This is excellent. Vibrant and tangy. Nose is fragrant with gamey purple fruits, violets, olive tapenade and other other floral elements. This is juicy and taste so fresh. Nice mix of fruit and umami. this has aged glacially, and could easily see another 5 to 10 years on this. 1 bottle left of 6. Will try to hold off for another. 5 years.
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A concerning note prompted me open this with grilled lamb. I opened it (but didn't decant, don't worry Eric) around 5 for a 8 PM dinner. It's progressing along the line it seemed to be with my last bottle in 2018. A tapenade of dark plums and currants with briny olives with lifted notes of smoke and violets. All the things are still there to support a long evolution in bottle. The limestone really shows in the type of acids and the fine grained nature and shape of the wine. I imagine that this will always be a wine of some tension and not anything burly, I think it will become more stretched and refined. Another few years to soften and open should yield good results.
Excellent Syrah. Drank half with lamb kebabs, honeyed tomatoes, spiced rice w chickpeas; the rest with steak, asparagus, sweet potatoes. Medium. Tannins, not too dry for spices
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Very tight. Has a beautiful frame and nuance, but do not touch again for a good while. Not sure exactly where this will end up, but it feels like an aristocratic wine.
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Young, opened after 30 minutes in glass. Nose has generic black berries, smoky fireplace ash and a hint of mint. Lighter weight, a bit too acidic. Tried it with braised oxtails in a coffee, beef broth, dried orange, star anise, ginger, etc. broth, and while the acidity nicely countered the rich beef bits, it struck just a single note on the palate. Try in 2 years, may gain a point or two, but I'm glad I only bought a few bottles.
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This is a pretty spot-on bottle of syrah. It's not too heavy or thick, and the nose has a bit of lovely red fruit and pepper. There's a bit of olive and a touch of smoke that gives this the proper syrah character. The palate shows darker than the nose would suggest, but the tannins are light and the acidity bright, so there's never a sense of weight here.
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I constantly struggle to find reds that don't go all unbalanced on a warm summer day. This one worked. Lighter in body style, the main palate component was an earthy note that was pleasant and easy to drink. Bottle disappeared quickly, so no glass left for day two to see how it held. Firmly in the drinking window.
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Poured alongside the Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban Vieille Serine. This comes across a bit lighter and more simple - there's lots of red fruit, some olive and herbal/spicy elements that develop with more air, but it feels a touch thin on the back end in contrast, with the acidity and tannin clamping down hard on the finish. This seems quite reserved compared to the bottles I had on release - I'll give my others some more time.
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Showing soft and ready now, surprisingly. Chocolate tones on the palate, but not in an over-oaked way, more like a soft chocolate texture. Enjoyable, but surprisingly ready now. Off the wine list at Bar Boulud, NYC, with Lindsey T.
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Same bottle as the 4/22 note. This has held up well, and is gorgeous on the nose. Dark berry fruit - blackberry and black cherry, savory meat and a bit of olive have really emerged. Still some mineral and a bit of purple spice and flowers. More open on the palate than on opening, but has tired out a bit. Plush with dark cherry, stones and solid acidity. Dusty tannins and with a lot of saline minerality on the finish. This is so juicy and lively after 8 days. Wow. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 16/20.
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Very bright with great fruit on the nose, juicy, orange zest/peel and red berries, savory meat, pepper, green stems. Perfumed - floral? Savory, salty, stemmy on the palate with red-blue fruit, citrusy, great acid. Not showing fully - clearly needs years. Lots of stems. Tart cherry, citrus, and meat finish. Great old-school winemaking and great QPR at $35. Nose - 5-5.5/6, Palate - 5+/6, Finish - 5+/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 16-17/20.
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There is some aromatic that jump out of the glass creme de blackberry, spices, dark raspberries and vanilla, palate is quite fruit forward with a grainy tannin grip in the mid palate with a slightly bitter dark fruit finish. Good for a cotes du Rhone but easy to find better value imho
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Decanted 2 hours. Not backward and shutdown as I was expecting, surprisingly drinkable. Some decent purple fruit and white pepper, but the fruit is simple and boring. There's plenty of fruit on the attack but there's not much of a midpalate or finish with no depth the simple flavors, and the tannins while not too drying are chunky and unrefined.
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I had a blast with this today. Very much open and tasty right out of the bottle. The fruit is ripe here (new world guys at the table really dug it) but it's the precision and balance make it special. A lot of Christmas spices on the palate - perfect for the season.
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Leroy & Texier (Home): Definitely a different wine than what I tried back in April. More layered, more complex, and deeper. The nose was exotic with dark fruits, some smoke, cured meats, and spices. The magic of this was that even with a big and dense nose, this was an airy and elegant wine. Flowed over my palate with delicate floral notes, smoked meats, plum, and blackberries. Beautiful composition...
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2010 Northern Rhones (+treats) at Ross' place: Blind #10. I Knew it was 2010 N. Rhone but I basically didn't know anything about the wines or producers involved. Violets to hell in the nose, sweet and perfumed. Just beautiful. Some stems. On the palate this is young and steamy with tight cherry fruit and lots of acid. Very good.
