Strait out of the bottle there is a bit of funk on the nose that blew off quickly to display heavy oak and blackberry jam scents. In the mouth there is nice light caramel, black berries, blueberries, and a trail of dark chocolate. This medium bodied wine has a nice presence of acidity in the mid palate that integrates the bright fruit, oak and chocolate characters within the wine into a smooth controlled finish with firm tannic support that leads me to believe that this can go for another 6-8 years. Given some time in the glass scents of leather, and fresh herbs become slight and subtle. Served at room temperature there is a light bit of heat in the mid-palate. However, after 10 minutes in the fridge in a decanter this wine has become something of a seductive melange of oak, pure blue fruit, chocolate, and leather working together in unison. With a rustic nose of earth, black cherries, leather and licorice. What is nice about this wine is that the purity of the fruit is not overshadowed by alcohol, tannin, or oak. While the oak treatment is obvious it is kept in check by the overall balance in the purity within the wine.
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Popped and dropped. No distinguishable fruit, but great earthy leathery mid palate. A little short on the finish, but i can't complain at this price point.
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8/17/2008 - Kirk Grant wrote:
Strait out of the bottle there is a bit of funk on the nose that blew off quickly to display heavy oak and blackberry jam scents. In the mouth there is nice light caramel, black berries, blueberries, and a trail of dark chocolate. This medium bodied wine has a nice presence of acidity in the mid palate that integrates the bright fruit, oak and chocolate characters within the wine into a smooth controlled finish with firm tannic support that leads me to believe that this can go for another 6-8 years. Given some time in the glass scents of leather, and fresh herbs become slight and subtle. Served at room temperature there is a light bit of heat in the mid-palate. However, after 10 minutes in the fridge in a decanter this wine has become something of a seductive melange of oak, pure blue fruit, chocolate, and leather working together in unison. With a rustic nose of earth, black cherries, leather and licorice. What is nice about this wine is that the purity of the fruit is not overshadowed by alcohol, tannin, or oak. While the oak treatment is obvious it is kept in check by the overall balance in the purity within the wine.
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2/18/2008 - vbellore wrote: 88 Points
Popped and dropped. No distinguishable fruit, but great earthy leathery mid palate. A little short on the finish, but i can't complain at this price point.
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9/1/2007 - duckyfufu wrote: 86 Points
Nose of light cherry with spice. Very dark opaque ruby in color. Strong tannins with flavors of dark fruits and cedar. Chewy, but not overly rich.
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10/20/2006 - Aiko165 wrote: 92 Points
Consistently tasty - buy more. Just a great balance wine for any occasion...particularly with food.
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4/6/2006 - Aiko165 wrote: 88 Points
d/w L. McGrath...yummy as always.
This time with hangar steak....tasty!
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