Drinking beautifully—smooth, well-integrated tannins, savory with lovely dark fruit notes. Love the floral hint imparted by the viognier. Sorry this was my last bottle.
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Pnp. Still drinking well. Classic WA Syrah—gamey, savory, sanguine with notes of tar and tobacco. Some dark fruit on the long finish. Good structure. Looking forward to our second (and last) bottle
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Color: bright deep ruby Nose: plum, earth, anise, mushroom Taste: cough syrup, cola, cherry Thus is very extracted with a big dose of cough syrup that blows of to a jammy, thick wine with anise, cigar box and mushroom. This has a long way to go... drink or hold.
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Last of three bottles, consumed in 2012, 2016 and 2021. This finally came around, the sharp edges softened, fruit still fresh and a pleasant finish. I assume this is drink now but it could still evolve positively for a few more years.
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Nez ouvert et complexe. Cuir salé, mûre, poivre blanc et floral En bouche fruit mure, jambon salé, café. Un peu chaud. Les tanins sont intégrés. Une finale avec une pointe acidulé.
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Had not opened a bottle of this for over 2 years. Ran through aerator to get started. First glass was still a little closed off. By the second glass things really started to sing. Medium body with a very refined texture. Beautiful bright Crimson in color. Great balance of flavor so including bacon fat, floral and red fruit primarily raspberry. Nothing not to like with this wine.
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Big, big wine that we probably should have decanted a couple of hours. But we didn't and it showed a bit hot and disjointed on pop and pour. I have a few more bottles that I'll hold or plan better when I want to try them.
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update: much better impression than 17 months ago. Website aging calendar says "Drink soon". I agree, but there's no rush. One left. Generally like the Southern Blend better.
2/5/2013 note: Seems that I caught this wine at an awkward stage. Tart and fresh, it's almost pinot noir-like, now. Tasted against '06 Sequel and '07 Rulo, both of which were preferred (4 different palates). Rated 88 at the time.
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Pop & pour at Serratto in Portland, and paired with mushroom risotto, grilled artichoke and stuffed piquillo peppers. Some funk on the nose with a whiff of mint or eucalyptus. Really nice wine, paired well with the earthiness of the mushrooms in our dish. Started out somewhat light in body, but continued to put on weight as it got more air throughout the evening. Left the last glass or so in the bottle for our server, rewarded with waived $20 corkage fee. Thank you, kind server, I hope you enjoyed the wine!
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Took to a wine group dinner of all Rhones, and served as a sous-la-table wine during the final flight of three Northern Rhones. Certainly different, but obviously inspired by the type, it fit nicely as a complement, bringing purity of clean blue/black fruit, mineral and herb undertones. After a little bit of air it developed a rich smoky quality as well. I think Sean really excels with the Northern blend. 91-92+
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Dégusté en deux temps séparé de 24 hres. Apparence rouge amarante foncé et dense. larmes épaisse et persistantes. Nez fermé. Arôme de médicament ou plutôt de pyrèthre, de lavande et de menthol. Peu de fruit ou de notes boisées. Un peu trop de chaleur (alcool) Deuxième jour, nez plus ouvert, bouquet net du fruit de thé des bois. Sapide, l'alcool est mieux intégré. Original et intéressant.
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If you like Northern Rhone Syrah you will enjoy the beautifully crafted red modeled obviously enough after the reds from the Northern Rhone. The one difference here is that the spice notes are a little softer and more in line with the intensity of the fruit. Some Northern Rhone reds are too spice dominated for me. This wine is a great balance between fruit and spice.
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100% Syrah ala Northern Rhone, hence it's name. It has the spice notes that one would expect from a Northern Rhone Syrah. To me it was medium to full bodied and had more opulence and less acidity which made me enjoy it even more.
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Rotie Cellars was my key find at the Wine Bloggers Conf in Walla.
The 2009 is VERY drinkable right now, and in fact I enjoyed it more the first 36 hours.
Its a rich syrah, and the tiniest bit newer world for Northern Rhone, but the classic Syrah/Viognier notes of a Cote Rotie jump out of the glass.
