this is gulpable but it’s going to start disjointing and fading soon. Drink up.
December 31, 2021 - Road 13 Fifth Element Vertical - 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016: Had blind as part of a Road 13 Fifth Element Vertical. All the wines had dark colour and a lot of similar taste characteristics. All wines were double decanted for two hours.
What a great wine with loads of potential. As with some of the other wines, it didn't initially offer up much on the nose, but did continue to open up throughout the evening. Dark cherries.
Ranked 2 of 4, but just being picky between the 2013 and 2016 - both are fantastic with the 2013 likely benefiting from a few more years on it.
December 5, 2021 - Opened last night with neighbours. Had a Le Vieux Pin (Grand Pin) and then a Yalumba GSM then the 5th Element. It was great right out of the bottle, but opened up quickly. Big floral and black fruit nose, full bodied and some chalky tannins, but wow, what a beauty. Had a glass left for tonight and it was mind-blowing. I kept thinking, "this is way better than a Nota Bene or Red Icon, or.....". Probably one of the best BC wines I've had for some time. I do believe the bottles can be inconsistent, but this one blew me away.
July 18, 2021 - Seemed different somehow from the other '16's I've had, like some bottle variation. There was distinct cassis and graphite on the nose (which I love), but never got that from 5th Element before. It seemed a little sour on the finish, but after an hour it was prefect. Had this and several others out on the patio with several friends. Vanessa Meritage and Stag's Leap Petit Sirah.
March 20, 2021 - Had with a La Stella Espressivo. Decanted both for 2 hours - both wines were similar, rich fruits, dark, still a tad young. The Road 13 had a bit more alcohol on the finsish, the Espressivo had a bit more bitter nose and entry. Espressivo had a very prominent blueberry flavour. Tie goes to the runner - both are solid BC blends.
December 31, 2020 - HNY BC, and a French Visitor (My backyard): Fully blind tasting, 2 hour decant, all 2016 vintages.
- Burrowing Owl Meritage
- Chateau La Vielle Cure – aka the French ninja to keep people honest
- Noble Ridge Reserve Meritage
- Road 3 Fifth Element.
Burrowing Owl - was closed and clearly too young. No noticeable notes on the nose, and the finish was unmemorable – love Burrowing Owl wines and will look forward to this in another 3 to 5 years. Our French taster described it as being “écoeurante” – which she described as something that is okay as a sip, but not something you’d want a full bottle of. 44 CS, 30 M, 25 CF, 1 Malbec.
Chateau La Vielle Cure – performed well amongst the BC Meritages. Had a pleasant nose with a bit more bite. Very purple in colour, almost fake looking, but was still a very nice drinking wine. 87 M, 10 CF, 3 CS.
Noble Ridge – Blasé nose. Nothing memorable on the tasting notes. Was out of its league with the others, but improved over the evening. 59 M, 37 C, 2 CF, 2 Malbec
Road 13 5th Element – Prominent cherry notes. Big tannins that dissipated over the evening. A solid wine. 44 CS, 41 M, 15 PV.
Unofficial rankings:
1st place - Road 13 Fifth Element
2nd place - Cure
3rd - Burrowing Owl
4th Noble Ridge
November 9, 2020 - More concentrated than I recall. Big black fruits. Very easy to drink. Looking forward to see how this wine ages.
December 25, 2019 - Had in a fully blind tasting - all 2016 vintages - Black Hills Nota Bene, La Frenz Grand Total, Painted Rock Red Icon, and Road 13 5th Element.
9 tasters ranked wines 1 to 4. All wines were decanted for 3 hours.
3 x 1st place Grand Total, 3 x 1st place 5th Element..
Interestingly the 2 non wine drinkers picked Red Icon as their favourite. The 7 other more experienced (but still all amateur) wine drinkers all put Red Icon last, in part because of its off-putting nose. If you think yourself a wino you probably will not enjoy.
One outlier picked Nota Bene. It is not drinking well, I hope it develops over the coming years as I have a bunch of it, but starting to lose hope for the 2015 and onwards vintages. Over oaked and or not enough fruit for a Bordeaux blend - if you like Italian wines give it a chance.
5th Element had better fruit and structure than La Frenz Grand Total, but bodes well for the ability for both of these to age and be delicious for another 5 plus years.
Final ranking:
1. Road 13 5th Element
2. La Frenz Grand Total
3. Black Hills Nota Bene
4. Painted Rock Red Icon
February 2, 2019 - Wow loved this wine. For anyone who is unsure about BC reds. Dark purple in color. Notes of black currant, vanilla, dark chocolate, and light pepper on finish. Dry, med body, nice acidity, smooth tannins. Still young, many years left on this wine.