Extra points for being an exceptional VPR and a bargain. Everything you'd want from a northern Rhone - lots of pepper and black fruit. Still in its prime.
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Spice and twig aromas from the cork. This Syrah has fine mature savoury notes of earth, forest floor, potpourri, tobacco leaf, and blackberry aromas that follow through on the smooth, full-bodied palate. Slightly tart cherry notes mid-palate. Tannins have integrated very well, while the acids are juicy and balanced. Black pepper notes linger on the long finish. Enjoy over the next 2-3 years. A joy to drink.
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This has opened up significantly since last tasted 6/12, and I wish I had more. Great QPR @$17. Dark berries, sangre de toro, leather, and pepper. Nice lingering finish w/ some old world earth notes.
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Glad I waited on my first bottle of this. Roast beef and dried berries dominate the nose. Balance and grace on the palate that still has roast beef coming through. Pungent and earthy. Medium bodied and very silky. I'm a little confused because everything seems to be perfectly in place, but it is not the most complex wine. Very decent length. I just love Rhone reds and I love this wine. I think it will steadily improve for another couple years. Tasted wonderful on it's own, but was even better with my Bison steak. I think this baby is gonna be a riser... Found another one of these in my cellar yesterday 5/12/2015. I'll keep with all my former comments except it has not gotten any better the last 2 years. Drink it now and enjoy the meaty goodness. This syrah is beautiful with meat.
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Ca 40 min luft. Frisk, läskande, något tunn. Röda vinbär, lingon, smörkola, lakrits, torkat kött. Fortfarande ganska ungt, gör sig bäst vid lite lägre temperatur.
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Disappointed. Didn't match up with scores, reviews, or wine shop recommendation. Just OK, so will not buy again. Have had better experiences with E. Guigal Crozes-Hermitage wines.
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Not all that familiar with Rhone wines, have had more California Rhone-style wines. Read about the awesome 2009 Cotes du Rhone vintage and this "bargain", so bought a couple of bottles. May be a tad young, but it has an inky appearance (the Syrah) a fruity nose and the taste was of mouth-filling velvety fruit, with a medium finish. Was sort of expecting a bit better, given the wine press, but not disappointed. This would be a great slightly better than medium-bodied (no oak) red wine sipper...worth letting breath, just a tad.
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Surprised to see this at a work gathering. Deep purple color, opaque, dense appearance. Nose of ashes and a bit of dust, muted fruit. This may be slightly corked. On the palate, lighter than expected, a touch of pepper, feels surprisingly balanced but it is lacking fruit. This bottle seems to be aging prematurely. Would like to try another one to see if it is mildly corked. For now 86 pts.
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PHMG WAG: the '09 Northern Rhones (Casa Lyon): Medium garnet color. This proved to be one of the tightest wines of the night. Old World, austere, but still very pleasurable including the next day. Dark berries, currants, pepper, and meat notes. Needs a little more time.
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Strong aromas of dark berries, mineral, and some meat which fade over time - PnP this wine, do not decant. The body was quite light and disappointing for a 100% syrah. The tannins are well integrated so this wine can be drunk now. Acidity was in balance. This wine was actually overwhelmed by turkey stuffed green peppers, so be careful with a food pairing - go for lighter fare. The finish is dusty and moderately long, with minimal complexity. Overall an easy drinking wine, but too light to be memorable.
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Nose: Lovely aromas of red berries, ash, smoke and pepper. Classical !!!
Palate: At first very lean and buttery. But then the wine opens up with Jammy redberries, smoke, pepper, ash. I also felt a floral aspect to the wine probably violet. The wine gained power after 30 mins in the glass. It changed to a medium bodied peppery classical Croze-hermitage. Round tannins and good acidity to support the structure. The finish is medium length, dusty and peppery.
This is a lovely wine. It is for short term consumption but great as it is. It could probably gained complexity with 1-3 years in the cellar however.
89+
Voila !
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This wine has become richer and more profound in the last nine months since my initial note. The rough edges have smoothed out. This wine strikes me as far better than some recent notes would indicate. I would recommend patience.
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Drinkable but not very good. Nose has a fake berry smell with some soil notes. Kinda reminds me of a northern Rhone imitation of a $8 Cotes Du Rhone. May get better with time, I hope so I have two bottles to go.
