Wine Oct 2000 Spicy oak takes an early lead over sweet berries in the nose, and the wine's deep and intensely fruited flavors are similarly seasoned by omnipresent oak. Less driven by ripeness than many of the Rosenblum offerings and fairly tame relative to roughness and apparent alcohol, this tasty effort is smooth enough to consider for drinking straight away. International Wine Cellar, Stephen Tanzer Dec 2000 Bright red-ruby. Spicy aroma of blackberry syrup and dark chocolate. Thick and spicy in the mouth, with seamless, pliant black cherry and dark berry flavors.
Sweetness suggests some residual sugar, but is nicely supported by brisk acids.
Finishes firmly tannic and long. Smoky, fiery new oak interacts with the meaty fruit in a strange blond, creating a lot of funky flavors at this stage in its development. There's also a lot of spunk to the wine, however, and it may eventually meld as it ages.