Funny reading the notes below: its hardly a tannic monster, and there is nothing Pinot Noir about it, unless all you drink is Shiraz and SLH Pinot, just sayin.
Inky Dark purple color can't see a thing through. Nose: fragrant...notes of olive, smoked meat, rich black fruit. Palate: good structure, well rounded fruit, expressive but not dominating. New World meets Old World, in the middle.
If you can't quite deal with the lean Syrahs of cool climate, but are over 'Shiraz' this is an excellent bridge, and a damn good wine all around.
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Dark and fragrant with big black fruit, great acidity and pretty well integrated tannins. This was a wine I really enjoyed and in my opinion quite a bit "bigger" than the cote rotie that it would be compared to.
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PnP served over the following 2 hours. Ready to go, this opened with a nose and palate of great purity and got better through the night. Forward and modern, but sensibly so. Peppery bacon fat, bloody roast beef, red floral, a touch of soap. This has yet to hit its sweet-spot - perhaps another year or two - but is really enjoyable now. Very good to excellent purity of fruit and sense of place. I think I will re-order one or two more, I like what I see. Which is to say this is far from a fruit bomb; more like skilled hands in the vineyards. 14,2% abv, recommended
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This is a kickass WA wine. The color is deep and the tastes are oh so lingering over every part of your tongue... Like really good sex but maybe not quite as good as that. More or less. Finish is fantastic and then ready for another sip. I do recommend this wine.
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The first night featured a meaty nose with violets from the viognier, typical for a WW syrah. There was a big hole in the midpalate, though. The wine just didn't taste like much.
Second night the nost had mellowed to a more fruity, dark berry nose, with a palate to match. Not bad, but not very interesting either.
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Drank over two days and somewhat difficult to evaluate at this point of its evolution, as I suspect this will require a few years to hit its stride. The cofermented viognier gives this a lovely floral lift on the nose to go with the red berry, citrus rind and spicebox flavors. A bit lean and tight on the palate, but the component parts appear to be there, with fresh acidity, medium body, medium tightly-wound tannins, and a fairly long finish. A rather elegant, somewhat feminine expression of syrah which keeps your interest but doesn't really stand out from the crowd.
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as a previous note indicated it is better on the second day. This wine was brought to a SB party where two other WA syrahs and an Aussie Shiraz-Cab was served. This wine had been opened the evening before and showed very well. It was distinct and nothing like the other wines which were also very nice. This was different in an amazing way. Not your usual syrah, nice citrus and even some vegetal notes were present. It is still young and will only get better. If you are looking for something different, I recommend it. Other wines drank included Amavi 2007 Syrah, McCrea 2006 Syrah and Penfolds Bin 389 2004. Great good and nice wines for a Sunday.
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Creamy red fruit aroma. Rose, citrus and red fruit flavors. Medium body and a long finish. A really good Washington Syrah. The most interesting thing was that the vanilla creaminess on the nose did not carry through into the taste, where the freshness of the rose and citrus seemed to be the dominant characteristic. A very complex and wonderful wine.
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Wow. This wine is really nice - but after a LOT of air. I found a third of a bottle on the counter two days after opening and it was ridiculously better then its enjoyment after an 8 hour decant. Strongly advise opening a bottle and then enjoying it 24 hours later. Night and day difference.
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Beautiful nose. Violets, blackberries. 'Fruit, all fruit'. In the mouth, subdued, bigtime cream mouthfeel. Hints of leatheriness. Was leery of this due to too many jam-bomb Shiraz-Viognier Aussies... this is no such thing. Very nicely made wine, new world justice served to the Cote Rotie. Good stuff.
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This Côte-Rôtie style blend smelled great upon opening with blackberry and dark cherry aromas. Decanted it for about 45 minutes before taking the first taste. Dark violet coloring, medium/full-bodied, it gave flavors of blackberry, earth, chocolate and a nice oakiness. It's not surprising I liked it so much as the winemaker worked at one of my other favorite Washington wineries (Waters).
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Deep purple in the glass. Blue and black fruit nose with a little oak. The palate is a little closed. Blueberry with olive and a little pepper. Creamy mouth feel. Some floral notes with orange peel. Not as fruit driven as I expected. A little anise and chocolate on the palate as well.
