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| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91 pts. and median of 92 pts. in 63 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by forceberry on 5/6/2022 & rated 89 points: Made with purchased Syrah fruit from Garys' Vineyard, farmed by Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni. Partly destemmed. Fermented spontaneously. Aged for 15 months in partly new French oak puncheons. 14% alcohol.
Strikingly dense, opaque and inky color with a rather youthful purplish-black hue. The nose feels powerful, dense and quite complex with a somewhat Chilean feel to it. Bold, concentrated aromas of cassis-and-blackcurrant juice concentrate-driven dark fruits, fragrant notes of marjoram, some spicy notes of crushed peppercorns, light herby notes of oregano, bay leaf and other vaguely leafy nuances, a little bit of ripe bilberry, a hint of toasty oak spice and a touch of roasted meat. The wine feels dense, chewy and somewhat hot on the palate with a very full body and concentrated flavors of blackcurrant juice and crème de cassis, some herby notes of oregano and bay leaf, light minty nuances, a little bit of ripe blueberry, an umami hint of game and a sweeter, developed touch of marmaladey dark fruit. The medium acidity feels rather soft, so the overall structure relies mostly on the rather tough and grippy tannins that lend quite a bit of firmness to the mouthfeel. The persistent finish is savory, quite tannic and somewhat hot with powerful flavors of blackcurrant juice concentrate, some licorice tones, a little bit of blueberry, light umami notes of gamey meat, herbaceous hints of chopped chili and something leafy and a chocolatey touch of toasty mocha oak.
A huge powerhouse of a Syrah made in a very new world style - although the wine doesn't really remind of the stereotypical Australian Shiraz, this ain't no Hermitage either. The wine does show some classic varietal qualities like peppery spice and gamey meat, but compared to classic Northern Rhône Syrah wines, this is noticeably bigger, heavier and lower in acidity. Furthermore, compared to the drier, more red-toned fruit typical of Northern Rhône Syrah, the fruit here was quite sweet and very dark-toned in character - truth be told, the rather cassis-driven fruit notes and pronounced oak nuances made me think of Chile first. Furthermore, the subtly herbaceous leafy tones felt a bit out of place for a Syrah, which is why I thought this was a Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon. As the guess was incorrect, I went on with other new world country Cabs. It took quite a bit of guesswork to end up with Californian Syrah - I guess the wine might show sense of place, but to us, it really didn't show much varietal character. Nevertheless, it's an impressive blockbuster that is still a baby at 13 years of age - expect the wine to age and improve for many, many years more. I guess the wine is worth the price at 45€, if you like monolithic fruit bombs, but this wasn't really my cup of tea. (886 views) | | | Tasted by dsimmons on 6/11/2020 & rated 92 points: Last bottle drank with braised pork shoulder. Loads of fruit and spice. Drink or hold. (705 views) | | | Tasted by vineinabottle on 2/11/2020 & rated 92 points: Appearance
Clarity - Clear
Intensity - Deep
Color - purple
Other Observations - a bit of sediment showing up on the side of the glass, nothing glaring nor did bottle produce any substantial.
Nose
Condition - Clean
Intensity - Medium +
Aroma Characteristics - a bit medicinal upon opening, perhaps some mint, lovely blue and dark fruit, maybe a touch of boysenberry, some pepper and olive and all primary and secondary
Development - fully developed
Palate
Sweetness - dry
Acidity - medium +
Tannin - medium- to medium
Alcohol - medium
Body - medium+
Flavor Characteristics - medium+, very mature
Flavor Intensity - medium+
Finish - Long
Conclusions - a very good wine, beyond my expectation thought, juicy on the palate, held up well, the bottle condition was excellent purchased at auction. Fully mature, but I think with the right conditions it certainly could see another 2-4 years. And excellent value at $22! (660 views) | | | Tasted by dsimmons on 10/31/2018 & rated 95 points: Delicious mature Syrah full of fruit and secondary flavors all in a seamlessly integrated package. Wine is likely at peak. Drink or hold a few more years. (1138 views) | | | Tasted by Whine-oh on 3/9/2018 & rated 93 points: P n p. Dark, ripe fruit, rich. Resolved tannins. Opened up as nite wore on. Paired w pork loin, went well. In a good place for this style. Still alive and well when visited on night 3. (1240 views) | | | Tasted by dsimmons on 5/24/2016 & rated 93 points: Delicious syrah in prime time. Pop and pour. No wait needed. Red fruit. berries, spice. Yummy. Happy to have a few more. (2510 views) | | | Tasted by brianngibson on 6/21/2014 & rated 90 points: Last bottle, 3 1/2 years after the first. Had the previous bottle a year and a half ago, and I think it was in its prime then. It is still good, but the fruit has started to turn a bit prune-ish, and lacked the sweet violet I enjoy so much about Gary's. The tannins were certainly refined and softened. I have a hard time imagining a return to what for me were its best days. (3086 views) | | | Tasted by bundydavis on 12/6/2013 & rated 93 points: Very enjoyable. Rich, dark and fruity. Took about 30 minutes to open up. (3592 views) | | | Tasted by texaswinelover on 9/28/2013 & rated 91 points: Quite typical of Gary's fruit. Super dark, staining purple, dense rich and ripe. No heat which was nice. Gamy. Nice. Decent tannins. No rush on this bottle. Day 7 - wow. Developed nicely. Freshness is gone but flavors complex. Iodine and olive. (3563 views) | | | Tasted by JohnnyShiraz on 6/8/2013 & rated 50 points: Worst wine of the year. Tart, stewy, bitter, tannic. Not enjoyable. Nobody liked it at the tasting. Wish I could get my money back. Not cooked, not corked, just crap wine. Try decanting it for 2 hours and hope the terrible taste blows off.