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2010 Northern Rhones tasted blind (Ross', NYC): Very elegant and polished; a lovely aroma of pure dark fruited flavours, spice, earth and higher toned herbal/stemmy elements, and incredibly graceful and refined on the palate with fine grained tannins and a bright acid spine making it very easy to drink. One of my favourites of the evening.
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very fresh and pure. This reminded by of the Los Pilares from San Diego County - it has a wonderful freshness and exactness of fruit. Soft on the finish, appealing, not overly complex, but don't necessarily want a cote du rhone to be that. Fair qpr for the quality.
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Decanted a little after 7pm and four hours later this is still tough as teak and entirely unyielding. Medium-purple in color, a medium-intense nose of red currants, pepper, a little soy sauce, and a touch of pine. On the palate, its really primary, medium-plus acidity, medium plus coarse tannin with a sandpaper feel, a hint of blackberry but otherwise all structure and not a whole lot of fruit. This will come together and all will be well but right now its hard yards and not offering much in the pleasure department, although given its age that's no great surprise.
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No surprise that this is another really outstanding, layered and elegant Syrah from Éric. Initially it's a little tannic and surly, showing quite a lot of grip and not a whole lot aromatically, but after sitting open for two hours it turns into a really compelling package full of pure red and dark fruit, earth, florality and peppery spice with a faint gamey/leathery edge to the flavours. The purity and finesse here are really striking, though I'll try and give my other bottles a few years in the cellar.
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Basketball, Beaujolais, and More! (Weygandt Wines - Washington, DC): Powerful nose of cassis compote, black pepper, tart blackberry, loam, and game. The medium bodied palate is similar, contrasting ripe black cherries with peppered game and broth. Finish adds a bit of complexity, with arising wood, licorice, and dried herbs. Well made and drinking well, though perhaps a bit standard. R&M86
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12/8/2023 - alexide Likes this wine: 93 Points
1st bottle of 48. Gorgeous!
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3/9/2021 - Sheila62 wrote:
lovely wine, and yet still a wee young, but I enjoyed this from beginning to end. great balance!
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11/14/2020 - lolo66 wrote: 93 Points
This is excellent. Vibrant and tangy. Nose is fragrant with gamey purple fruits, violets, olive tapenade and other other floral elements. This is juicy and taste so fresh. Nice mix of fruit and umami. this has aged glacially, and could easily see another 5 to 10 years on this. 1 bottle left of 6. Will try to hold off for another. 5 years.
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9/30/2020 - vulgar little monkey wrote: 92 Points
A concerning note prompted me open this with grilled lamb. I opened it (but didn't decant, don't worry Eric) around 5 for a 8 PM dinner. It's progressing along the line it seemed to be with my last bottle in 2018. A tapenade of dark plums and currants with briny olives with lifted notes of smoke and violets. All the things are still there to support a long evolution in bottle. The limestone really shows in the type of acids and the fine grained nature and shape of the wine. I imagine that this will always be a wine of some tension and not anything burly, I think it will become more stretched and refined. Another few years to soften and open should yield good results.
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6/17/2020 - Egatniv wrote: 92 Points
Excellent Syrah. Drank half with lamb kebabs, honeyed tomatoes, spiced rice w chickpeas; the rest with steak, asparagus, sweet potatoes. Medium. Tannins, not too dry for spices
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10/15/2018 - vulgar little monkey wrote: 91 Points
Very tight. Has a beautiful frame and nuance, but do not touch again for a good while. Not sure exactly where this will end up, but it feels like an aristocratic wine.
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5/31/2017 - OenoEd wrote: 88 Points
Young, opened after 30 minutes in glass. Nose has generic black berries, smoky fireplace ash and a hint of mint. Lighter weight, a bit too acidic. Tried it with braised oxtails in a coffee, beef broth, dried orange, star anise, ginger, etc. broth, and while the acidity nicely countered the rich beef bits, it struck just a single note on the palate. Try in 2 years, may gain a point or two, but I'm glad I only bought a few bottles.
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5/10/2017 - LFCHALA wrote: 90 Points
Good. Needs time
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4/29/2017 - acyso wrote: 90 Points
This is a pretty spot-on bottle of syrah. It's not too heavy or thick, and the nose has a bit of lovely red fruit and pepper. There's a bit of olive and a touch of smoke that gives this the proper syrah character. The palate shows darker than the nose would suggest, but the tannins are light and the acidity bright, so there's never a sense of weight here.
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8/9/2016 - lockestep Likes this wine: 89 Points
I constantly struggle to find reds that don't go all unbalanced on a warm summer day. This one worked. Lighter in body style, the main palate component was an earthy note that was pleasant and easy to drink. Bottle disappeared quickly, so no glass left for day two to see how it held. Firmly in the drinking window.
