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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.2 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 89 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Jay Hack on 3/8/2024 & rated 91 points: Bought almost 20 years ago. This was Kevin Harvey's first ever Syrah from Rhys or Alessia. Decant for an hour and then followed for a few more.
Still on the upswing. No sign of 20 years of age. My wife suggested it showed about 10 years old and I agree. Dark red and black fruit, spicy acidity, a tiny bit of pepper. Years ago, I sent him an email asking for a tech sheet and he laughed (in an email) and said he had no such thing because he just made the wine in his garage. Anyone who says that Cali Syrah is too ripe and will fall apart is 100% full of you know what. No sign at all. My guess is that this wine will not peak for 5 more years because it continued to improve for at least an hour in the glass after the decant. If Irate this based upon what I expected versus what I actually got, this gets a few more points. patience is a virtue. Bravo. (282 views) | | | Tasted by GrapeScott on 2/25/2023 & rated 85 points: This is probably the first wine I bought from Rhys off their mailing list, back in September 2006. It had sat undisturbed in my parents' Massachusetts cold underground cellar for the last 17 years until I grabbed a few cases to take home to NC a few weeks ago. So pretty good provenance here. Can't recall where exactly the fruit came from for these early blends (Falstaff, Adler Springs?), but these early Alesia wines are a bit of a mixed bag. I had a pretty excellent '06 Green Valley pinot a few nights ago, but this is not quite in the same league. Lots of red berry aromas on the nose, with a bit of mulling spices and stewed plum. If I hadn't read the label, I never would never have guessed syrah, as this shows more of a zin-like flavor profile. In any case, it's clearly Californian and missing the bacon/game/tapenade notes I admire in syrah. Fully evolved and a bit tired, this is pleasant, but nothing more. (512 views) | | | Tasted by fredb on 4/16/2020: Medium-dark red color with limited transparency. Aromas of red fruit, smoke, and tar. Palate is full of red fruit with a hint of meatiness that carries into a medium finish. This is fully integrated and seems younger tasting than I would have expected. My last bottle and best showing. Really nice red wine with Syrah typicity and lovely balance. (688 views) | | | Tasted by WetRock on 11/9/2019: I had been looking for an excuse to mix this in with some Rhys wines. The big blind tasting at Frank's was the excuse I needed. Rubbery, tar nose. Sweet fruit that is comes off younger than I might have guessed. This may never reach anything better but judging by this bottle there's plenty of time to try. (989 views) | | | Tasted by Alex H on 7/10/2015 & rated 88 points: Aromatic nose of graphite, coal and crayons crushed with bramble cherries. Seamless flowing delicious sweet black currants and touch of thyme. Full bodied yet balanced. (2376 views) | | | Tasted by River Rat on 10/25/2014: Paired well with World Series Game 3 and slow smoked pork ribs. The cork crumbled so I had to decant to remove the bits and pieces. The wine was impressive. Leather nose red fruited up front, creamy strawberry mid-palate, spicy finish with darker fruit and polished tannins. Drinking at its' peak? Not sure, had a glass left in the decanter this morning and it was still alive and kicking. The drinking window listed here doesn't do this wine justice. Should still go a couple more years before fading. (2347 views) | | | Tasted by andolini on 10/18/2014 & rated 91 points: Popped and poured. Vibrant, bright, flavorful, leather, smoked meat. Smooth and rich. Great value. (1925 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 3/15/2013 & rated 92 points: Lifted aromatics of red fruit, herbs, stems and an interesting medicinal note. Palate is bright and fresh with medium- bodied fruit. Plenty or crackling acidity provides persistence across the palate. Good medium plus finish of red berries and spice. In a really stride right now. Plenty of freshness and energy -- showing no signs of fading. (2446 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 2/15/2013 & rated 91 points: Drinking just great right now - with mature fruit and nuanced secondary herbal, stem, smoked meat and earth notes. Palate has medium body with juicy underlying acidity. Fruit is plush and soft with restraint that doesn't tire the palate. Great persistence from start to finish. (2503 views) | | | Tasted by alpha_ori on 12/5/2012 & rated 88 points: Great nose. Middle-bodied. May be a little past its prime, but most of the flavors are still there. It's actually better with a little salty food. I think I would have *loved* this two years ago. (1789 views) | | | Tasted by River Rat on 9/17/2012: Double decanted and then recorked for 5 hours. First impressions were, WOW what a great nose! Bricking color. Red fruit focused nose and palate. Savory red fruit, eucalyptus, perfume, earthy nose. Palate of tart red fruit, blackberry, creamy texture. Dusty tannins on the finish.
