Bogle Vineyards Red Blend California Phantom 2007

Dark plum color into the glass, with some long thick legs clinging to the glass. Nice deep earthy, woody aromas that warm up into berries, hayfields and peppery notes. Great firm structure, with tannins present, giving it a mature feel in the mouth, medium chewy. This pared so well with Trader Joe's Truffle flat bread and a mixed green salad with green olives, goat cheese and strips of tenderloin. The finish was about 8-11 seconds. It is reminiscent of a milder "poor man's" bottle of Chateau Montelena Estate Zinfandel 2006. At $16.99 per bottle, a very good buy that will hold up and only improve in the cellar for another couple of years.

Opened this wine at work, on a Saturday for a weekly tasting. Poured into tasting cups a dark ruby red color, which glowed when held to the light. I immediately came the the conclusion that the wine, even though an '07 vintage, needed more time to age. When we opened this wine, aromas of dark fruits, black cherry, spice, smoked chicory, leather, jam spice, and some subtle vegetable hints due to the tannic properties of this beverage. It was clear that when first opening this wine, the flavors might be too abrasive when swallowed at first. After sampling the wine, I believe I was right, the wine needs a decent amount of time to open. We gave the wine several hours of tasting for customers, and it became clear that after about 40 minutes, the wine becomes smoother, and the complexity of the win unravels making it a lot more enjoyable. The flavors reflected on the aroma are then characterized through the palate as well. Overall, this was a delight, I will have this wine again.

1 hour later. Yes this wine does need quite a bit of time. It always has. Bouquet comes to life. Violets, Raspberries, Pepper, or is that just my nose still burning from the Alcohol. Don't get me wrong. I like Alcohol but in these heavy doses - it needs more fruit. Palate: some promise of plum... but only combined with an alcohol swabbing... Oak is still too mightily present. Finish is rounding off, a bit, but Tannins and Oak are inescapable. It seems happy with Manchego and Drunken Goat cheeses, at the moment. Maybe it is not meant to be a sipping wine... needs the fellowship of food to bring it to life? It wasn't that way in 2004!

24 hours later... Fruit revealed... plum, prune, raspberry, a little smoke After the alcohol burn off I have found the fruit... Still too much Oak for my taste - But I know a lot of you will enjoy that! It will cellar well... I had a bottle of the 2006 from my cellar (which I was also disappointed with) and it is still is in its incubation.... Only 2 bottles of that left... I only was "inspired" to buy 4 last year... Cheers!

Where is the fruit? This is the third incarnation in a row that is missing the fruit. 2004 had it. First blast at aeration - oak. First taste - alcohol. As always before, this wine needs to breathe. It is tight and tannic. Yes, the structure is there but the balance is off. I will return to comment after it has had more than just aeration and a few swirls... ...time...

Smoky, oaky, with dark fruit (blueberry?), spices, and vanilla. Smooth, full bodied, and unusually sweet (perhaps from high alcohol content).

Nose led me to believe I was going to love this wine. Spice and cedar initially, and then it opened up to cinnamon and nutmeg with a deep dark cherry. The palate was uninspired and a disappointment from the nose. No overwhelming flavor. It was jammy at the front and heavy at the back. It was a light to medium weight in the middle, which is not what I was expecting. Tannins were there Positively, it did have a lasting finish of pepper and cedar. It opened in the glass and bottle and I would suggest leaving it for a little bit before driniking. As an additional tasting note, my wife loved this wine. She felt the body was very fruitful and bold.