Tasted in March '07. Great color, classic cab nose sort of evergreenish/olive eucalptus and berries. Good structure, well balanced, good fruit upfront cassis and some berries- multi-tiered flavors on mid-palate and finish. It does taste like a Bordeaux style Napa cab- delicious.

Tasted in September 2007:
Moderate dark red color. Aromas of game, rasberries, vanilla and sweet cherries. Leather and sour cherries are upfront on the palate, with some restrained cedar and vanilla behind leather and raspberries on mid palate through the finish. Good weight to the mouthfeel - heavy, but smooth satiny tannins, good acidity and a fairly decent finish. A good wine with or without food. Pairs well with a Porterhouse or a NY strip though.

I feel that two separate tasting notes would best describe this wine. Light reddish color with purple/magenta like color. Pink/clear edges. Immediately upon opening it shows a grapey nose, with grape flavors that give way quickly to pure raspberry and subtle cherry flavors along with a green leafy herbal element. good acidity, ripe tannin, raspberries really persist on the finish. It somewhat resembles a good cru beaujolais.
One hour after opening cherries and raspberries come through on the nose, while raspberries, cherries and gentle cocoa almost currant-like notes come across on the palate with lighter leafy herbal flavors. More cherries and a little spice join the raspberries on the finish. This is a good QPR wine.

Tasted Summer 2007. Deep, dark purple color with clear edges. Has aromas of black fruit, coffee, vanilla and spice. Shows upfront flavors of black cassis, some ripe plum with vanilla, the mid palate shows some mellow tobacco and touches of smoke and spice, the flavors integrate wonderfully in this palate coating full bodied wine. Pretty good finish, good balance of structural elements, fun complexity of balanced flavors where one flavor doesn't overshadow another. This is a very good wine for under twenty dollars. I look foward to buying this wine again.

Tasted summer 2007. Moderately concetrated purplish red color. Nose has a delicious toastiness along with pure raspberries and cherries. Upront flavors of raspberries, and bright, ripe cherries, along with slightly creamy toasty clove flavors. The oak elements complement the fruit profile well from the the mid palate and into the finish that also shows a smidge of black fruit. Good structure and balance. The Silky tannins are a touch dry now, but they are refined and polished. This is a very good wine at a reasonable QPR. I will buy this again.

Bright, light, pretty red color typical of pinot noir. Nose has fantastic aromas of crushed raspberries (fruit and seed-like), and faint cherries. Flavors upfront on the palate include pure raspberries with cranberries. A gentle touch of earth and other nuances come through on the midpalate. Shows very silky and mouth drying tannins, flavor core stays together for an okay finish. I think I'd prefer this wine with some more bottle aging. It's a delicate wine that was overpowered somewhat by a grilled veal chop I had tonight. A good wine but not great. With a discount paid 26.00. Several others who have tried it seem to be more enthusiastic about it.

Tasted Summer 2007. Dark red color, slight orangey hues on edges. tasted the wine immediately prior to decanting. Rather tight right out of the gate, but the nose shows cherries and some beefy tomato aromas. Wine shows cherries and some game initially- good and tight concentration. Smooth silky tannins, good acidity balance and finish- however I'm wondering if it needs more bottle time.

One hour later: Trying a small pour and it's opening up some more where a perfumed floral aromas are emerging with cherries on the nose. The flavor profile is getting more complex as well. Along with pure cherry flavors it is showing some tasty vegetal tones blending with tomatoey beefy gamish flavors- nice leather flavors are coming throught too. Man, I'm trying to hold off another 45 minutes before I have this with a steak.

20 minutes later: In his review of the wine, Parker notes caramel and cedar flavors. I don't like parroting critics' tasting notes but caramel flavors are also coming through on the midpalate now, along with laid back cedar which join in on the finish. Yea, I'm having fun with this wine.

1hour later: Having a little bit more before dinner shows pretty much the same. During dinner, smokey flavors have a strong presence with the wine. My steak was coated with olive oil and kosher salt and cooked on a gas grill. All the other flavors are still there (the caramel seems to be deeper and quieter in the back seat though). This food and wine experience is pleasurable.