Splash decanted, I should have waited at least 30 minutes, as the wine was slightly monolithic and green during that time. Drank half the bottle over about 2 hours. The wine definitely mellowed out and became somewhat savory, just nothing like a Saxum and frankly not the best carlisle syrah I've had. I will give it more air next time.
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92/93. Part of birthday weekend. Big wine still. Can go further. Olive, bramble, plum on the nose. Fruit more prevalent with wonderful mouthfeel early on the palate, savory notes from the nose follow-up. Really enjoyable and wish I had more.
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A big burly wine, no apologies here. Black berry fruit, lots of structure and firm tannins. Needs some time still. Not a subtle wine and not really my go-to style but well made.
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Took to a party, so no detailed notes. Did not display a lot of syrah characteristics (pepper, baconfat, etc.), but it was well balanced and pretty damned tasty. Probably time to drink up.
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Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately. Followed over about two hours.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of cassis, smoked meat, black berries and plums. Flavors of Bing cherries and plums framed over an earthy finish. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now. Held up better than the Bennett from the same producer and vintage.
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Consistent with the house style and the vineyard - lots of blackberry fruit flavors and aromas, black pepper. Starting to mellow out but still youthful and pretty primary.
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Mild funk on the nose, but not intense northern Rhone style. Dark fruit, blackberry, blueberry. Dark color, Intense and dense wine. Showed some signs of oak. Wine was delicious.
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Deep ruby color with a soft, rich mouthfeel and ripeness approaching Central Coast levels. Still showing nice dark fruit and herbal savory notes. Supple tannins on the finish. Probably at peak now. Struck me as one of top vintages for the Carlisle James Berry syrah, so the CT scores seem a bit conservative.
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Drank this wine at the same time as the 2008 Carlisle Pelkan Ranch Syrah. In comparison to that wine the, James Berry Syrah seemed thinner and less complex. Red and blue fruit that was well integrated but less dense and complex. Very pleasant and enjoyable.
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More introverted and shy than my bottle last year. Plenty of fruit, but showing more pepper and spice than fruit st this point. Still a large scale wine with big tannins to resolve.
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We had this with grilled Ribeye steaks on 11/11/17. It had a rich, fragrant bouquet of smoke, blackberry, blueberry, smoked meat, toast, pepper and spice aromas. The palate was rich deep, powerful, seamlessly smooth, elegant and dry with flavors of blueberry, blackberry, char, pepper and spice
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Wouldn't say I enjoyed this bottle quite as much as the last. Still very nice in terms of fruit, but didn't stand out in terms of complexity and finish as the last bottle. Not over the hill yet. No need to wait though. Black fruits, no pepper, alcohol in good balance.
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Very dark and dense color. Violet and dark berry nose. Pepper, blackberry, cola and tar. Complex and interesting. Still on the young side. Probably will go another 10 - 12 years. Maybe the best Carlisle Syrah I've had. Big and not for the faint of heart. A California Syrah lovers Syrah. Drinkable now or hold for a few more years. 2 hour decant. Served slightly cool. Drink or hold.
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My first Carlisle and first wine from the famed James Berry vineyard. Both exceeded the expectations I had. Nice dark fruits, will a nice mellowed out expression for a Paso Syrah. Well done.
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This seemed like a big lumberyard, super oaky, creamy, rich, high alcohol. Leslie's Champagne and Fried Chicken party. I know, this is not champagne, but that may be why it stood out so much.
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Followed over several hours. This was pretty well rock'n from the beginning. Very expressive pepper and meat filled nose. Palate is young, energetic, and bit angular, but smooth polished purple brambly fruit is there as expected. Repeating pepper and spice notes on the palate that really carry through the long finish that adds a bit of tar and charcoal nuance. Still with plenty of upside, but quite approachable now if you have a few bottles. 93-94
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With beguiling blackberry, baked blueberry, black olive, licorice, and with some time in the glass violet aromas on the palate its elegant,and fresh with an alluring texture with focused blackberry, blueberry compote , and vanilla flavors. If you're thinking Paso means it's not cool climate you'd be wrong. The James Berry vineyard is actually quite cool thanks to a considerable marine influence. 15% alcohol.
