Here's an old friend with a newly designed label. I remembered the '99 when I saw this on my retailers shelf, and picked up a solitary bottle. I got around to drinking it over the last two nights.
This is a real wine, at under $12 (10.50 by the case). A very nice compromise between old and new world, with style leaning a bit new, and taste leaning clearly old. Big nose of raspberry, black cherry, currant, and a modest hint of that wonderful horse blanket barnyard stuff that makes southern rhone so attractive to me. Just a hint. Also herbs, pepper, tar, maybe a little violets too. A deep dark wine - bigger than I remember the wonderful '99. And with a very long finish of sweet fruit and sweet tannins - exceptional for a wine of this breed. Night two, a bit less bold, a bit more refined, secondary rhone funk more discernable. I decided to go back for a case before I tasted it the second night, but for my tastes, I liked it even better the second night. Just a guess, but I think this will improve for 2-3 years and hold for 4-5 after that. Glad I have a case, but even with that, I doubt it will live that long in my cellar. It is just a happy wine.
After night two, I looked it up on the net. No notes on WLDG, but I see that Gary Vaynerchuck rated it among his top wines under $12, and Parker even liked it a lot - a bit surprising since my retailer didn't have a shelf-hanger for this wine. The only negative - I think I liked the old label better.