April 13, 2024 - Tasted over 2 hours
-saturated purple
-lovely deep dark berry and Kalamata olive juice
-med acidity, med+ weight ripe dark berry licorice very faint medicinal heat on the finish med- tannins
-very good and surprisingly well-balanced
February 4, 2024 - Not decanted, in Grassl 1855 stems. Were these wines made from stone, because they aren’t moving at all? Still so youthful. Expansive nose of rhubarb, boysenberry, licorice, and white pepper. Very rich on the palate and, while there are no tannins, the fruit density still indicates a LONG life. Absolutely delicious. I liked it on its own every bit as much as with burgers tonight.
July 25, 2023 - Big fan of Maggie Harrison and these Lillian wines. Wish she was still making the blue label version. It saw a bit more oak I believe and is a noticeable standout versus the other labeled Syrahs. These will age a LONG time. Beautiful ruby purple color. Aromas of blackberry, bacon fat, savory herbs, stone and a hint of garrigue. This is in a wonderful drinking window right now.
July 12, 2023 - Really nice bottle age at the moment. Decanted for 3 hours and was still going strong. Tasted blind and some thought it was CA cab, so the higher alc did not tip anyone off. A really great wine.
February 25, 2023 - Explosive pepper and meaty nose. Black fruited palate, silky smooth with some white pepper notes poking through. Lengthy finish with a racy spice quality and polished black fruits. Holding up well but there’s some heat on the finish.
December 7, 2022 - An exciting combination of sweet and savory with so much richness, but never losing its balance. So much ripe black fruit with just enough structure just off center. Still a baby.
June 10, 2022 - Wow, these things seemingly could age forever. This is seemingly in a very good window though. Still a ton of primary fruit and spice. Aromas of blackberry, black raspberries, Sage, peppercorn, cigar wrapper. Opaque purple. This bottling received a bit longer age in oak. The texture is so silky. Still vibrant acidity and gripping tanning structure. Drink now with a couple hour decant or continue to age a decade plus.
January 17, 2022 - Rich, dense and very concentrated blackberry jam, slightly sweet, mostly tart with so much power, while still well balanced. Very good now, with lots of life going forward.
October 28, 2021 - Cellared since release, open in bottle for an hour, cork crumbled, throwing a ton of sediment, 15.4...Blue Label is their extended barrel aged an extra year...the wine is in GREAT shape! Dark and extracted...very youthful liqueured blackberry/blueberry/bing cherry fruits...sweet, full bodied, jammy...yet plenty of refreshingly lifted acidity, graphite, creme de cassis to integrate well and offer wonderful dryness to the sweet. The wine is packed with everything...olive tapenade, white pepper, tar, cold smoked meats, red licorice, leather...more smoky oak spice and polish from the barrels...super pretty white flower and violet florals...so expressive with a finish for days! The SQN-ish feminine power and balance is sure evident here...amazing drink now, with plenty more left in the tank!
July 17, 2021 - Apparently I didn’t know I had a third bottle of this. Brought on our trip and drank in not the most ideal glasses or circumstances (picking up daughter from camp in Hancock NY) and it was shockingly good.
Still so youthful, dark in color, very fruit forward, wonderful balance and long finish. My only regret is not holding this longer to gain some tertiary flavors, it still has enough fruit and backbone to hang in there for awhile!!