2012 Educated Guess Napa Cabernet Sauvignon

Nose: Vanilla and young fruity berries
Palate: strong interplay of tannin and acid. Not bad but not subtle.
Finish: Lovely finish of blueberry and cherry notes.
Overall: we tasted this at a friend's house. They paid $24 for it at a local wine store. It is overpriced at this price point.

Brookland Valley 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot 2004 wine review by Billy and NW

Billy:
Nose: earthy (like wet loam) with some cherry notes and a smoked cedar spiciness
Palate: even balance between structural acids at the core with a nice tannin feel at the edges of the mouth. Not as thick or beefy as other pure cabs or pure merlots. Almost as if the weightiness of each minimizes the thickness of the other yielding a pleasing feel.
Finish: warm and slightly spicy of basil and licorice
Overall: a wonderful treat brought back from down under!

NW:
Nose:currants, olives, dry earth, smokey notes
Palate:full bodied and dry on the palate
Finish:more currants on the finish with woody and mineral tones.
Overall: Here is a well made Margaret River red that is interesting and dry, with layers that unfold seamlessly in the glass.

Thoughts: This Brookland Valley Cab Merlot from 2004 is from the Margaret River area in Western Australia. Even though I was in Perth the week before I bought this wine, I found it in Sydney. I brought it back as a special memento. Tonight seemed like a great night to open it with NW in town and the fetching Mrs. Billy with us to try the wine and is enjoying it. I believe I bought it for about $45 AU. I've not seen it here in the US. It is one advantage to being able to travel for work.

Tempra Tantrum 2008 Tempranillo Cabernet Wine Review by Billy

Nose: grapey, and maraschino cherry from the Tempranillo grape and some white pepper and cedar spiciness from the cabernet
Palate: slight spritzig. Overwhelming bitter acids and unbalanced blanching tannins make this actually unpleasant.
Finish: limp, harsh.
Overall: To quote Monty Python, "this is not a wine for drinking, this is a wine for laying down and avoiding". I paid about $9 for this bottle and wish I had that money back.