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Very young with pure but restrained redberrie-fruit on the nose. Dry with very high acidity and balanced tannins. Has a very typical syrah spiciness and layers of packed fruit that needs time to be released. Today the wine is in a tunnel and needs 2-4 years in the cellar in order to open up. Will then earn 1-2 more poins.
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not for me... nose is ok, butter, redcurrant, hint of citrus. weird combo.. all over the place. very smooth attack, almost tasteless. medium body, no strong distinguishable flavours. finish is long and quite spicy, pepper is dominant. this is after only two hours though, i will let it air for another three and taste again. but like someone said, color is great! dissapointed, since reading some good reviews. so an edit, after several hours in the decanter it improved slightly. but its still crap. albeit a tad polished..
edit 2, this is weird.. two days later recorked and standing by the stowe, i drank it today, and this has certainly come alive, huge difference. but still not a great wine. funny thing though, the nose had almost faded. but taste improved. one of the reasons i love wine, its a living breathing thing, thats never the same from one day to another.
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This bottle was all over the place: straggly acids and a sprawling, imbalanced structure. Even tannins were out of place, giving an impression of stem derived coarseness. Nose is very much Pinot noir (!) and after 6hrs decant, the wine started to fade. However: Colour is very beautiful, clear and inviting!
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Deep purple color. Medium body. Classic Croze-Hermitage nose; lots of complex spices and potent berry fruits. At first, a real hit on the tongue; it builds in intensity from a mild attack and mid-palate to a powerful, biting finsh. Not necessarily a bad thing; it's just very young. After 1 hour+ decant, the wine integrates, becomes fuller, smoother, richer throughout. Still a tannic bite; I would leave this a year at least to settle down and sort out, but this is a very promising wine. 90+
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2/20/2021 - Samaul Likes this wine: 86 Points
Mörk mognadston
Mörka bär, svag animalisk doft,
Mörka bär, björnbär,
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3/21/2020 - Hilzi wrote: 90 Points
Pleasant Northern Rhone Syrah with dark fruit aromas. Nicely matured, drinks well but should be drunk soon.
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12/9/2016 - davo22 wrote: 90 Points
Extra points for being an exceptional VPR and a bargain. Everything you'd want from a northern Rhone - lots of pepper and black fruit. Still in its prime.
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2/13/2016 - notudden Likes this wine: 88 Points
Nicely matured. Went well with slow oven broiled moose steak and sauce of red wine and chanterelles.
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11/28/2015 - cono_sur Likes this wine: 90 Points
Spice and twig aromas from the cork. This Syrah has fine mature savoury notes of earth, forest floor, potpourri, tobacco leaf, and blackberry aromas that follow through on the smooth, full-bodied palate. Slightly tart cherry notes mid-palate. Tannins have integrated very well, while the acids are juicy and balanced. Black pepper notes linger on the long finish. Enjoy over the next 2-3 years. A joy to drink.
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6/26/2014 - Vanilla wrote: 88 Points
Consistant with previous note. Awesome wine for that price.
88
Santé!
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3/26/2014 - AIB Likes this wine: 88 Points
Got better with some time out of the bottle. Decent syrah and drinking well. would recommend decanting for an hour or two.
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1/27/2014 - Grinner wrote: 90 Points
This has opened up significantly since last tasted 6/12, and I wish I had more. Great QPR @$17. Dark berries, sangre de toro, leather, and pepper. Nice lingering finish w/ some old world earth notes.
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1/25/2014 - MWiking wrote: 84 Points
still a quite boring wine after a few years in the cellar.
If I had this one blind I would have it as a new world syrah probably from south america.
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11/19/2013 - Vanilla wrote: 88 Points
This will get better with 1-2 years in the cellar, but very nice right now.
88+
Santé
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10/12/2013 - ChristerE wrote: 85 Points
I drank the 2005 a week ago and it was over the hill. This vintage still need to be stored a couple of years.
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4/29/2013 - PinotAge-Weetree wrote: 90 Points
Glad I waited on my first bottle of this. Roast beef and dried berries dominate the nose. Balance and grace on the palate that still has roast beef coming through. Pungent and earthy. Medium bodied and very silky. I'm a little confused because everything seems to be perfectly in place, but it is not the most complex wine. Very decent length. I just love Rhone reds and I love this wine. I think it will steadily improve for another couple years. Tasted wonderful on it's own, but was even better with my Bison steak. I think this baby is gonna be a riser...
