Reviews by lawschooldrunk

Dark red to purple color. There are blackberries, cooked cherries, grape flavored fruit-roll-up, cassis, and a lot of vanilla on the nose. interestingly, on first impression, I was getting apricots. there's some black pepper, ripe dark fruits, A LOT of oak (a little too much, even for me, an oak lover), and good strong tannins on the palate. the fruit comes in on the front and you get the tannins and oak on the back-end. This has a medium to long finish, with a resonating oak dryness left in your mouth. I drank a whole bottle of this on purim (3/9/09) and loved it. The bottle was opened three hours before drinking. Although I'd like to see it aged for 12 rather than 16 months, it was silky smooth, well balanced and well integrated. Definitely a new favorite.
Submitted: 3/12/09

A decent Chardonnay with the classic popcorn nose. The palate is not as acidic as previous vintages but the mouth-feel is relatively silky and the terroir is slightly chalky. The nose wins the taste on this one.
Submitted: 3/2/09

This Merlot is the best I ever had. It had everything I was looking for. Vanilla flavors, clear succulent dark chocolate are prominent, tannins that are not harsh but not subtle. All this is very well balanced with the dark fruit displayed. Let this bottle breath as the nose and palate get better with prolonged exposure to air.
Submitted: 10/19/08

It may be just me but I find this level of Barkan's watery. While it was a decent bottle, it had a slight musty nose and a very bitter, dry finish. The watery body didn't match the dryness I was getting. A confused bottle (or taster).
Submitted: 6/30/08