brs, I'll dig up the email and forward it to you.

Joe

Bill

You need to call Susan Graham-King or Dianna Blake at Sigel's (214)350-1271.

I don't have formal notes; just some impressions…

We drank this last Friday night with homemade baby back ribs; decanted for 2 + hours. Drank from Reidel Vinum cabernet and burgundy stems; more focused aromas in the burgundy glass, but the same flavor profile either way.

In the glass, it's still inky black/purple with swirling aromas of dark fruit, alcohol and oaky vanilla. On the palate, it's full-bodied -- and hot. The alcoholic heat is really the first thing you notice (and keep noticing). The fruit is struggling to hold its own against the alcohol and oak, and, at this stage, I think it's losing the battle. Anyway, lots of black pepper and unresolved tannin on the finish. A bruiser of a red wine.

To my palate, this wine was way off balance. Maybe it was just this bottle? If not, I'm hoping it's just going through an awkward "adolescent" stage and will come back with a few years more in the cellar. But if that fruit fades further under the assault of all that heat, I don't know what will be left….

Anybody else had this recently? What'd you think?

We had this wine again 12 days ago with dinner at Boba in Toronto. We paired it with:

Boba's Crispy Seafood Cakes, with a Caribe Mayo, Spicy Cole Slaw, and Mesclun Salad with a Lime Vinaigrette.

Halibut Sauteed then Baked, Served over Paella with Crispy Calamari.

These might not have been the ideal pairings, but dinner was great.

The wine had a lush chocolate, raspberry, baked apple, and cinnamon nose. On the palate it was decadently rich with flavors of dark berry pie. Wonderful, truly wonderful. 95

Board-O,
I am appalled that you would drink this wine soooooooo young.

Look, I’ve been collecting wine since before man invented the wheel, and let me tell ‘ya that this wine needs at least 5 more years before it’s ready.

And with FISH! OMG!!

As far as the pairings go, we brought the wine with us and selected the food that sounded best. I'm happy with the way the meal turned out.

As for the youth of the wine, we were travelling and had that wine about 8 hours after finishing a 5 or 6 hour drive. Needless to say, the wines were in the airconditioned car, not the trunk. Due to travel, we took only young wines with us. I wasn't about to bring an old Bordeaux and attempt to decant it off the sediment after a long drive, or even a short drive. It's a Shiraz very much in the style of a California Zinfandel. It may take on some elegance over time, but I don't think it will improve much, if at all.

I invested heavily in Marquis Phillips, Shirvington and Henry's Drive cabs and shiraz in '01 & '02 and I am sooooooooo happy now!

Red;
Not as heavily invested as I'd like to be, but glad all the same, too.

I hope you skipped the '03s.

Board-O,

I skipped the '03s entirely and will likely skip '04 as well. '03 because of quality... '04 more because of budget and existing inventory. Time to put my money somewhere else.

I bought two bottles of the '03 Shiraz and dumped them both rather than take them to dinner.

Board-O

Thanks for the update on the 9. I found several bottles when I "straightened up" my cooler last weekend.

quote:

"straightened up" my cooler

You mean "played with my wine"