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winehiker's Review:

Medium garnet color, outstanding aromas of cedar, cola, tobacco, cassis, and a little vanilla. Seemed quite Syrah-like. Moderate acidity, great structure and power, a very likable libation. My friends and I enjoyed it with home-made Boeuf Bourguignon made by my friend Valerie; the combination was a gonzo hit.

winehiker's Review:

Myriad colors splash into the glass - deep ink, chocolate, and garnet, with golden-hued edges. Imagine rich, smoky leather and deep complexity in your first whiff of the glass' contents - this wine is laced with oporto overtones. It's a wine that, at five years of aging, could be labeled "Riserva" with all due recognition. And that's apparent just on observing appearance and aroma.A near-perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness is present; heat in this wine, at 14%, is virtually undetectable. The high-tannin Nebbiolo has been exquisitely matched to the low-tannin Barbera to form an ever-so-slight tartness that begs for another sip.I willingly oblige.The velvety chewiness and multilayered fruit textures of this rosso blend are scrumptious and extravagant, showing a fine maturity at five years' aging. It lasts on the palate well, the fruity smokiness lingering for many pleasant moments.

winehiker's Review:

After the novelty of the rubber chicken came the novelty of opening the wine and instantly smelling the herbal muskiness of cat pee.Cat pee is good, mind you, as long as you're smelling it in something you're about to drink and not hosing it off your patio. Fortunately, this aromatic aspect of the 2004 Tempranillo from Twisted Oak Winery of Calaveras County, California, is fleeting, and the wine that follows is worthy of tasting.Upon my first swirl and sip, I chose to decant the entire bottle into my glass duck, the most pungent "kitty fragrance" of this wine plus the tannic notes characteristic of the Tempranillo grape dictating my decision. I returned in a little over an hour to a fruity sweetness on the nose and a balanced acidity on the palate.The tannins are not low in this wine, but are not so high as to be a turn-off; astringency is lower than I expected. With a moderate mouthfeel (medium body), moderately powerful cherry flavors and a medium-long finish - about a minute - I feel this wine is a well-balanced accompaniment to food.In fact, after my initial sips, I savored this wine with a hot plate of liver and onions with potatoes and gravy, and found the combination fabulous. But even without food, quite possibly this wine is light enough on body and heat (13.9%) for warm-weather slurping.

winehiker's Review:

A lingering moment on the palate yields a near-perfect blend of sweetness and acidity that I find most refreshing. With a balanced astringency and a super-silky, almost chewy mouthfeel, plus a taste of allspice and white raisins, this wine breathes, tastes, and feels like a wine that my friends (and yours) will find memorable, whether on a Summer day or a Fall evening. As for the finish, I say "hello" to only an acquaintance of acidity and tannin. I like Viognier this way - tapered layers of sweetness, structure, and finish. And I'm not typically a white wine drinker.

winehiker's Review:

Medium garnet-colored Bordeaux blend, strong earthiness on nose, but with mild elusive fruit aromas and slight fragrance of wood and spice. Moderate balance aspects, with slight tartness, agreeable bitterness. Medium body, good mouthfeel, but heavily lacking in fruit flavor; very short finish.