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Slightly muted and a vague hint of wet cardboard. Dangit! - for what is still there is magnificent! A wine of 94 point proportions otherwise, with notes of chocolate, espresso roast, smoke'n'toast, bacon and dark fruits peeping through
Decanted for about an hour before having with grilled filet mignon, then drank over the following 3+ hours. Nice dark fruit flavor of blackberry, but still managed to be light on the palate. Not overbearing at all. Still, something seems a bit simple about this - don't get much secondary flavors or aromas.
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2012 Paso Robles Syrahs and Syrah Blends (Jeff K's.): Mike opened this one after the tasting as he happened to have had it with him. It needed some air or time, neither of which it got. Still, I liked it. The nose has some gunpowder along with black raspberries and black pepper. some found that gunpowder note to be an issue. I have no doubt that 20 minutes of air would have resolved that but that happens. On the palate, this is juicy with tight layers of fruit and earth. A step behind the 2012 perhaps but I wish I could have let it breathe for a while. In any event, a great wine that again represents some of the best value left in Paso.
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This was a great bottle - paired well with the food. Black and blue fruit with some herbal,spiced notes. Coats the mouth but in a wonderful way and has a great finish.
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Pop and pour and placed the bottle in a brown bag. The brown bagged bottles were labelled with the names of the actresses that have played Catwoman. This was in a brown bag labelled Michelle Pfeiffer. Brief impressions from the blind tasting:
Rich, good fruit. Shows some spice and a little heat. Round and full-bodied. Enjoyable.
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CORAVIN ACCESS #1. Creamy, peppery sipcy, savory nose. Bright yet rustic red fruit. Some savory vegetables - rhubarb, stewed tomatoes, some cinnamon sweet baking spice. Smooth balanced spice driven palate. Some light savory notes as well as a little rose petal but mostly spice driven raspberries, dark cherries and a little road tar. Robust yet not overdone. At 15% alcohol, it didn't come across as too rich or hot for that matter. Moderate complexity. Good, but I kinda expected a little more from this vineyard's pedigree.
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Nose of caramel, bacon fat, liquid smoke & hint of fresh, black tea leaves. Heavy perfume, very aromatic. Dark, opaque, almost black color. Wild, mixed black berries. Earthy floral notes with green pepper. Dry, yet silky tannins, long on palate with black licorice & cracked green peppercorn. Big, voluminous juice with layer upon layer of incredible flavors! Will continue to improve over 3-5 years.
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The 15% alcohol takes several hours to blow off and until it does it's hard to notice anything else. Once you get past that (perhaps on the second night) there is some appeal here for its bold fruit. But I found this wine to be rather lifeless with a dour personality and a quirky stale flavor profile at its core.
I drank this with the 2008 and it showed as still quite tight, with harder tannins. The nose was very tight on opening, so we decanted it and tried again in an hour and the nose opened up too give similar berry and tobacco notes in the nose, but the taste was still gripped by firm tannins. Will need several more years to develop.
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Dark fruits and chocolate galore, some mid palate steak that's dusted with cocoa powder. Really good balance and dusty tannins on the finish. Really good now with only 1 hr. of air. Should drink well for 5-7 years IMO. Very nice as always.
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Full-bodied blackberry fruit with tea leaf, asian spice, and earth flavors, excellent structure, rough, gritty tannins, certainly lacks the finesse seen in Saxum James Berry Vyd wines
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nose has that deep Syrah richness, faint touch of rose peddle. Palate neutral with a soft smooth finish. Flavors as expected leather, black coffee, a touch of goose liver on the lips. Easily my new favorite Carlisle Syrah just for its elegance and understated fruit.
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2/11/2024 - jfkwines wrote:
Popped and poured . Very Fresh with Strawberry but not very hearty on the Syrah side. Nice contrast against a Turley PS.