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very deep purple in color and the quality of concentration is evident in the glass. The nose is very nice, seamlessly intertwining aromas of blackberries and cherry with a a mineral earthiness, dark chocolate, and spice. On the palate there is a mineral, earthy almost wild game flavor that is really nice. The wine is young with high acidity that is intensifying the tannins and creating a dry, lean texture, but there is potential for significant improvement with 3-4 years of rest. Keep an eye on this one.
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1/26/2022 - EggersWine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking beautifully—smooth, well-integrated tannins, savory with lovely dark fruit notes. Love the floral hint imparted by the viognier. Sorry this was my last bottle.
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11/20/2021 - EggersWine Likes this wine: 93 Points
Pnp. Still drinking well. Classic WA Syrah—gamey, savory, sanguine with notes of tar and tobacco. Some dark fruit on the long finish. Good structure. Looking forward to our second (and last) bottle
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5/8/2021 - smahk wrote: 90 Points
Color: bright deep ruby
Nose: plum, earth, anise, mushroom
Taste: cough syrup, cola, cherry
Thus is very extracted with a big dose of cough syrup that blows of to a jammy, thick wine with anise, cigar box and mushroom. This has a long way to go... drink or hold.
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3/2/2021 - DaneM Likes this wine:
Last of three bottles, consumed in 2012, 2016 and 2021. This finally came around, the sharp edges softened, fruit still fresh and a pleasant finish. I assume this is drink now but it could still evolve positively for a few more years.
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8/10/2020 - DrX wrote: 93 Points
Holding up very well. Still full of bright fruits with the tertiary flavors just starting to accent the overall body. Delicious, hold or drink.
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10/16/2018 - arthrovine wrote:
This is drinking very well right now. Tannins have softnened. drink within next 3-5 years at the most.
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6/4/2018 - spidersva Likes this wine: 93 Points
First night good, second night fantastic.
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4/4/2017 - YoRi Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nez ouvert et complexe. Cuir salé, mûre, poivre blanc et floral
En bouche fruit mure, jambon salé, café. Un peu chaud. Les tanins sont intégrés. Une finale avec une pointe acidulé.
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12/1/2016 - curtr Likes this wine:
Decant 1-2 hours. Starting to drink well. Should last through 2019.
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3/27/2016 - hende14 wrote: 93 Points
Had not opened a bottle of this for over 2 years. Ran through aerator to get started. First glass was still a little closed off. By the second glass things really started to sing. Medium body with a very refined texture. Beautiful bright Crimson in color. Great balance of flavor so including bacon fat, floral and red fruit primarily raspberry. Nothing not to like with this wine.
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9/22/2015 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 89 Points
Big, big wine that we probably should have decanted a couple of hours. But we didn't and it showed a bit hot and disjointed on pop and pour. I have a few more bottles that I'll hold or plan better when I want to try them.
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6/7/2015 - spidersva Likes this wine: 92 Points
Really, really good. Showed super well with a low country boil - the sausage and it sang together.
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5/12/2015 - lirvingham Likes this wine: 92 Points
I meant to grab the southern because I have more. Rats. This wine is tasting great now though. Fruit forward with very little oak and hints of olives.
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12/12/2014 - lirvingham wrote: 89 Points
Wondering if this wine had a flaw. Didn't seem quite on but tough to nail down.
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11/8/2014 - Pedroel Likes this wine: 91 Points
update: much better impression than 17 months ago. Website aging calendar says "Drink soon". I agree, but there's no rush. One left. Generally like the Southern Blend better.
2/5/2013 note: Seems that I caught this wine at an awkward stage. Tart and fresh, it's almost pinot noir-like, now. Tasted against '06 Sequel and '07 Rulo, both of which were preferred (4 different palates). Rated 88 at the time.
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6/12/2014 - RPerro Likes this wine: 92 Points
Pop & pour at Serratto in Portland, and paired with mushroom risotto, grilled artichoke and stuffed piquillo peppers. Some funk on the nose with a whiff of mint or eucalyptus. Really nice wine, paired well with the earthiness of the mushrooms in our dish. Started out somewhat light in body, but continued to put on weight as it got more air throughout the evening. Left the last glass or so in the bottle for our server, rewarded with waived $20 corkage fee. Thank you, kind server, I hope you enjoyed the wine!
