375 ml bottle so more mature than a regular bottle of the same vintage and a good foreshadowing of what the regular bottle will be like in 1-2 years. Opaque Purple. Some minimal bricking. Tight nose of flint and sour cherry after pouring, but as the wine opens up this becomes more of a floral olive bouquet with smoky undertones. Palate is a peppery, buttery mix of black cherry and olive tapenade. Medium plus acidity with smooth, well integrated tannins and a medium long finish which gets shorter as the wine opens up. This is in a good place and has a great QPR. More complex than similarly priced wines. Very good with red meat and smoked cheeses. Would not hold half-bottles longer as it is peaking in this format.
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PNP. Nose gets a little perfumed at 1 hour. Still olive tapenade, but very good with dinner. I hope these last long enough for me to see what comes over time.
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Black to deep purple edges. Nose of Olive Tapenade (first time for this for me) with a bit of blackberry. Rich, ripe with a nice finish. Very good with roast beef sandwiches and cheese. Note from memory so no score. We both liked this. Glad we have 8 more left. Will be interested in seeing how this develops over the next 2-3 years.
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This was doing very well - lots of pepper, meat, and fruit with a great acid backbone to hold it all together. Went very well with tri tip. It may improve, but why wait?
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Dark red and black fruit. Great acid, nice bit of meatiness and smoke. Minerality and tannins are present as well, lending a nice other layer to the wine. Tasty wine, and will look forward to the next bottle. If you don't mind the tannin, this is drinking really well right now.
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Surprisingly intense and complete. Violet, smoke, black pepper, raw beef, vanilla, black/blueberry. Very aromatic. Smoky/gaminess comes on strong but mellows out after an hour or so. A little gritty and not much on the finish, but I'm with arch57 re: case-worthiness at $15. Twist the top early and let it breathe any weeknight.
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An absolutely gorgeous wine packed full of fresh dark fruit, smooth tannins, smoky notes and a long finish. Case worthy as a "power buy" in NH state stores. Great weekday wine and the screwtop makes it easy to handle after a long day at work.
My last bottle, again a 375 here. Just the right amount of wine for a 2 night experience. Opened yesterday. As I sit with the aromatic, reminds me a little of the 2002 Rosella's, has that sweet leather, merde quality to it, along with smoke. The palate has filled in since last night too, less juicy, more rounded now. The barnyard-like note I commented in my last note is subtly hovering in the background of the palate--very unique. There is refreshing acidity here and as expected, regarding the oak I commented on with the bottles I drank early on, that has settled out now and I don't find any amount of wood anymore so the aging proces is doing its thing. Blue fruit, roasted red, char and lots of citrus, a little rugged in the finish actually, still tight. With more air, the 'steak sauce' note comes into the wine, which I would associate normally with Garys', which is in this blend, too. I bet the drink window on this is probably two years from now, then 3 more past that, so 2015-2018. Some nice stuffing here and while not overly complex, for around $25 bucks, what's not to like!
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Needed a small bottle for dinner, this is a good go-to 375 for me, although I'm running low of these now. Opens aroamtically with same funky/horsey note as the previosu bottle. For certain, nothing like a Beaucastel or CdP stable but a little thread of it here, that also weaves into the palate. Starts off soft, juicy, creosote, inky and citrus but keep all these notes in a more delicate or less treble context. As this wine gets a little older, it also seems to drink better right from the cork coming out. Really dark and shows same dark, plush fruit, too. I'll finish the bottle tomorrow given its size and update the note but this wine will have a shorter aging window and will drink best young, enjoyable nicely now.
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Really enjoying this. I definitely don't get gobs of fruit, and I don't get new oak. Some reduction after popping and pouring, but it faded with air. Definite smokiness on the palate and the finish, dark fruits mixed well with moderate acidity. I do get a citrus note, but that might just be from reading all of FMIII's notes on this appellation.
In any case, this definitely tastes like a wine of its origin, which is high praise for such an inexpensive wine. I don't drink much SLH syrah, but it's nice to have some Novy around for something different!
