External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
Show more
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 96 pts. and median of 96 pts. in 37 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Winevestor on 4/29/2024 & rated 95 points: Amazing CA syrah. Maybe the best. Big frame, deep fruit, brightness and still very early in its drinking window. This could get better. Long finish. Not too funky or meaty like some US syrah, but elegant while powerful. (219 views) | | | Tasted by jsmorris707 on 4/13/2024 & rated 97 points: Double decanted for 2 hrs, deep ruby, blueberries on both the nose & palate, med/firm tannins, long finish; outstanding, drink or hold, no rush (296 views) | | | Tasted by Sethbo11 on 9/17/2023 & rated 96 points: Simply spectacular. (1165 views) | | | Tasted by cubswinws on 8/20/2023 & rated 95 points: Sensational! (771 views) | | | Tasted by Melli on 5/26/2023 & rated 99 points: Tied for WOTN at Alban tasting (885 views) | | | Tasted by Jonathan T on 10/25/2022 & rated 97 points: This was my first experience with a Lorraine. Each sip is so inviting, I could not stop drinking it. There is more texture from the grip of tannins than any Reva I've had before and what I believe is missing from syrahs from Saxum. The mouthfeel is tremendous. Flavors are deep and enveloping - more fruit and charcoal minerality and less of the provencal herbs, spice and game meat I get from Reva. Same family, but a different shift in balance of flavors than Reva. This is top-tier syrah from California. (1737 views) | | | Tasted by gmbdds on 6/9/2022: Decanted and filtered for sediment. Dark, youthful color, no bricking. Dark fruits, licorice and sweet tobacco notes. There was something of harshness on the back palate that didn’t shake out. Really great wine but fell short of some recent peer benchmarks. Tough to score and may have been a less than prime bottle. Auction purchase fwiw. (1517 views) | | | Tasted by Arch57 on 3/14/2022 & rated 96 points: Lorraine I had a crush on you and now that this twice Coravin’d bottle has been uncorked I am heartbroken that she was the one and only Lorraine in my cellar. Much deeper and intense than the Reva bottling this, after 10 years still has ample tannins that aeration mellows. The finish from my last sip is still lingering as I craft this tasting note.
One of those bottles that you kick yourself for not buying more or passing on mailing list offerings. But the wine budget only goes so far and I still have a dozen or so other Albans to enjoy. Cheers! (1883 views) | | | Tasted by mclanew on 1/1/2022 & rated 96 points: Slow ox for 30 min. Great nose with flowers, raspberry and a little meat coming through. The palate is full on everything. Ripe raspberry, blackberry fruit, licorice, roast meats, herbs and spice. The wine combines decadent fruit, with good minerality and acidity, and a long finish. The key question is as it ages will it develop further complexity. My bet is yes but time will tell. (1588 views) | | | Tasted by andrewdodd86 on 4/3/2021 & rated 99 points: Took a minute to open up and come alive, some tannins when first poured that mellowed out. Compared to the Reva it has more floral aromatic lift and better depth and complexity but it takes a while to open up and show that. Blackberry/blueberry jam, açaí. Less pepper than the Reva. Milk chocolate (2674 views) | | | Tasted by rustyRudy on 4/2/2021 & rated 99 points: More aromatic than the Reva from the same vintage. Big, lots of blueberries and dark fruits. This also has some salty and savory flavors. More refined and elegant then Reva and although twice the price not twice the enjoyment IMHO. Finishes with blueberry cobbler and vanilla with biscuit. Really special. Super wine! (1658 views) | | | Tasted by bhrubin on 7/18/2020 & rated 97 points: Beautifully expressive red and blue fruits, long finish (30+ seconds), and depth with minerality. Loved it with our filets. (2209 views) | | | Tasted by gsiokis on 6/6/2020 & rated 97 points: Sheesh. What a wine. It really is coming into its own....dark, brooding, blue fruit, tannins well integrated. Happy to know I have a few more of these. Outstanding. (1753 views) | | | Tasted by rwstorer on 3/23/2020 & rated 96 points: Popped and let breathe for 45 minutes. Very primary flavors but unbelievably delicious. Fresh raspberry, fresh cherry lots of depth. Needs at least 2 to 3 more years before another taste.. A+ wine. (1713 views) | | | Tasted by cubswinws on 3/13/2020 & rated 96 points: Wonderful rich mouthfeel with nice spice and decadently long finish. Crazy good. (1380 views) | | | Tasted by bingram on 11/25/2019 & rated 99 points: Outrageous! 7 years old and it can only get better? It is only 1 point shy of perfect so how can that be? It is very clear to me that Manfred learned a great deal from John, but I now believe these two gentlemen are both benefitting from theirfriendship and mutual love of wine. Bravo! (1164 views) | | | Tasted by bingram on 11/25/2019 & rated 99 points: And getting better (1292 views) | | | Tasted by bingram on 11/25/2019 & rated 99 points: And getting better! (1842 views) | | | Tasted by seijaro on 7/24/2019 & rated 98 points: What a difference a year and a bit more air make! The wine of the night in very tough company, and my personal Wine of the Year for 2019. Wow, what a Syrah! Chocolate, cola, vanilla in a big mouthful of flavor that went on and on. A real treat. (1517 views) | | | Tasted by jeffmudd on 7/24/2019 & rated 96 points: Simply a beautiful wine. An Alban through and through. (1522 views) | | | Tasted by cadamson on 3/10/2019: Undeniably rich, almost thick in texture, with a creamy mouthfeel. Nicely integrated at this point. Despite its unabashed new world-ism, it is striking to me how minerality still makes its presence known. While my preferences have largely moved away from this size wine, there are a few, like Alban, that I think really do represent the terroir their plots of land represent; if you drink enough of these you can tell the differences the land offers between Reva, Lorraine and Seymours and while I do not find these very food friendly (with some exceptions), for lounging around, especially post dinner, this really hits the spot. (1481 views) | | | Tasted by cubswinws on 3/2/2019 & rated 95 points: Big and plush with all kinds of spice and blue fruits. Still on the young side and I suspect this will be even better in 2-3 years. (1289 views) | | | Tasted by pkpjoe on 10/27/2018 & rated 96 points: This wine is a bit too young right now. It has been decanting for over 4 hours and really just starting to show it's potential, but boy does it have great potential. The nose explodes with cranberry, blood, coriander, anise, and cubanello peppers. The mouth feel is a bit scratchy as a previous reviewer stated. I think this will smooth out in the next few years. On the palate are bright red and blue fruits, spicy peppers, nutmeg and cinnamon. Nice finish that lasts 30 seconds to a minute. I would say decant for at least 4 hours now and preferably 6-8. Otherwise, cellar until 2020 at least. I think these will drink best 2022 - 2037. (1660 views) | | | Tasted by seijaro on 6/30/2018 & rated 95 points: A real beauty but I can't get to Jeb Dannuck's WA 98... maybe in five years when it smooths out, but it's still a little scratchy. Nevertheless, a beautiful Syrah with a big mouthful of grape. (1751 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Josh Raynolds
Vinous, Paso Robles: Taming the Beast (Sep 2016) (9/1/2016)
(Alban Vineyards Syrah Lorraine Central Coast) Subscribe to see review text. |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of Vinous. (manage subscription channels) |
| Alban Vineyards Producer websiteSyrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Central Coasthttp://www.ccwinegrowers.org/links.html
http://www.discovercaliforniawines.com/regional-wine-organizations/
http://beveragetradenetwork.com/en/btn-academy/list-of-winegrowers-association-in-central-coast-california-274.htm
Central Coast AVA Wikipedia |
|
