July 9, 2016 - Disjointed. The winery is blending a couple of grapes I just don't like to see together in such quantities (cab and syrah). Too much of each together, to my palette creates a dischord, each trying to talk over the other. Not harmony, just noise. Loud noise. If you like a BIG wine, this is certainly that. I'll give it credit for nice extraction, anyway.
April 2, 2016 - nice blend of cab and syrah started to show after an hour. It was refreshing from the 100% syrahs we had during the night.
January 17, 2015 - Nice Cab-Syrah blend. Drinking well right now. Give 30 mins or so to breathe as it will improve. Received as a gift so cannot give a QPR but we drank this after a 2008 Abeja cab and thought this was slightly better.
October 15, 2014 - Purple red, nose of blackberry jam. Dry with light acid, fairly restrained with medium fruit and light, smooth tannins. Drinking very well with a night of rest. With more time, tart blackberries and mushrooms, smoked salmon with nicely aged quality and good balance with tartness and some bitter tannins. Getting better with age, drink or hold for a few more years.
October 14, 2014 - Came across this in the back of my cellar, probably a gift and not a wine I'd tried before. It's holding up well, dark ruby with no browning on the rim. Expected it to be a PnP but was actually a bit closed and needed a little aeration, after which smoothed out nicely. Muted nose of cherry with a hint of rubber, tasted better than it smelled. Not a complex wine but nicely integrated. Good acid, some fruit, tannins mostly gone. It's probably at or slightly past its peak now, drink up.
August 5, 2014 - Inky dark ruby, nose of ripe plums. Off dry with chewy tannins on the PnP. Ripe plums and cherries, full bodied fruit with some acid to keep a good balance. Finishes with some bold, but not oaky tannins. Not really for the AFWE bunch, but a good wine for the fruit lovers. Good out of the gate, and should last a bit longer.
May 28, 2014 - Still juicy and fresh with good acidity. Not super complex, but was still enjoyable to drink with or without food. 88+
June 28, 2013 - Still holding up, but definitely on its way out. Enough structure to pair with a good steak. A good amount of fruit left, but tannins have pretty much disappeared and I'm glad I didn't wait too much longer.
April 15, 2013 - Nothing stood out on this wine, boring.
November 15, 2012 - drank over two nights. maybe a little more expressive the second night. was very nice and smooth. medium bodied.