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I took this bottle to a company dinner, I got one glass. This bottle had an interesting horsey, barnyard-like note laying in the background, a note I have not previously found in Adam's syrahs. Not sure what to make of it as I didn't get to drink much of the bottle and it was finished pretty fast but I post this comment as a placeholder to see if in a future bottle I find this note again.
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The 2010 Novy Syrah was one of my favorite wines from the SLH Wine Artisans tasting. I liked this "lower end" Syrah best - sourced from 4 different vineyards. This wine is inky purple, loads of ripe fruit and just a satisfying, juicy mid-palate. Sort of like a big, friendly black lab, wagging it's tail at you - just try not to smile. Loads of black cherry and blackberry fruit, but still has nice acidity giving the wine good lift and structure. The finish is soft and pliable. My last note on this wine was simply "... gobs of blackberry pie."
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Needed a 1/2 of something tonight, to work over the next few nights. Love the 375s. I have written this wine up before recently but it's cool to have confirming notes, too. Pop and pour. Fragrant, with smoke, pepper, potpourri, some new oak. The palate has nice acidity, good balance, tar, lirorice, tell-tale Rosella's grapefruit. Seductive in tone too, suspect from the Susan's and then the steak sauce, which I would peg for Garys'. Classic Novy SLH cuvee, love it......well, it lasted 2 nights. Finishing tonight on a warm but comfortable OC evening, sitting in the backyard. Pretty similar to last night but the richness shows a bit more tonight, some darker fruit but the same good level of grip and sense of place. What I like about Adam's syrahs, and my focus with his remains squarely in the SLH, is the flavors, color and pleasure I get from these wines. This wine, the way it expresses itself, offers a great entrance into CA syrah and he does it every year. What a blend can do, and a terrific price. Drink now through 2015.
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red, purple, in the color. warm, chemical, cherry, berry, spice, on the nose. black cherry, blackberry, spice, oak, on the palate. medium acid, medium tannins, on the finish.
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Opened last night from 375, finished today. Smoke, hint of stem?, dark fruit, bit more rustic this bottle seems, a bit drier in tannin with a nice roasted note in the finish to go with the bitter chocolate. I like the rustic note this time.
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Drank another one of these on the fly when guests came over, finished the bottle in about an hour. I offered a more complete note earlier this month but I noticed last night that the wine needs about 45 mins to shake off new oak aroma. Once that gets loose and the aeration sets in, the terroir and SLH notes get into bloom. Just an FYI.
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Opened last night, finishing a small amount with lunch today. Paired with a fava bean from the garden, done with salt, cracked pepper, olive oil, garlic and lime juice. Lised alc 13.9%. I have drank this cuvee for many years, appreciating the price Adam has maintained on the wine. I paid $13 for this 375, which represents a terrific value. Nose is comppsed of stone fruit, light pepper and stalk. The palate is juicy but carries along with it a sexy, medium plus weight. Blackberry, the terroir of SLH citrus and a finish of dark chocolate. This is rock solid and very good.
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3/25/2018 - timbobwhite Likes this wine: 92 Points
Last bottle from a case. Beginning (just now) to show secondary character. To this point, dominant black olive tape
nade character.
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12/19/2015 - Lazlo Toth wrote: 90 Points
375 ml bottle so more mature than a regular bottle of the same vintage and a good foreshadowing of what the regular bottle will be like in 1-2 years. Opaque Purple. Some minimal bricking. Tight nose of flint and sour cherry after pouring, but as the wine opens up this becomes more of a floral olive bouquet with smoky undertones. Palate is a peppery, buttery mix of black cherry and olive tapenade. Medium plus acidity with smooth, well integrated tannins and a medium long finish which gets shorter as the wine opens up. This is in a good place and has a great QPR. More complex than similarly priced wines. Very good with red meat and smoked cheeses. Would not hold half-bottles longer as it is peaking in this format.
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2/26/2015 - EvanJB wrote: 90 Points
Light fruit, but nice. Front palate excellent, mid is good, drops off at finish. Overall very pleasant.