Found another one of these in my cellar yesterday 5/12/2015. I'll keep with all my former comments except it has not gotten any better the last 2 years. Drink it now and enjoy the meaty goodness. This syrah is beautiful with meat.
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4/28/2013 - KimHartman wrote: 89 Points
Ca 40 min luft. Frisk, läskande, något tunn. Röda vinbär, lingon, smörkola, lakrits, torkat kött. Fortfarande ganska ungt, gör sig bäst vid lite lägre temperatur.
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1/26/2013 - PetePullen Does not like this wine: 87 Points
Disappointed. Didn't match up with scores, reviews, or wine shop recommendation. Just OK, so will not buy again. Have had better experiences with E. Guigal Crozes-Hermitage wines.
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12/30/2012 - DanielRadar wrote: 85 Points
Still a bit disappointed with this. The high ratings in Decanter led me on...
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12/25/2012 - strugs wrote: 88 Points
Acidity has mellowed since I last tasted it several months ago. Very smooth and mellow syrah with some subtle dark fruit especially on the finish.
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12/7/2012 - Z1nnfull Likes this wine: 89 Points
Not all that familiar with Rhone wines, have had more California Rhone-style wines. Read about the awesome 2009 Cotes du Rhone vintage and this "bargain", so bought a couple of bottles. May be a tad young, but it has an inky appearance (the Syrah) a fruity nose and the taste was of mouth-filling velvety fruit, with a medium finish. Was sort of expecting a bit better, given the wine press, but not disappointed. This would be a great slightly better than medium-bodied (no oak) red wine sipper...worth letting breath, just a tad.
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9/14/2012 - Merengue wrote: 86 Points
Surprised to see this at a work gathering. Deep purple color, opaque, dense appearance. Nose of ashes and a bit of dust, muted fruit. This may be slightly corked. On the palate, lighter than expected, a touch of pepper, feels surprisingly balanced but it is lacking fruit. This bottle seems to be aging prematurely. Would like to try another one to see if it is mildly corked. For now 86 pts.
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6/15/2012 - JoshA wrote: 88 Points
Dark berries on the nose and, more subtly, on the palate. Undertones of pencil lead and tobacco. Well balanced with fine tannins.
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6/2/2012 - Grinner wrote: 89 Points
PHMG WAG: the '09 Northern Rhones (Casa Lyon): Medium garnet color. This proved to be one of the tightest wines of the night. Old World, austere, but still very pleasurable including the next day. Dark berries, currants, pepper, and meat notes. Needs a little more time.
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4/23/2012 - strugs wrote: 88 Points
Light garnet red. Medium body. Nice acidity but a bit too forward. Will probably benefit some more time in the bottle.
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4/3/2012 - GoBlue2002 wrote: 87 Points
Strong aromas of dark berries, mineral, and some meat which fade over time - PnP this wine, do not decant. The body was quite light and disappointing for a 100% syrah. The tannins are well integrated so this wine can be drunk now. Acidity was in balance. This wine was actually overwhelmed by turkey stuffed green peppers, so be careful with a food pairing - go for lighter fare. The finish is dusty and moderately long, with minimal complexity. Overall an easy drinking wine, but too light to be memorable.
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3/15/2012 - eniskonuk wrote:
- Crimsom color and aromas of strawberry and has flavours of strawberry and cherry.
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3/13/2012 - Ben Paquet wrote: 89 Points
Color: Deep purple.
Nose: Lovely aromas of red berries, ash, smoke and pepper. Classical !!!
Palate: At first very lean and buttery. But then the wine opens up with Jammy redberries, smoke, pepper, ash. I also felt a floral aspect to the wine probably violet. The wine gained power after 30 mins in the glass. It changed to a medium bodied peppery classical Croze-hermitage. Round tannins and good acidity to support the structure. The finish is medium length, dusty and peppery.
This is a lovely wine. It is for short term consumption but great as it is. It could probably gained complexity with 1-3 years in the cellar however.
89+
Voila !
