December 18, 2017 - I'm going to be the odd man out here and since there are still 90 bottles listed as being in cellars on CT, I am going to tell them "Well done!" When this wine first came out it was rather cooked, heavy, leaden and checking in at 14.5%, it was a "headache in every bottle" as a friend of mine use to call it whenever we opened some. Sure it was smoooooth in an almost raisiny sort of fashion, but it had so many other evident flaws that I'm not surprised at the wide range of scores that have accompanied this wine over its life.
Still, after carefully cellaring this wine for 12 years I am happy to report that it has emerged from some sort of cocoon as an elegant, light/medium weight beauty with lift and appeal - I didn't even notice the 14.5% it was so well integrated. The heavy over ripe fruit of youth was gone, it was no longer the black inky wine of old. If ever a duckling could grow up to be a swan this is it. If you are one of the lucky 90 good for you.
January 28, 2011 - Wine had a nice bright berry nose and followed up with fairly vibrant fruit with some green notes and a decent finish- i thought this wine was very nice and probably the most aged USA grown Mourvedre I have had-Would be interested to see where it goes in a few more years. A solid food wine
October 1, 2010 - Surprisingly good; still retained fruit and had some complexity though everything finished rather abruptly. Not bad for a New World Monastrell/Mourvèdre.
June 14, 2010 - Quite a nice wine. Judging by the tasting notes it seems that this wine has improved with age. While there is some more of the leather and tar notes on the nose there is still quite a bit of fruit: dried fig, prune, but also some black cherry and for awhile I thought I detected orange peel. Also some nice spice: nutmeg and clove. The tannins are soft and the acidity is medium. Easy drinking on a rainy night.
November 10, 2008 - Deep earthy flavors, and dark rich green leafy veggies. Slight gameyness made this interesting, perhaps with roasted chicken & garlic.
September 23, 2008 - easy to drink, more vegetal than fruit flavors
August 8, 2008 - Enjoyed this immensely. Very earthy, almost painfully dry. This doesn't compare at all to a typical California Cab, which surprised me., I found to be wonderfully different. Drink with a steak for sure.
April 30, 2008 - Nose: Dark fruits & some vegetables (green peppers). Chocolate dust (like cocoa mix).
Taste: A little Hy-C thin at first. Then a strange taste (not wrong - just different). I'm not sure how to describe. Medium to long finish.
Definately a food wine. I tried it with steak and it matched very well.
March 28, 2008 - Like others said, this IS odd and slightly vegetal, but it's actually more or less balanced in that regard, not half as bad in that regard as, say, a Cab Franc would be (and I like Cab Franc). The flavor profile was actually kind of interesting, but the wine itself was lifeless, no acidity, no tannin to speak of til it was nearly dead, and no finish whatsoever. Such a blah wine, on such an interesting concept. I know it's a tricky grape to do this with, but I'd still be interested in trying varietal Mourvedre is I found a good example. This is not it.
January 18, 2008 - some dark plum flavors and oak, but this didn't sit with me too well. there's a bizarre, funky prune candy flavor that starts on the midpalate and continues to the finish. lacking any sort of complexity.