88 (+?)? pts Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Mar/Apr 2011
(85% shiraz, 10% mourvedre, 3% primitivo and 2% viognier): Good bright, dark red with ruby highlights. High-pitched aromas of cherry, spices and pepper. Juicy and intense, with darker black fruit and licorice flavors cut off on the back end by firm oak. Tightly structured, persistent wine, but a bit dried by its oak element. (A second bottle showed a distinct white fruit note on the nose and a chocolatey character on the palate--and less obvious oak.)
