A dark brooding wine, inky purple and opaque. Dark fruit aromas of blackberry and blueberry pie. A smokey, charred character. Full bodied with good acidity but very tannic (that's petite sirah for you). Even with decanting the tannins pesist although seemingly finer grained. Excellent length. An interesting and enjoyable quaff no doubt. Pair with meat protein or hard cheese. January 2015.

Inky blackness portends to the power inside this wine. I'm not normally a fan of wines this beefy, but the structure and complexity here with tons of roasted mocha and spice and subtle earthiness all supported in finely balanced acidity and a study backbone of tannins make it work remarkably well.

Coffee, chocolate, smoke, earth, pepper and a whiff of sulfur on the nose. Impressive complexity on the palate, with a pronounced savouriness. Somewhat overwhelming oak, however. Tannins are balanced (much less pronounced than many petite sirahs). I'm going to stock a few away for a year or two in the hopes that the oak integrates more fully.

Overwhelming at first, once allowed to breathe and sit on the palate this wine pleases and delights.