Miranda Williams

8.5

The nose of this wine is bizarre to me. In my layman terms I would say it smells a bit like a rubber band with a touch of blackberry. I like the flavor profile, though. It’s fairly nuanced and evolves from sip to finish. It starts with subtle fruit and then gets a bit peppery before sliding into a bit of acid on the finish. I think it could keep a while longer and mature a bit more. There are some earthier notes there under the surface that might start to develop with a little more time. Lovely dark inky color with a sort of brick red highlight. Worth getting again. — 7 years ago

Miranda Williams

9.0

Really enjoyable. Worth getting again. I got this one from Bright Cellars. — 8 years ago

Miranda Williams

This was a wine I got through Bright Cellars. SUPER dark, opaque ruby red. Sort of a peppery nose with faint juicy cherry undertones. Medium bodied (lighter than I was expecting) with tannins that stick in your mouth. This wine tastes a bit watery to me (or maybe it's just the lack of body that's bothering me). The acid in it really plays on the tongue, and when combined with its underripe berry flavors (blackberries, me thinks) makes for a fairly tart wine. Generally speaking, I think this wine has some growing up to do before it comes into its own. I wouldn't revisit it again for at least another year and a half. It's just young. There's a smokiness hiding below the surface of this wine that I hope comes more to the fore with time. Not enough oak for my taste and a bit too fruity. If I happen upon it again in a year or two it would be interesting to see how it's matured, but I'm not going to take up limited space with additional bottles. Buy if you're the type to put a bottle with a cool label on your shelf (It is cool!...though I think the primary display font needs to be more rustic and maybe 4 or sizes larger) and then forget about it for a while. I actually find myself really liking screw tops nowadays and appreciate the added convenience. Really quite lovely when paired with Cheddar cheese from Cream City Creamery. — 9 years ago

Miranda Williams

7.0

This wine falls somewhere between semi-sweet and off-dry. I think it comes off that way simply because it is so fruity. Almost jammy. Which makes it come off as sweeter than I think it actually is. I got a lot of cherry in the nose which was nice. Does not play nicely with tomato flavors. It’s just not for me. — 7 years ago

Miranda Williams

9.0

I remember enjoying it quite a bit but didn't think to write some notes on it when I tried it. I'll have to get another bottle to jog my memory! 😝 — 8 years ago

Miranda Williams

9.7

Semi-opaque, red with a slightly amber hue. Relatively straight-forward, fruity nose with a touch of hay in the nose (nice hay, not like barnyard!). Really smooth, full body. The off-dry flavor profile has a lovely, light peppery-ness that floats over juicy, ripe blackberry. Gentle oak almost gets completely swept up in the big, ripe berry flavors of this wine, but is present. The thick, fuzzy tannins catch up with you in the finish, but are not at all unpleasant. There is enough acid to the wine to keep it from feeling flat, and is quite nice.

Overall, I think this is a really beautiful wine that would likely pair well with an array of food and cheeses. Of the cheeses I tried it with, it was particularly beautiful with the San Joaquin Gold (reminiscent of Parmesan)--which made the berry flavors of the wine almost jammy--a cow's milk cheese with a basil crust and and Swiss and almond spread.

This was a wine I received from Bright Cellars. — 9 years ago

Miranda Williams

9.0

Miranda had this 8 years ago

Miranda Williams

7.0

I believe Wine Enthusiast rated this a 92...that seems a little overrated to me. The wine isn't bad...but it is thin, and underdeveloped as far as body and flavor profile go. Medium-light body, weak nose of oak and cherry. Moderate tannins and oak-y flavor with slight vegetal note with underripe blackberry undertones. If it had any noteable acidity I would say give it another year to develop, but there just isn't much presence to this wine. It's almost watery. I do like the owl on the label...so there's that. Probably won't purchase again. Just meh. — 8 years ago

Miranda Williams

8.4

This is a wine that I received through Bright Cellars. Very pretty semi-opaque ruby red, this wine has a very pretty, clean, fruit forward nose dominated by a cherry aroma (but dammit if I don't catch a whiff of fresh, spicy cilantro in there as well every now and again to make it a little more interesting). Medium-full body, with a flavor profile that balances pleasantly between sweet and dry(perhaps leaning a bit towards sweet). Light oak, soft acid, gentle tannins accompany juicy, fruit flavors making this a very approachable wine that would likely appeal to a wide variety of palates. This would be a decent wine to take to a party.

This wine plays nicely with chocolate and cheese (steal clear of goat cheeses, though) but is particularly lovely with hard Italian cheeses like Parmesan. I tasted it with San Joaquin Gold and it was absolutely delightful. — 9 years ago

Miranda Williams

8.5

Miranda had this 9 years ago