7/29/2023 - Racer117 Likes this wine:

Old, elegant, and refined. Very enjoyable though in its twilight years. Minor funk, plenty of red fruit, touch of earth. Acid and tannins in check. Thanks to Whine-oh for sharing.

6/3/2022 - Whine-oh Likes this wine:

Decanted for min sed. Cork pristine. Nice aromatics, cassis, red fruits n some earthy notes. Soft tannins, beautiful mouthfeel. Open for business and in a great place tonight

7/22/2017 - O'Meara wrote:

This is relatively mature. Two hours decant before a two hour consumption period. Rather unremarkable. None of the charming bouquet typical of this appellation. Fruit is rather thin for a 2005. There is much better wine from this vintage from other producers. Not bad...but not great.

6/3/2018 - SMHalps Likes this wine:

My last bottle of the 2010 Firebelle. Everything I would want in this wine was there. Just wish Larkmead had kept the price increases reasonable for the more recent vintages.

11/3/2018 - jcampano Likes this wine:

One of my favorite drinking wines from my trip to Montepulciano. This is a bold Merlot with an earthy nose followed by notes of blackberries and a different style of oak.

5/19/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:

From the oenotheque machine @ Hedonism wines in London. I was pleasantly surprised by this one. Drinking quite well right now. Dried fruits and potpourri. A bit fresher than I expected. Interesting because drank between two Bordeauxs and honestly this was right in that style.

12/20/2014 - Racer117 wrote:

The label says 100% new French oak aging. And I'm guessing that's about 67.354% too much new French oak. I like this wine but it is very much in a new world style with ripe fruit (plum and Berry) and lots and lots of woody tannins. Bordeaux for the common man!

7/2/2016 - wconnolly Likes this wine:

I am sure I drank about 20 bottles of this too early as this is really coming into its own. You have to get past a very funky, bordering on offensive nose in the first hour but the flavor on the palate is very good. More fruit forward than most Bordeaux implying a higher percentage of Cabernet Sauvignon. Still some mushroom, and forest floor so indicative of Bordeaux. Well integrated tannins. Still improving.

5/6/2007 - LPskeleton wrote:

On the nose intensely earthy scents of dirty mushrooms, slimey rock and leather. On the palate incredible silk textute with impressions of watercress and light fruit. The fruit is just hanging on in this 41 year old bottle!

8/30/2015 - Whine-oh Likes this wine:

Pop and poured. Ready to go Washington cab from Walla Walla. In a good place now. Good balance between fruit in earth and structure. No major flaws. Went well with Callie-Ital cuisine. Drink or hold for near term. B

9/28/2013 - texaswinelover wrote:

Quite typical of Gary's fruit. Super dark, staining purple, dense rich and ripe. No heat which was nice. Gamy. Nice. Decent tannins. No rush on this bottle. Day 7 - wow. Developed nicely. Freshness is gone but flavors complex. Iodine and olive.

1/22/2018 - JuliannaDHS wrote:

Frizante AND VA? No thank you. Flawed.

12/24/2017 - Whine-oh Likes this wine:

Popped and poured at dinner tonight. Nice balance of tropical fruits and minerality. More French than Cali. Good w food. Thank you Jeff.

8/22/2016 - JuliannaDHS wrote:

This went fast amongst my friends. Full throttle Zin but amazingly balanced when thinking about the 15.8% alcohol.

2/2/2013 - Racer117 Likes this wine:

Tasted after a 2 hour decant. Deep, dark, and clear color. Hot nose with layered mixed berry, earth, and plum aromas. Fair amount of alcohol with waves of red fruit and cherry flavors and a complimentary savory/herbal note. Plenty of tannins and acidity but well balanced and in check. Overall a fruit forward wine and incredibly delicious. If the alcohol wasn't so pronounced, I'd call this 93-94 points.

11/21/2011 - bugdoced wrote:

Terrific balance; well integrated; expensive but well worth it; one more bottle left and wish there was more

7/21/2007 - LPskeleton wrote:

second tasting of this wine in less than a week. This bottle was not open for nearly as long as my last tasting. This time around i got sweet black cherry and vanilla aromas, with blueberry and cherry flavors on the midpalate. A little one dimensional this time around, but still tasty. I found the tannins to be a little young. This wine needs 2-3 yrs of age to really come together. It should drink great when that happens.

2/1/2016 - Ombibulous Does not like this wine:

I didn't like it. Down the drain. A waste of $16! >=o[

6/19/2015 - Javachip wrote:

95% syrah, 5% grenache. 15.5% alcohol. Clear inky garnet-black. Generous bouquet with fresh and roasted black and red fruit, compote, bacon, fennel, with some volatile notes of shoe polish and Band Aid that might improve with more air. Similar on the palate, heavy full body, long finish.

3/25/2010 - dannyk8232 wrote:

Delish