FYI, I buy this one every year and usually love it. (3579 views) | | | Tasted by dougie on 5/10/2013 & rated 92 points: Still a long ways to go with this puppy. Rich, not too sweet. Smoothed out over 3 hours. Decanted for an hour. (2593 views) | | | Tasted by tplskylrk on 2/17/2013: Last bottle after a case, so sad. 7 months since previous bottle. opening in the afternoon, pre taste & to let her breath.
P&P - Dirty dark purple. Super concentrated Welch's grape juice, inches form the glass wafting up. Closer up the heavy minerality comes through, some herb. Such a great mouthfeel, hard to describe the flavors, lots of spice, some wood, herb. More later. This is such a good value wine. (2062 views) | | | Tasted by dankrems on 2/10/2013 & rated 90 points: Took a while to open up and come around. I did not like it as much as other reviewers did-too new world fruit heavy to really get interesting. (1513 views) | | | Tasted by Nutty08 on 11/11/2012 & rated 91 points: Very smokey nose, with roasted coffee and white pepper notes. Palate has some nice purple fruit and strong verve, but all this is hiding behind earth, pepper, and mocha, which are most prominent. Course tannins mark the transition to the finish, where the pepper really comes out along with a little iron. Lots of secondary notes here, really begs for a good piece of roasted meat. Very approachable. (1761 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 10/5/2012: This is my last bottle, with the previous bottle I drank in summer 2011. Then, I made a comment about citrus,lush fruit, about decant time and dark color. All of those hold true still, although I sense this wine has aged well in the past year, softening a bit more and becoming more approachable. The aromatics show some light stem, some smoke and light whiff of pepper. The palate? Just really gorgeous--tarry, full of the SLH citrus, garrigue, kiwi, stone fruit pit and a luscious dark fruit, a blackberry quality. The listed alcohol on the bottle is 14.3% and this seems dead on, as I can't sense any booze in the wine sticking out or interfering with the wine's quality. As it finishes, there is still a nice grip, a refreshing acidity that cuts through the fruit and providing a real nice balanced finish. I remain a devoted advocate for SLH syrah, the flavors that seems to flow from these plots. For a drink window, and I opened this last night, it's really drinking well but I'd venture a window of now (with the freshness and some of the youth still present) through 2015. I'd replace this wine without reservation and if I can make my way up to LA, I'll pick up more. Excellent. (1699 views) | | | Tasted by Montana on 7/3/2012 & rated 94 points: This was a fabulous deep, rich wine. Tasted teriffic. (1717 views) | | | Tasted by tplskylrk on 6/12/2012: Another good one. The mineral part is really nice. Dry, refined, meaty, bloody, flint, mineral. Yum. (1649 views) | | | Tasted by tplskylrk on 5/25/2012: 6 months since last taste. Notice more fine sediment had settled. Blueberry flint pie. Light entrance for such impenetrable color. Some metallic mineral thing w dark roasted notes. Finishes some burnt licoice, more metal, charred oak in there somewhere.