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11/3/2014 - timbobwhite Likes this wine: 90 Points
PNP. Nose gets a little perfumed at 1 hour. Still olive tapenade, but very good with dinner. I hope these last long enough for me to see what comes over time.
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10/25/2014 - timbobwhite Likes this wine:
Black to deep purple edges. Nose of Olive Tapenade (first time for this for me) with a bit of blackberry. Rich, ripe with a nice finish. Very good with roast beef sandwiches and cheese. Note from memory so no score. We both liked this. Glad we have 8 more left. Will be interested in seeing how this develops over the next 2-3 years.
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10/4/2014 - Mootsie Likes this wine: 93 Points
In a great place right now. Deep, smoky and intense.
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9/20/2014 - klezman wrote:
This was doing very well - lots of pepper, meat, and fruit with a great acid backbone to hold it all together. Went very well with tri tip. It may improve, but why wait?
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8/19/2014 - aaronwine Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice effort. Darker fruits with some smoke and earth.
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6/20/2014 - MRichman wrote:
Dense & chewy. Black coffee. Some blueberry, mud, earth. Could use some age.
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5/12/2014 - klezman wrote:
Dark red and black fruit. Great acid, nice bit of meatiness and smoke. Minerality and tannins are present as well, lending a nice other layer to the wine. Tasty wine, and will look forward to the next bottle. If you don't mind the tannin, this is drinking really well right now.
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2/26/2014 - tomherer Likes this wine: 90 Points
Surprisingly intense and complete. Violet, smoke, black pepper, raw beef, vanilla, black/blueberry. Very aromatic. Smoky/gaminess comes on strong but mellows out after an hour or so. A little gritty and not much on the finish, but I'm with arch57 re: case-worthiness at $15. Twist the top early and let it breathe any weeknight.
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1/17/2014 - Arch57 Likes this wine: 92 Points
An absolutely gorgeous wine packed full of fresh dark fruit, smooth tannins, smoky notes and a long finish. Case worthy as a "power buy" in NH state stores. Great weekday wine and the screwtop makes it easy to handle after a long day at work.
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12/21/2013 - Mootsie Likes this wine: 92 Points
Smooth, smoky, sweet blue fruit, medium tannins. Some pepper emerges after about an hour. Suprisingly good. Great QPR at $9 for a 375.
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12/13/2013 - dmatley wrote: 89 Points
Aromatic. Some meaty, gamey notes with an underlying smokiness. Soft tannins and medium acids. Rounded and smooth. Very pleasant.
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11/21/2013 - bundydavis Likes this wine: 91 Points
Really opened up nicely after about 30 minutes.
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6/20/2013 - Frank Murray III wrote:
My last bottle, again a 375 here. Just the right amount of wine for a 2 night experience. Opened yesterday. As I sit with the aromatic, reminds me a little of the 2002 Rosella's, has that sweet leather, merde quality to it, along with smoke. The palate has filled in since last night too, less juicy, more rounded now. The barnyard-like note I commented in my last note is subtly hovering in the background of the palate--very unique. There is refreshing acidity here and as expected, regarding the oak I commented on with the bottles I drank early on, that has settled out now and I don't find any amount of wood anymore so the aging proces is doing its thing. Blue fruit, roasted red, char and lots of citrus, a little rugged in the finish actually, still tight. With more air, the 'steak sauce' note comes into the wine, which I would associate normally with Garys', which is in this blend, too. I bet the drink window on this is probably two years from now, then 3 more past that, so 2015-2018. Some nice stuffing here and while not overly complex, for around $25 bucks, what's not to like!
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2/28/2013 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Needed a small bottle for dinner, this is a good go-to 375 for me, although I'm running low of these now. Opens aroamtically with same funky/horsey note as the previosu bottle. For certain, nothing like a Beaucastel or CdP stable but a little thread of it here, that also weaves into the palate. Starts off soft, juicy, creosote, inky and citrus but keep all these notes in a more delicate or less treble context. As this wine gets a little older, it also seems to drink better right from the cork coming out. Really dark and shows same dark, plush fruit, too. I'll finish the bottle tomorrow given its size and update the note but this wine will have a shorter aging window and will drink best young, enjoyable nicely now.