Was better on Day 1. Nose and palate fell a bit flat on Day 2. Didn't take detailed notes on 1st day though. Was good on PNP and excelled after air. Drinking real nice now. (1926 views) | | | Tasted by thomaskeil on 5/27/2012 & rated 89 points: Decanted 90 minutes (copious sediment and aromatically tight). Violet-tinged red. Nose of dark berries, some pepper and meat. Warmish dark berries with soft tannins and balancing acid (barely). Not complex, a little 'grapey', but very tasty and with good satisfying length. Nice with a ribeye. Still somewhat youthful (but integrated). No hurry on last bottle. (1606 views) | | | Tasted by decaturwinedude on 2/11/2012 & rated 90 points: My eighth bottle of this wine in past 4 years. I thinking this wine will fall down one day, I keep getting good showings. It's a dark and brooding Syrah, there is BBQ notes and tar-ish nose. Palate shows some rich plummy fruit, but the acidity is still here and brisk. Not especially long, but Very nice. Still drinking quite well. (1491 views) | | | Tasted by mlawren1 on 10/9/2011 & rated 93 points: wonderully food wine. Plums and berries over a bit of earthy chocolate. Has some more time to go in the bottle to peak. (1439 views) | | | Tasted by mlawren1 on 2/12/2011 & rated 92 points: such a smooth wine. Plums and cherries with a bit of chocolate on the finish. (1725 views) | | | Tasted by mlawren1 on 1/29/2011 & rated 93 points: outstanding, plums just burst out of the glass and then just keep going in the mouth followed by a bit of cherry. Finishes with a little chocolate. Very muscular wine. (1660 views) | | | Tasted by decaturwinedude on 10/24/2010 & rated 90 points: Half a dozen bottles or so over the past couple years, and this wine never really disappoints me. Dark and meaty,with some tarry notes and lush dark fruit. There is a very present acidity tonight that really gives some lift to the wine. Betrays its age so to speak. Very tasty with my Momofuku pork shoulder done 12 hours on the Big Green Egg today. Solid wine that has shown me no sign that it is in decline. (2037 views) | | | Tasted by jfkwines on 9/3/2010: Tough to show well after the 08 Fevre Chablis Jimmy brought and the 97 Burg that Don opened. I thought it was good wine, just a tough one to drink after that. Heavy minerals that lean towards Iron, Don felt it was like an SQN, I countered it was like SQN light in that this is not qute as monolithic, but not by much. Very similar to the FE III ( or whatever its called) in that it is so tough to drink and swirl in your mouth in order to get a component out of it. Overall, we agreed that CT statnig that it has only a year to go is crazy, and that this 03 is drinking like an 06. DON"T GO HERE YET. Let em lie. No score given (2091 views) | | | Tasted by Rangstrom on 1/26/2010 & rated 91 points: Needs some air to fully come alive. Shows similarly to my last bottle from July 2008, except that this was a bit lighter on the tongue with more raspberry tones mixed in with the blueberries. The light and lively feel is probably the most notable feature but the balance and the layers of flavor certainly raise no complaint. Drinking well now, but no hurry. (2379 views) | | | Tasted by schimmy23 on 8/1/2009 & rated 90 points: Drank at assafs. Needs time to open up. (2371 views) | | | Tasted by Patch on 7/22/2009 & rated 89 points: Decent, but a bit on the light side for my taste. True, it probably should have sat for a while longer but damnit, we were thirsty! (2376 views) | | | Tasted by decaturwinedude on 7/18/2009 & rated 90 points: I just like this wine; don't know what else to say. Dark and meaty, tarry, dark fruit palate. Lush. Nothern Rhone-ish palate with expansive dark fruit and still some acidity hanging in. Nice Syrah. (2425 views) | | | Tasted by onewineheaven on 7/4/2009 & rated 89 points: Four of us drank this and the 2005 Copain James Berry Syrah. 2 preferred the Alesia and 2 preferred the Copain. Both wines were very fruity, but compared to the Copain this wine showed more spice, pepperiness, and funk. The Copain, however, was more restrained and tannic, perhaps because of the two years difference in age. I preferred the Alesia but after three hours of tasting these wines I am beginning to wonder how much residual sugar do they really have? To be honest I don't think I'll buy any more of either of these wines. I'm hoping the Rhys domaine syrahs show more subtlety. (2412 views) | | | Tasted by madeiradog on 6/12/2009 & rated 90 points: A solid syrah with excellent structure. Enjoyable combination of smoky fruit and tannin that is drinking well now. (2412 views) | | | Tasted by onewineheaven on 5/5/2009 & rated 90 points: We drank a bottle at a Oaxacan restaurant and it went great with our meal. It is drinking beautifully right now but should hold at this plateau for a few years. I don't think it will improve. (2477 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Rhys Alesia 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 Sonoma CountyMendocino CountySonoma Coast * Sonoma Coast AVA (Wikipedia)
* Sonoma Coast AVA (Wine Institue) |
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