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4/29/2014 - MindMuse wrote: 91 Points
Took to a wine group dinner of all Rhones, and served as a sous-la-table wine during the final flight of three Northern Rhones. Certainly different, but obviously inspired by the type, it fit nicely as a complement, bringing purity of clean blue/black fruit, mineral and herb undertones. After a little bit of air it developed a rich smoky quality as well. I think Sean really excels with the Northern blend. 91-92+
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9/8/2013 - YoRi wrote: 91 Points
Dégusté en deux temps séparé de 24 hres.
Apparence rouge amarante foncé et dense. larmes épaisse et persistantes.
Nez fermé. Arôme de médicament ou plutôt de pyrèthre, de lavande et de menthol. Peu de fruit ou de notes boisées. Un peu trop de chaleur (alcool)
Deuxième jour, nez plus ouvert, bouquet net du fruit de thé des bois. Sapide, l'alcool est mieux intégré. Original et intéressant.
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8/12/2013 - skibum819 Likes this wine: 90 Points
If you like Northern Rhone Syrah you will enjoy the beautifully crafted red modeled obviously enough after the reds from the Northern Rhone. The one difference here is that the spice notes are a little softer and more in line with the intensity of the fruit. Some Northern Rhone reds are too spice dominated for me. This wine is a great balance between fruit and spice.
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5/17/2013 - skibum819 Likes this wine: 90 Points
100% Syrah ala Northern Rhone, hence it's name. It has the spice notes that one would expect from a Northern Rhone Syrah. To me it was medium to full bodied and had more opulence and less acidity which made me enjoy it even more.
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5/6/2013 - SonomaWilliam wrote: 91 Points
Rotie Cellars was my key find at the Wine Bloggers Conf in Walla.
The 2009 is VERY drinkable right now, and in fact I enjoyed it more the first 36 hours.
Its a rich syrah, and the tiniest bit newer world for Northern Rhone, but the classic Syrah/Viognier notes
of a Cote Rotie jump out of the glass.
Funny reading the notes below: its hardly a tannic monster, and there is nothing Pinot Noir about it, unless all you drink is Shiraz and SLH Pinot, just sayin.
Inky Dark purple color can't see a thing through.
Nose: fragrant...notes of olive, smoked meat, rich black fruit.
Palate: good structure, well rounded fruit, expressive but not dominating. New World meets Old World, in the middle.
If you can't quite deal with the lean Syrahs of cool climate, but are over 'Shiraz' this is an excellent bridge, and a damn good wine all around.
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4/15/2013 - curtr wrote:
At a very tannic stage. Was not showing much. Try again in 2016.
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1/29/2013 - lopaka Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark and fragrant with big black fruit, great acidity and pretty well integrated tannins. This was a wine I really enjoyed and in my opinion quite a bit "bigger" than the cote rotie that it would be compared to.
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9/22/2012 - Tim Heaton wrote:
PnP served over the following 2 hours. Ready to go, this opened with a nose and palate of great purity and got better through the night. Forward and modern, but sensibly so. Peppery bacon fat, bloody roast beef, red floral, a touch of soap. This has yet to hit its sweet-spot - perhaps another year or two - but is really enjoyable now. Very good to excellent purity of fruit and sense of place. I think I will re-order one or two more, I like what I see. Which is to say this is far from a fruit bomb; more like skilled hands in the vineyards. 14,2% abv, recommended
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8/24/2012 - Musedir wrote: 91 Points
This is a kickass WA wine. The color is deep and the tastes are oh so lingering over every part of your tongue... Like really good sex but maybe not quite as good as that. More or less. Finish is fantastic and then ready for another sip. I do recommend this wine.
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7/20/2012 - Michael Davidson wrote:
Sadly, not a big fan of this wine.
The first night featured a meaty nose with violets from the viognier, typical for a WW syrah. There was a big hole in the midpalate, though. The wine just didn't taste like much.
