About a year ago, my impressions of a bottle shared with Bill Spohn were: "2001 Errazuris Chadwick--I was in a very different place than you re this wine. I presume that what you're calling 'briar' is what I didn't like about it, it's a green cactus-kind of thing that I occasionally taste on Chilean and only Chilean wines--regardless of variety, I've even tasted it on pinots--that I don't care for at all. I set the glass aside to come back to later and found the fruit had fleshed out a bit covering up more of that green thing, but not erasing it completely. Not what I hope for from a $50 bottle."
That was enough to keep me away from opening the three bottles I own, until last night: No green! Pretty cab nose, lightly floral and feminine. Might be high in merlot, though the bottle is unspecific on constituency. On the palate, medium bodied and pretty centered on cherry and other red fruits. That kept it bright enough though the wine is light on acid compared to the very-present tannins. A lot better than that other bottle, but still lacking the balance one would hope to find for the money spent.