Next evening after pouring back into the bottle & fridging it. The nose is a bit muted now. There is still a bit of structure here, the acids and fruit are bright, nothing like the look would say. This is now finishing real nice, tannins are soft. It is not as nice as day 1 but this will age nicely and retains it's balance for some years. You get some heat/Alcho here now as well. 14.3%. Not high by some Cali Syrahs and since this is not a sweet extraction wine the alch is a bit exposed. (1880 views) | | | Tasted by alr6767 on 4/15/2012 & rated 94 points: Consistent with previous, but this bottle had the blackberry turned up another notch, which was great. This is a brute, not subtle but fairly well balanced save some ETOH at the end. Like a new world take on Hermitage, and just wonderful. (1612 views) | | | Tasted by S1 on 4/13/2012 & rated 90 points: Lots of graphite and blackberry. Very tannic; I should have waited. We just let it evolve over several hours. Slightly floral--maybe a little violet. (1963 views) | | | Tasted by brianngibson on 2/7/2012 & rated 94 points: Violets and lavender, blueberries, roasted meat and forest floor. Gorgeous. (1819 views) | | | Tasted by tplskylrk on 12/17/2011 & rated 92 points: Yikes, another. Open 24 hours. Just delicious. That graphite, lead, blood, raw feel & taste. Some tar, scorched earth. Finish is rough, like licking a fireplace. I likey. (2165 views) | | | Tasted by tplskylrk on 12/7/2011: P&P. Dark. Meaty bloddy nose, some ripe fruit in there. NIce mouth feel. Slightly bitter chalky tannins out of the gate, some tough of green, then the mineral/metallic flavors, w a charry finish. (2037 views) | | | Tasted by tplskylrk on 12/3/2011: OPened and cork left off several hours. Black hole density of purple. The nose is a bit tight, not as loud as previous bottle. Get a sweetness, then some nice rich weighty fruit. Big mid palate of black fruit, then the flint, chrome thing. Blood. Tar, espresso, asphalt, licorice. Finishes deep, some charred oak now. (1980 views) | | | Tasted by tplskylrk on 11/30/2011: Still playing w this as I just picked six. P&P&Vac before hitting happy hour. Just a taste I tell myself. Glass staining purple. Coats then sticks to the glass before legging. Cali Syrah on the nose. So different from the Australian & French style. Gun metal, flint, roast herbs, smoke. The palate is big, jumpy, and still yet closed and baby like. What will some time do I wonder. There is some nice balance here, the acid is upfront at the moment, tannins still lurking, no weight that I know will come. Would have loved to see this fruit when it was picked. (2063 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Lucia Producer website
Gary Pisoni oversees all grape growing and winemaking activities for Lucia with an unmatched fervor. Gary’s passion and enthusiasm are contagious. For over 20 years, he has produced Pinot Noir grapes from the Santa Lucia Highlands. During this time, he has shared the fruits of his labor and an immense excitement and appreciation for the land, the grapes and Pinot Noir.
Syrah 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. Garys' VineyardAppellation: Santa Lucia Highlands
Planted: 1997
Total Vineyard Acreage: 50 acres
Varietals: Pinot Noir, Syrah
Clone/ Rootstock: Pisoni Clone planted to 3309 and 5C
Exposure: Southeast
Trellising: VSP Bilateral
Spacing: 6x8 and 5x8
Vines per acre: 1089 and 908
Soils: Arroyo Seco Sandy loam
Climate: A marine climate highlighted by strong coastal winds blowing off Monterey bay make for foggy mornings, breezy afternoons and a long, drawn out growing season. Average summertime high temperatures are in the mid 70's.
The Garys’ Vineyard is a joint venture between two
native growers of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Gary
Pisoni and Gary Franscioni planted this 50-acre
vineyard to Pinot Noir and Syrah in 1997. Its location
on a sloping hillside in the center of the 16-mile long
appellation offers a true representation of the Santa
Lucia Highlands.
From Club Testarossa June 2013 tasting notes:
In the hierarchy of great California vineyards, it doesn't get much better than Garys' - the eponymous
collaboration of winegrowers Gary Pisoni and Gary Franscioni - one of the most famous estates on the
West Coast. The Wine Enthusiast designates Garys' vineyard as the closest vineyard to an "American Grand
Cru."
Just off of Highway 101 about 80 miles south of San Jose takes you to the heart of the Santa Lucia
Highlands Appellation - home to Garys' Vineyard. Owned jointly by the Pisoni and Franscioni families and
managed by Mark Pisoni and Gary Franscioni, this is one of the crown jewels for Pinot Noir collectors.
"We view our vineyard as multi-generational commitments to growing grapes that can produce the most
remarkable and balanced wines."
Testarossa has one of the longest running, closest relationships with the vineyard - the 2011 vintage marks
our thirteenth release from Garys' The Highlands close proximity to Monterey Bay's cool climate make for
one of California's longest growing seasons. The vineyard's sloping orientation on the southeast facing
bench on sandy, gravelly loam soils provides just the right mix of sun, wind, and fog. Testarossa's section of
Garys' Vineyard is three pristine acres of the famous "Pisoni Clone" Pinot Noir, originally planted in 1997.
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 WikipediaSanta Lucia HighlandsAppellation: Wine Artisans of Santa Lucia Highlands | Winegeeks article
AVA Website
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