Second night the nost had mellowed to a more fruity, dark berry nose, with a palate to match. Not bad, but not very interesting either.
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3/18/2012 - JustDrinkIt wrote: 90 Points
Spice, blackberry nose. Palate similar to a Kerloo Walla Walla with a touch more acid, good structure with a lifted finish. Nice wine
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3/11/2012 - GrapeScott wrote: 90 Points
Drank over two days and somewhat difficult to evaluate at this point of its evolution, as I suspect this will require a few years to hit its stride. The cofermented viognier gives this a lovely floral lift on the nose to go with the red berry, citrus rind and spicebox flavors. A bit lean and tight on the palate, but the component parts appear to be there, with fresh acidity, medium body, medium tightly-wound tannins, and a fairly long finish. A rather elegant, somewhat feminine expression of syrah which keeps your interest but doesn't really stand out from the crowd.
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2/26/2012 - topher2411 wrote: 93 Points
Delicious. Flavors of olive and dark fruit. Long, smooth finish.
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2/6/2012 - vinotintoiowa wrote: 91 Points
as a previous note indicated it is better on the second day. This wine was brought to a SB party where two other WA syrahs and an Aussie Shiraz-Cab was served. This wine had been opened the evening before and showed very well. It was distinct and nothing like the other wines which were also very nice. This was different in an amazing way. Not your usual syrah, nice citrus and even some vegetal notes were present. It is still young and will only get better. If you are looking for something different, I recommend it. Other wines drank included Amavi 2007 Syrah, McCrea 2006 Syrah and Penfolds Bin 389 2004. Great good and nice wines for a Sunday.
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2/6/2012 - hende14 wrote: 92 Points
Creamy red fruit aroma. Rose, citrus and red fruit flavors. Medium body and a long finish. A really good Washington Syrah. The most interesting thing was that the vanilla creaminess on the nose did not carry through into the taste, where the freshness of the rose and citrus seemed to be the dominant characteristic. A very complex and wonderful wine.
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2/4/2012 - arthrovine wrote: 92 Points
Wow. This wine is really nice - but after a LOT of air. I found a third of a bottle on the counter two days after opening and it was ridiculously better then its enjoyment after an 8 hour decant. Strongly advise opening a bottle and then enjoying it 24 hours later. Night and day difference.
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1/24/2012 - MindMuse wrote: 91 Points
Lovely Côte Rôtie style wine with rich black and blue fruits, floral, mineral, smoky flavors.
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1/22/2012 - oropeza wrote: 93 Points
Beautiful nose. Violets, blackberries. 'Fruit, all fruit'. In the mouth, subdued, bigtime cream mouthfeel. Hints of leatheriness. Was leery of this due to too many jam-bomb Shiraz-Viognier Aussies... this is no such thing. Very nicely made wine, new world justice served to the Cote Rotie. Good stuff.
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1/21/2012 - jrslhughes wrote: 91 Points
Rich, very flavorful, amazing that a Rhone style wine this good comes from WA
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1/13/2012 - Burkeshire wrote: 93 Points
This Côte-Rôtie style blend smelled great upon opening with blackberry and dark cherry aromas. Decanted it for about 45 minutes before taking the first taste. Dark violet coloring, medium/full-bodied, it gave flavors of blackberry, earth, chocolate and a nice oakiness. It's not surprising I liked it so much as the winemaker worked at one of my other favorite Washington wineries (Waters).
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12/30/2011 - atrox wrote: 90 Points
Deep purple in the glass. Blue and black fruit nose with a little oak. The palate is a little closed. Blueberry with olive and a little pepper. Creamy mouth feel. Some floral notes with orange peel. Not as fruit driven as I expected. A little anise and chocolate on the palate as well.
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11/27/2011 - pc1981 wrote: 90 Points
very deep purple in color and the quality of concentration is evident in the glass. The nose is very nice, seamlessly intertwining aromas of blackberries and cherry with a a mineral earthiness, dark chocolate, and spice. On the palate there is a mineral, earthy almost wild game flavor that is really nice. The wine is young with high acidity that is intensifying the tannins and creating a dry, lean texture, but there is potential for significant improvement with 3-4 years of rest. Keep an eye on this one.
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