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12/5/2022 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
Splash decanted, I should have waited at least 30 minutes, as the wine was slightly monolithic and green during that time. Drank half the bottle over about 2 hours. The wine definitely mellowed out and became somewhat savory, just nothing like a Saxum and frankly not the best carlisle syrah I've had. I will give it more air next time.
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9/12/2021 - caroleandjay Likes this wine: 93 Points
92/93. Part of birthday weekend.
Big wine still. Can go further. Olive, bramble, plum on the nose. Fruit more prevalent with wonderful mouthfeel early on the palate, savory notes from the nose follow-up. Really enjoyable and wish I had more.
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10/31/2020 - GrapeScott wrote: 89 Points
A big burly wine, no apologies here. Black berry fruit, lots of structure and firm tannins. Needs some time still. Not a subtle wine and not really my go-to style but well made.
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9/5/2020 - Night Train Likes this wine: 90 Points
Took to a party, so no detailed notes. Did not display a lot of syrah characteristics (pepper, baconfat, etc.), but it was well balanced and pretty damned tasty. Probably time to drink up.
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9/5/2020 - dsimmons Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious mature Syrah. Excellent fruit, good balance, elegance.
drink or hold.
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1/28/2020 - wineismylife wrote: 93 Points
WIML93
Tasted non blind. Opened and served immediately. Followed over about two hours.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of cassis, smoked meat, black berries and plums. Flavors of Bing cherries and plums framed over an earthy finish. Medium acidity, medium tannin, full bodied. Drink now. Held up better than the Bennett from the same producer and vintage.
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12/9/2019 - dougie Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted and drank over 5 hours. Smoothest and most complex at end.
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5/25/2019 - snarfglk Likes this wine: 90 Points
Likely past its peak, beginning to get flabby. Drink now or soon.
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5/4/2019 - amateurwino wrote: 90 Points
Consistent with the house style and the vineyard - lots of blackberry fruit flavors and aromas, black pepper. Starting to mellow out but still youthful and pretty primary.
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11/13/2018 - Angle Gold Likes this wine: 92 Points
Mild funk on the nose, but not intense northern Rhone style. Dark fruit, blackberry, blueberry. Dark color, Intense and dense wine. Showed some signs of oak. Wine was delicious.
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11/9/2018 - rdf58 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Deep ruby color with a soft, rich mouthfeel and ripeness approaching Central Coast levels. Still showing nice dark fruit and herbal savory notes. Supple tannins on the finish. Probably at peak now. Struck me as one of top vintages for the Carlisle James Berry syrah, so the CT scores seem a bit conservative.
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10/14/2018 - dlduchon Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nice, balanced Syrah. Not too extracted. Enjoyable with food.
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8/16/2018 - sma Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drank this wine at the same time as the 2008 Carlisle Pelkan Ranch Syrah. In comparison to that wine the, James Berry Syrah seemed thinner and less complex. Red and blue fruit that was well integrated but less dense and complex. Very pleasant and enjoyable.
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12/28/2017 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
More introverted and shy than my bottle last year. Plenty of fruit, but showing more pepper and spice than fruit st this point. Still a large scale wine with big tannins to resolve.
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11/11/2017 - garambler Likes this wine: 91 Points
We had this with grilled Ribeye steaks on 11/11/17. It had a rich, fragrant bouquet of smoke, blackberry, blueberry, smoked meat, toast, pepper and spice aromas. The palate was rich deep, powerful, seamlessly smooth, elegant and dry with flavors of blueberry, blackberry, char, pepper and spice
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5/25/2017 - kenthargis wrote: 88 Points
Wouldn't say I enjoyed this bottle quite as much as the last. Still very nice in terms of fruit, but didn't stand out in terms of complexity and finish as the last bottle. Not over the hill yet. No need to wait though. Black fruits, no pepper, alcohol in good balance.
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4/26/2017 - cubswinws Likes this wine: 92 Points
Great wine. Perfect spot now. Amazing depth but nothing over the top.
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4/8/2017 - Geoff Likes this wine: 95 Points
Termendous fruit, balanced, firm but open tannins, opening up in the glass, long, long finish. The good stuf!
