Ripe black cherry and plum aromas mingle with toasty oak and a hint of leather.
Flavor: In the mouth, ripe black cherry, plum and currant flavors are beautifully in balance with sweet oak carrying through to a long finish. Tannins are supple and round.
Ultimate Beverage Challenge 85 points - With a nose full of cherry and oak spice, this rich and opulent wine boasts notes of stewed fruit, tobacco and Christmas spices, with a hint of coffee on the finish. (May 2012)
Wine Spectator 90 points - Quite reliant on jazzy oak, but it's also quite rich and concentrated, with appealing currant, black cherry, anise, mineral and leathery notes, finishing with pretty coffee ground notes. Drink now through 2009. 88,858 cases made. –JL (May 31 2003)
Wine Spectator 87 points - Smooth and supple, with a tasty mix of currant, cedar, tobacco and spice, it wins points for its elegance and balance. Mildly tannic, it's ready to drink now. Drink now through 2008. 97,000 cases made. –JL
A bit too reliant on smoky, sandalwood-scented oak for flavor and that woodiness gives it a dry, cedary edge, masking in part the core of ripe plum and wild berry. Some will find the oaky presence more appealing than others. Drink now through 2009. 105,000 cases made. –JL
Simple, with dilute cedar, dried currant and herb notes. Drink now. 143,000 cases made. –JL
Intense and earthy, with dry, leathery flavors that turn bitter. Tasted three times, with consistent notes. 120,000 cases made. –JL
Offers a rich, elegant beam of ripe, creamy pear, apple, melon and spice, ending with a mineral edge. Drink now. 75,000 cases made. –JL
May 2011 Ultimate Wine Challenge (Aug 31 /200)