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2/12/2013 - Michael Davidson wrote:
Really enjoying this. I definitely don't get gobs of fruit, and I don't get new oak. Some reduction after popping and pouring, but it faded with air. Definite smokiness on the palate and the finish, dark fruits mixed well with moderate acidity. I do get a citrus note, but that might just be from reading all of FMIII's notes on this appellation.
In any case, this definitely tastes like a wine of its origin, which is high praise for such an inexpensive wine. I don't drink much SLH syrah, but it's nice to have some Novy around for something different!
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12/15/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
I took this bottle to a company dinner, I got one glass. This bottle had an interesting horsey, barnyard-like note laying in the background, a note I have not previously found in Adam's syrahs. Not sure what to make of it as I didn't get to drink much of the bottle and it was finished pretty fast but I post this comment as a placeholder to see if in a future bottle I find this note again.
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9/18/2012 - Shelby Ledgerwood Likes this wine: 90 Points
The 2010 Novy Syrah was one of my favorite wines from the SLH Wine Artisans tasting. I liked this "lower end" Syrah best - sourced from 4 different vineyards. This wine is inky purple, loads of ripe fruit and just a satisfying, juicy mid-palate. Sort of like a big, friendly black lab, wagging it's tail at you - just try not to smile. Loads of black cherry and blackberry fruit, but still has nice acidity giving the wine good lift and structure. The finish is soft and pliable. My last note on this wine was simply "... gobs of blackberry pie."
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9/12/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Needed a 1/2 of something tonight, to work over the next few nights. Love the 375s. I have written this wine up before recently but it's cool to have confirming notes, too. Pop and pour. Fragrant, with smoke, pepper, potpourri, some new oak. The palate has nice acidity, good balance, tar, lirorice, tell-tale Rosella's grapefruit. Seductive in tone too, suspect from the Susan's and then the steak sauce, which I would peg for Garys'. Classic Novy SLH cuvee, love it......well, it lasted 2 nights. Finishing tonight on a warm but comfortable OC evening, sitting in the backyard. Pretty similar to last night but the richness shows a bit more tonight, some darker fruit but the same good level of grip and sense of place. What I like about Adam's syrahs, and my focus with his remains squarely in the SLH, is the flavors, color and pleasure I get from these wines. This wine, the way it expresses itself, offers a great entrance into CA syrah and he does it every year. What a blend can do, and a terrific price. Drink now through 2015.
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8/16/2012 - affordableCollector wrote: 89 Points
red, purple, in the color. warm, chemical, cherry, berry, spice, on the nose. black cherry, blackberry, spice, oak, on the palate. medium acid, medium tannins, on the finish.
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6/9/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Opened last night from 375, finished today. Smoke, hint of stem?, dark fruit, bit more rustic this bottle seems, a bit drier in tannin with a nice roasted note in the finish to go with the bitter chocolate. I like the rustic note this time.
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5/12/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Drank another one of these on the fly when guests came over, finished the bottle in about an hour. I offered a more complete note earlier this month but I noticed last night that the wine needs about 45 mins to shake off new oak aroma. Once that gets loose and the aeration sets in, the terroir and SLH notes get into bloom. Just an FYI.
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5/5/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Opened last night, finishing a small amount with lunch today. Paired with a fava bean from the garden, done with salt, cracked pepper, olive oil, garlic and lime juice. Lised alc 13.9%. I have drank this cuvee for many years, appreciating the price Adam has maintained on the wine. I paid $13 for this 375, which represents a terrific value. Nose is comppsed of stone fruit, light pepper and stalk. The palate is juicy but carries along with it a sexy, medium plus weight. Blackberry, the terroir of SLH citrus and a finish of dark chocolate. This is rock solid and very good.
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