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1/5/2017 - Angle Gold Likes this wine: 92 Points
Berry on the nose, big and somewhat meaty with some black pepper, nicely balanced.
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12/3/2016 - pakabear Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark fruit, beef blood, rhubarb, black raspberry and cherry, tar and anise. Really nice now, but will probably get better in 2-3 years.
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11/13/2016 - Matt T Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark berry, oak, vanilla. Medium length finish. Drink or hold.
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11/11/2016 - Mootsie Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very dark and dense color. Violet and dark berry nose. Pepper, blackberry, cola and tar. Complex and interesting. Still on the young side. Probably will go another 10 - 12 years. Maybe the best Carlisle Syrah I've had. Big and not for the faint of heart. A California Syrah lovers Syrah. Drinkable now or hold for a few more years. 2 hour decant. Served slightly cool. Drink or hold.
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11/1/2016 - UofM Likes this wine: 92 Points
My first Carlisle and first wine from the famed James Berry vineyard. Both exceeded the expectations I had. Nice dark fruits, will a nice mellowed out expression for a Paso Syrah. Well done.
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10/8/2016 - peternelson wrote: 88 Points
This seemed like a big lumberyard, super oaky, creamy, rich, high alcohol. Leslie's Champagne and Fried Chicken party. I know, this is not champagne, but that may be why it stood out so much.
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8/27/2016 - SacramentoCharlie wrote:
Balanced but 1 dimensional and lacking expression. Shut down or slightly flawed imo
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7/22/2016 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Followed over several hours. This was pretty well rock'n from the beginning. Very expressive pepper and meat filled nose. Palate is young, energetic, and bit angular, but smooth polished purple brambly fruit is there as expected. Repeating pepper and spice notes on the palate that really carry through the long finish that adds a bit of tar and charcoal nuance. Still with plenty of upside, but quite approachable now if you have a few bottles. 93-94
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6/17/2016 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 93 Points
you could distinguish the James Berry fruit
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12/9/2015 - Martin Redmond Likes this wine: 92 Points
With beguiling blackberry, baked blueberry, black olive, licorice, and with some time in the glass violet aromas on the palate its elegant,and fresh with an alluring texture with focused blackberry, blueberry compote , and vanilla flavors. If you're thinking Paso means it's not cool climate you'd be wrong. The James Berry vineyard is actually quite cool thanks to a considerable marine influence. 15% alcohol.
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11/1/2015 - SineQuaNon wrote: flawed
Slightly muted and a vague hint of wet cardboard. Dangit! - for what is still there is magnificent! A wine of 94 point proportions otherwise, with notes of chocolate, espresso roast, smoke'n'toast, bacon and dark fruits peeping through
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7/5/2015 - dougie Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wow! Loved it. Not sweet or syrupy. Great depth and flavors. Decanted for an hour.
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6/21/2015 - Wine Sparty wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for about an hour before having with grilled filet mignon, then drank over the following 3+ hours. Nice dark fruit flavor of blackberry, but still managed to be light on the palate. Not overbearing at all. Still, something seems a bit simple about this - don't get much secondary flavors or aromas.
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3/25/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 94 Points
2012 Paso Robles Syrahs and Syrah Blends (Jeff K's.): Mike opened this one after the tasting as he happened to have had it with him. It needed some air or time, neither of which it got. Still, I liked it. The nose has some gunpowder along with black raspberries and black pepper. some found that gunpowder note to be an issue. I have no doubt that 20 minutes of air would have resolved that but that happens. On the palate, this is juicy with tight layers of fruit and earth. A step behind the 2012 perhaps but I wish I could have let it breathe for a while. In any event, a great wine that again represents some of the best value left in Paso.
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3/22/2015 - 2loyal wrote:
Probably drank this too soon. Tannins still need to be resolved. Not as complex as most Carlisles I've had (or JBV syrahs, for that matter).
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2/7/2015 - Matt T wrote: 89 Points
In a bit of an awkward phase. This needs more time. Big blackberry and vanilla notes, but not quite as harmonious as expected.
