Blackberry jam nose with some leather, tar and leaf litter. Color is quite opaque and garnet with just a little bricking. Lots of dark ripe fruit and preserved fruit on the palate. Full body, quite rich, powdery, and tannins still quite prominent. Very satisfying. Just entering its prime- may be better in 5-10. — 5 years ago
Might be the bottle but just a bit past its prime. Still good - sweet core, good acid, dark fruits. — 7 years ago
We liked this wine, full bodied with a fruity bouquet. — 8 years ago
Japan! Love this beer! — 8 years ago
Brownish edge restrained nose leathery and garrigue at or slightly past prime but still lovely — 5 years ago
I have an affinity to Mike Smith wines. Let this baby breathe for a couple hours and it opens up well. Prime for drinking now — bold, dense fruit flavor that you’d come to expect from a Napa cab powerhouse wine maker. Full body and long peppery finish. Still a winner in my book. — 6 years ago
A little past its prime, but still drinking fairly well. — 8 years ago
Way past it’s prime, edging towards undrinkable. Drank on 4/18/22 — 4 years ago

1.5 hour decant(surprisingly just a little cloudy sediment). A prodigious medium dark garnet color with little signs of aging. On the nose: funky stewed meats, blackberry, smoke, plum, minty pepper, creme de cassis. Taste: KABOOM! Rich, silky, full body wine with blackberry, earth, cedar, wet gravel, menthol and a cassis pencil lead long finish with some ashy tannins. In its prime drinking window and this 13.8% alc wine should rock another 10 years. Cheers! — 5 years ago


A little muddled. Great nose but exhibits neither the complexity of a mature wine nor the structure of one its prime. — 6 years ago
A little past it’s prime - but that nose tho. Wowzers. — 7 years ago
Quite nice but clearly way past it's prime for this half bottle — 8 years ago
Ron Siegel
Perfect condition btl from an owc that is in its prime with many yrs left showing red, black fruits, currant, cedar, leather, earth, licorice, menthol, spice box & tobacco. — 2 years ago