September 2, 2012 - Still a favorite wine. Lots of leather and spice, dark chocolate and espresso. Nice.
February 19, 2012 - Lots of leather, dark fruit and spice, great structure with a lasting finish of blackberry and currant. Example of a great Tempranillo.
February 3, 2012 - Aging beautifully. Excellent QPR, with that great juicy Toro taste. Plums over Dark Cherries with a cedar box of vanilla, espresso and tobacco. Long finish with a lot of leather and juicy expressive fruit. it's got a kick too at 14.5% published, but feels higher than that.
August 9, 2010 - Full red wine with berries and sweet spice. A bit of earth. Well rounded in the mid-palate. Nice.
May 8, 2010 - a bit disjointed and harsh on first sip but mid palate and finsih are well rounded and smooth. fuller type red.
December 21, 2009 - This has turned into a really beautiful wine. The nose still has powerful dark and bright fruit. The tannins are resolved. The balance is perfect. Medium-full palate. Just delicious now. Long enjoyable finish. Drinking beautifully now.
April 28, 2009 - Medium to dark purple in the glass. Dark fruit, plums specifically on the nose as well as alcohol. Very tannic at first, needs decanting as it is still very young. Plums and maybe some vanilla on the palate, firm tannins. Moderate long finish. Good but not very complicated. It will benefit from more time in bottle IMO.
February 5, 2009 - On QPR alone this is a 90 pointer ...aromatics are plums plums and more plums ... dry chalky tannins ... the finish lingers ... 2 thumbs up.
February 2, 2009 - Plum, pine forest, some vanilla on the nose. Blueberry up front. Vanilla, plum and cherry on the mid-palate. Some of the fruit carries to the finish with leather and pine. Not a complex wine but nice. Good with grilled meat.
December 9, 2008 - 45-min decant. Medium dark red with a slight earth color influence (not bricking). Candied fruit aromas on the nose with vanilla a a touch of floral perfume - nice but simple. I suspect this could use more time in the decanter to fully open up. At present, the palate expresses dark fruits gartered by heavy level of tannins. These fruits show heaviest on the mid-palate along side rose-petals and menthol. The finish is drying and very chalky, leading to the saddle-leather and sweet tobacco elements that take it home. Opening up more in the glass; more expressive fruits and an expanded 'florality'; less overtly tannic. I like this wine. It has good acid, pure dark fruits and some nice complexities on the finish; the floral components in the mid-palate are particularly nice. Up against any number of $30-$40 Ribera Del Duero wines, I bet this stands its ground quite well, and for half the price.