Community Tasting Note

sid_loves_wine Likes this wine:

Monday, November 2, 2020 - Gorgeous, intriguing wine that was the perfect choice to celebrate our move to Seattle. Pop and pour, would decant next time although it was nicely expressive right out of the gate.

I was drawn in immediately by the nose, and would never guess it was nearly 15% ABV based on scent. Smells like a Saint-Joseph or ultra-cool climate California, not even necessarily from a ripe vintage. Pure Northern Rhone worship with the full array of classical Syrah tones; ultra-black, highly minerally blackberry, black licorice, but also a fresh, airy quality that prevents any sense of extracted fruit from emerging. Peppery/olive tapenade tones from the stems, ashy, maybe something a little meaty, more about the fresh black fruit and ashy olive tones.

Palate is even more surprising. I would never guess this was more than 13.5% ABV if blind (it's 14.8%). The fruit is rich here too with a bowl of blackberries and black licorice, along with a good dose of medium+ acidity and really chalky, crunchy tannins. A buttload of dark chocolate and ironlike minerals on the finish, buttressed by echoes of fresh berry acidity. My only real criticism is that I wish the acidity was a touch higher, which would balance the tannins even better (it's anything but flabby though, don't get the wrong idea.)

The tannins are really interesting; this reminded me intensely of a K Vintners Rock Garden Syrah (2014) which felt almost the same, despite being nearly 2 full points lower in ABV. The only major difference was the tannins- the K Rock Garden was extremely elegant and lithe in texture, making it more palatable, while this showed very heavy tannin; not so much that it felt imbalanced, but much more tightly wound. I've decided to rate this wine the same as the K; it's a little less expensive (although harder to find, I think) and although it's a little less complete/magical right now, it would probably age longer, with a serious combination of fruit, complexity, acidity, and tannin.

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