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1/17/2015 - hanasowner wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, but needs a lot more than the quick decant we gave it...a couple hours easy would be my suggestion.
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12/27/2014 - haldolugr wrote: 93 Points
This was a great bottle - paired well with the food. Black and blue fruit with some herbal,spiced notes. Coats the mouth but in a wonderful way and has a great finish.
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12/19/2014 - Mike Dildine Likes this wine: 91 Points
black cherry component and quite herbal. Needs more time to resolve.
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10/10/2014 - t_moderne wrote: 92 Points
Pop and pour and placed the bottle in a brown bag. The brown bagged bottles were labelled with the names of the actresses that have played Catwoman.
This was in a brown bag labelled Michelle Pfeiffer.
Brief impressions from the blind tasting:
Rich, good fruit. Shows some spice and a little heat.
Round and full-bodied.
Enjoyable.
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9/20/2014 - beezer6 wrote: 91 Points
CORAVIN ACCESS #1.
Creamy, peppery sipcy, savory nose. Bright yet rustic red fruit. Some savory vegetables - rhubarb, stewed tomatoes, some cinnamon sweet baking spice.
Smooth balanced spice driven palate. Some light savory notes as well as a little rose petal but mostly spice driven raspberries, dark cherries and a little road tar.
Robust yet not overdone. At 15% alcohol, it didn't come across as too rich or hot for that matter. Moderate complexity. Good, but I kinda expected a little more from this vineyard's pedigree.
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9/12/2014 - raydawgone Likes this wine: 95 Points
Nose of caramel, bacon fat, liquid smoke & hint of fresh, black tea leaves. Heavy perfume, very aromatic. Dark, opaque, almost black color. Wild, mixed black berries. Earthy floral notes with green pepper. Dry, yet silky tannins, long on palate with black licorice & cracked green peppercorn. Big, voluminous juice with layer upon layer of incredible flavors! Will continue to improve over 3-5 years.
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6/21/2014 - Acohen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark lush fruit with some smoke, spice and long finish... give it time to open
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4/18/2014 - RobertDwyer Does not like this wine: 82 Points
The 15% alcohol takes several hours to blow off and until it does it's hard to notice anything else. Once you get past that (perhaps on the second night) there is some appeal here for its bold fruit. But I found this wine to be rather lifeless with a dour personality and a quirky stale flavor profile at its core.
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3/1/2014 - jaumealaska Likes this wine: 90 Points
I drank this with the 2008 and it showed as still quite tight, with harder tannins. The nose was very tight on opening, so we decanted it and tried again in an hour and the nose opened up too give similar berry and tobacco notes in the nose, but the taste was still gripped by firm tannins. Will need several more years to develop.
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2/10/2014 - pakabear Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark fruits and chocolate galore, some mid palate steak that's dusted with cocoa powder. Really good balance and dusty tannins on the finish. Really good now with only 1 hr. of air. Should drink well for 5-7 years IMO. Very nice as always.
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2/3/2014 - DavidDay Likes this wine: 91 Points
Blue and black fruit aromas, still this wine has a little cool climate edginess, that I love in syrah. Fairly full bodied.
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12/23/2013 - Amerique wrote: 93 Points
Previous tasting notes apply with exception of greater intensity and depth of flavors
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11/8/2013 - Amerique wrote: 92 Points
Full-bodied blackberry fruit with tea leaf, asian spice, and earth flavors, excellent structure, rough, gritty tannins, certainly lacks the finesse seen in Saxum James Berry Vyd wines
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8/30/2013 - kenthargis wrote: 91 Points
One of the better syrahs Carlisle makes. Lush fruit, darker red fruits. Could drink for another seven years at least.
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6/10/2013 - shadow wrote: 95 Points
nose has that deep Syrah richness, faint touch of rose peddle.
Palate neutral with a soft smooth finish.
Flavors as expected leather, black coffee, a touch of goose liver on the lips.
Easily my new favorite Carlisle Syrah just for its elegance and understated fruit.
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