Nice pleasant drinking dinner wine - dark garnet color, floral fragrance, red berry, dark cherry, subtle currant and hint of cola - velvety finish with moderate tannins.
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Big, structured, and very oaky, might as well be a Napa Cab. I found the vanilla oak profile a bit too much, but there is certainly a bunch going on here. A bit of heat on the nose after two hours of decanting, really overwhelms the fruit. Subtle cherry and cola notes in the mouth, with a short wood okay finish. I remember trying this wine on release and being very impressed, but it seems it hasn’t survived the test of time. Nice, but nothing special.
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Decanted before dinner. Very good structured merlot, that should continue to improve. Reticent nose. Not the oustanding wine of the year that Gaither&Brecher-WSJ experienced.
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I am not a big fan of Merlot, it usually is too insipid for my tastes, but this was a pleasant surprise. It is very smooth, and although it doesn't have much length to the finish, it is consistent throughout, with some nice fruit; not much of a nose but a very nice bottle to take over to enjoy with friends for a casual week-day dinner.
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I have enjoyed a few bottles of this in the past, but tonight it was barely a step above the other swill, err wines, that we had with dinner (Charles Shaw & Shale Ridge). It featured a nose screaming of oak and little else. Amidst the sea of oak there were some hints of coffee, black fruit and copious alcohol. On the palate things are a bit better as the wine has a nice spine of acidity with plush tannins and a soft mouthfeel. The finish is reasonably long and pleasing with dancing acidity. It got along very well with the food. This was the only wine we didn't pour out, so I'll be curious to see if the remaining half bottle settles down at all and integrates all of that nearly sickening wood. Tonight this barely earned 80 points, but I swear in the recent past this has been a high-80's experience for me.
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1/24/2011 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Decanted immediately before dinner. No sediment. Good, but muted bouquet. Slightly harsh for merlot, but quite good.Has held up well.
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9/4/2009 - rmcnees wrote: 89 Points
Nice pleasant drinking dinner wine - dark garnet color, floral fragrance, red berry, dark cherry, subtle currant and hint of cola - velvety finish with moderate tannins.
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9/12/2007 - Mark wrote: 87 Points
Big, structured, and very oaky, might as well be a Napa Cab. I found the vanilla oak profile a bit too much, but there is certainly a bunch going on here. A bit of heat on the nose after two hours of decanting, really overwhelms the fruit. Subtle cherry and cola notes in the mouth, with a short wood okay finish. I remember trying this wine on release and being very impressed, but it seems it hasn’t survived the test of time. Nice, but nothing special.
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8/10/2007 - markellen.foodies@gmail.com wrote: 90 Points
Decanted before dinner. Very good structured merlot, that should continue to improve. Reticent nose. Not the oustanding wine of the year that Gaither&Brecher-WSJ experienced.
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7/22/2007 - smokey17 wrote: 90 Points
I am not a big fan of Merlot, it usually is too insipid for my tastes, but this was a pleasant surprise. It is very smooth, and although it doesn't have much length to the finish, it is consistent throughout, with some nice fruit; not much of a nose but a very nice bottle to take over to enjoy with friends for a casual week-day dinner.
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1/27/2003 - Eric wrote: 80 Points
I have enjoyed a few bottles of this in the past, but tonight it was barely a step above the other swill, err wines, that we had with dinner (Charles Shaw & Shale Ridge). It featured a nose screaming of oak and little else. Amidst the sea of oak there were some hints of coffee, black fruit and copious alcohol. On the palate things are a bit better as the wine has a nice spine of acidity with plush tannins and a soft mouthfeel. The finish is reasonably long and pleasing with dancing acidity. It got along very well with the food. This was the only wine we didn't pour out, so I'll be curious to see if the remaining half bottle settles down at all and integrates all of that nearly sickening wood. Tonight this barely earned 80 points, but I swear in the recent past this has been a high-80's experience for me.
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