Rua Rua

good fruit and spice; full mid palate; a bit more structure than i recall.

Sweet red fruit without complexity

Me - 88, wife - 90. Quite similar to previous notes/scores for the two of us, despite having forgotten what we said in the past. She likes the up front fruit whereas I am not a fan of the weak structure, although I do enjoy the cab franc aromas and flavors. (70% merlot / 30% cab franc)

This is a 'one night stand… Nice nose of caramel, cinnamon and a hint of barrel toast. Good texture and mouthfeel. Its balanced, just a little too sweet for my palette. I never was a fan of cab franc and that is what is adding the octane here. Some will love it. Its not a bad wine, just has a narrow focus. :0)

A very soft, easy drinking and fruit based style. Soft merlot fruit upfront with lots of black cherry and blueberry notes. Very soft and open through the middle with the cab franc adding just enough structure to make this wine interesting. Very smooth on the finish where it adds in coffee, mocha and graphite notes. Overall this is a very drinkable bottle, but won’t improve with any additional bottle age.

Dinner with Parents (Novi, MI) : Fruit forward, this was well liked by the group. Similar to my previous note, the lack of structure prevents me from liking this more. An easy drinker! Wife - 88, Me - 89.

dtwob nails it.

Blind Red Wine Tasting (Plymouth, MN) : Very fruit-forward on the palate, with very little structure. For blind tasting: I guessed Red Blend, 87 pts. 6th place Marianne: Zinfandel, 89 pts. 2nd place Overall 5th out of 8 wines.

Deep, dark, dense eggplant color; Dark plums, dark fruit and spice on the nose. New world style with forward, penetrating fruit with balanced acidity and heat. Well integrated tannins and oak. Mid length on the finish, a bit of black liquorice, ending with mocha espresso. I agree with WS 92 pts. Will cherish the remaining five bottles in my cellar.

Fruity but very young. Drinkable today but am socking a bottle away to try again in a few years.