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3/12/2012 - kosmik wrote: 85 Points
13% d'alcool, 100% Syrah
Œil : pourpre profond, opacité 8/10, viscosité moyenne-forte en parois
Nez : projection d'intensité 4/10, frais, fruits rouges devant, touche de cendre, fumée, torréfié, cacao, touche de violette
Bouche : sec, ample, acidité moyenne à rafraîchissante, tanins plutôt souples, belle minéralité, persistance moyenne au mieux, amertume moyenne+, attaque molle, creux en milieu, allonge molle
Conclusion : plusieurs attrubuts qui plairont, fruité intéressant, mais manque de tonus dans l'ensemble, "flabby" dirait-on. Boire sans attendre. 85+
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1/12/2012 - Mike Ritner Likes this wine:
This wine has become richer and more profound in the last nine months since my initial note. The rough edges have smoothed out. This wine strikes me as far better than some recent notes would indicate. I would recommend patience.
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11/30/2011 - Hamilton1 wrote: 84 Points
A big disappointment. Perhaps it was not stored properly somewhere along the way- doesn't taste at all like a 90+ Northern Rhone of 2009.
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10/25/2011 - pnwskibum wrote: 85 Points
Drinkable but not very good. Nose has a fake berry smell with some soil notes. Kinda reminds me of a northern Rhone imitation of a $8 Cotes Du Rhone. May get better with time, I hope so I have two bottles to go.
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10/25/2011 - G_H wrote: 83 Points
Classic northern rhone, syrah minerals cherry dense color but much too light to be anything interesting. Reasonable qpr but not my cup of tea...
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10/13/2011 - Blauweiss wrote: 88 Points
Very young with pure but restrained redberrie-fruit on the nose. Dry with very high acidity and balanced tannins. Has a very typical syrah spiciness and layers of packed fruit that needs time to be released. Today the wine is in a tunnel and needs 2-4 years in the cellar in order to open up. Will then earn 1-2 more poins.
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10/13/2011 - RHabolin Does not like this wine: 78 Points
not for me... nose is ok, butter, redcurrant, hint of citrus. weird combo.. all over the place. very smooth attack, almost tasteless. medium body, no strong distinguishable flavours. finish is long and quite spicy, pepper is dominant. this is after only two hours though, i will let it air for another three and taste again. but like someone said, color is great! dissapointed, since reading some good reviews. so an edit, after several hours in the decanter it improved slightly. but its still crap. albeit a tad polished..
edit 2, this is weird.. two days later recorked and standing by the stowe, i drank it today, and this has certainly come alive, huge difference. but still not a great wine. funny thing though, the nose had almost faded. but taste improved. one of the reasons i love wine, its a living breathing thing, thats never the same from one day to another.
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9/24/2011 - linuhage wrote: 90 Points
Mycket fylligare frukt än tidigare årgångar men fortfarande väldigt typisk Norra Rhône-syrah. God.
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8/16/2011 - StefanAkiko wrote: 80 Points
This bottle was all over the place: straggly acids and a sprawling, imbalanced structure. Even tannins were out of place, giving an impression of stem derived coarseness. Nose is very much Pinot noir (!) and after 6hrs decant, the wine started to fade. However: Colour is very beautiful, clear and inviting!
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4/24/2011 - danstrings wrote: 90 Points
Liked this bottle much better, less reduced/sulfury. More sleek and ripe blueberry cream, earthy loamy goodness etc.
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4/18/2011 - danstrings wrote: 87 Points
Inky dark, a bit reduced with sulfury bretty undertones, but lotsa dark fruit and loamy sandalwoody earthiness....
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4/12/2011 - Mike Ritner Likes this wine:
Deep purple color. Medium body. Classic Croze-Hermitage nose; lots of complex spices and potent berry fruits. At first, a real hit on the tongue; it builds in intensity from a mild attack and mid-palate to a powerful, biting finsh. Not necessarily a bad thing; it's just very young. After 1 hour+ decant, the wine integrates, becomes fuller, smoother, richer throughout. Still a tannic bite; I would leave this a year at least to settle down and sort out, but this is a very promising wine. 90+
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4/11/2011 - jazzb wrote:
Medelfylligt m ung tanninstruktur, reduktiva syrah drag, hallon, körsbär, vitpeppar, grill, vanilj m en kärnbitter avslutning.
7.5p+
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4/9/2011 - Eros Coniglio wrote: 89 Points
Great value N. Rhone. Nice meat/smoke on nose.
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1/26/2011 - Jona wrote: 88 Points
A charming wine in a open and straight forward style. Light body with strong acidity and good grip. Evident pepper... 87-88 p.
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