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3/5/2016 - salil wrote: 89 Points
Poured alongside the Saint-Julien-en-Saint-Alban Vieille Serine. This comes across a bit lighter and more simple - there's lots of red fruit, some olive and herbal/spicy elements that develop with more air, but it feels a touch thin on the back end in contrast, with the acidity and tannin clamping down hard on the finish. This seems quite reserved compared to the bottles I had on release - I'll give my others some more time.
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9/19/2015 - LFCHALA wrote: 89 Points
Excessive. Bold. Different.
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6/25/2014 - Spencer wrote:
Excellent. Pure, northern Rhone syrah. Perfect balance. Elegant, but in no way light. Drinking great right now, but I'm sure this will age well.
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6/9/2014 - 4rickus4 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Punchy and racy plum fruit, lovely meaty edge (smoked bacon edge). Wonderful balance and ripe acidity. Technically excellent
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5/23/2014 - Pknut wrote:
Showing soft and ready now, surprisingly. Chocolate tones on the palate, but not in an over-oaked way, more like a soft chocolate texture. Enjoyable, but surprisingly ready now. Off the wine list at Bar Boulud, NYC, with Lindsey T.
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5/21/2014 - PT insurgent wrote: 80 Points
Not feeling it.
Sour cherry, a bit dusty and rustic.
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4/30/2014 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 92 Points
Same bottle as the 4/22 note. This has held up well, and is gorgeous on the nose. Dark berry fruit - blackberry and black cherry, savory meat and a bit of olive have really emerged. Still some mineral and a bit of purple spice and flowers. More open on the palate than on opening, but has tired out a bit. Plush with dark cherry, stones and solid acidity. Dusty tannins and with a lot of saline minerality on the finish. This is so juicy and lively after 8 days. Wow. Nose - 5.5/6, Palate - 4.5/6, Finish - 4.5/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1.5/2 = 16/20.
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4/22/2014 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very bright with great fruit on the nose, juicy, orange zest/peel and red berries, savory meat, pepper, green stems. Perfumed - floral? Savory, salty, stemmy on the palate with red-blue fruit, citrusy, great acid. Not showing fully - clearly needs years. Lots of stems. Tart cherry, citrus, and meat finish. Great old-school winemaking and great QPR at $35. Nose - 5-5.5/6, Palate - 5+/6, Finish - 5+/6, Je ne Sais Quoi - 1-1.5/2 = 16-17/20.
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1/24/2014 - eoinhharkins wrote: 88 Points
There is some aromatic that jump out of the glass creme de blackberry, spices, dark raspberries and vanilla, palate is quite fruit forward with a grainy tannin grip in the mid palate with a slightly bitter dark fruit finish. Good for a cotes du Rhone but easy to find better value imho
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1/2/2014 - coremill wrote: 86 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Not backward and shutdown as I was expecting, surprisingly drinkable. Some decent purple fruit and white pepper, but the fruit is simple and boring. There's plenty of fruit on the attack but there's not much of a midpalate or finish with no depth the simple flavors, and the tannins while not too drying are chunky and unrefined.
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12/27/2013 - pifcho Likes this wine: 92 Points
I had a blast with this today. Very much open and tasty right out of the bottle. The fruit is ripe here (new world guys at the table really dug it) but it's the precision and balance make it special. A lot of Christmas spices on the palate - perfect for the season.
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11/25/2013 - EMichels wrote: 88 Points
Solid fruit; Nice; Medium rich; Clean finish
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10/17/2013 - tooch wrote: 92 Points
Leroy & Texier (Home): Definitely a different wine than what I tried back in April. More layered, more complex, and deeper. The nose was exotic with dark fruits, some smoke, cured meats, and spices. The magic of this was that even with a big and dense nose, this was an airy and elegant wine. Flowed over my palate with delicate floral notes, smoked meats, plum, and blackberries. Beautiful composition...
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10/8/2013 - Seth Rosenberg Likes this wine:
2010 Northern Rhones (+treats) at Ross' place: Blind #10. I Knew it was 2010 N. Rhone but I basically didn't know anything about the wines or producers involved. Violets to hell in the nose, sweet and perfumed. Just beautiful. Some stems. On the palate this is young and steamy with tight cherry fruit and lots of acid. Very good.
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10/8/2013 - salil wrote: 93 Points
2010 Northern Rhones tasted blind (Ross', NYC): Very elegant and polished; a lovely aroma of pure dark fruited flavours, spice, earth and higher toned herbal/stemmy elements, and incredibly graceful and refined on the palate with fine grained tannins and a bright acid spine making it very easy to drink. One of my favourites of the evening.
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6/21/2013 - lolo66 wrote:
very fresh and pure. This reminded by of the Los Pilares from San Diego County - it has a wonderful freshness and exactness of fruit. Soft on the finish, appealing, not overly complex, but don't necessarily want a cote du rhone to be that. Fair qpr for the quality.
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6/1/2013 - henrygjeffreys Likes this wine:
lovely nose
perfume
crunchy fruit
dry flavourful
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4/22/2013 - tooch wrote: 86 Points
Lots of dark fruits, smoke and floral notes. Palate was weightless and mineral driven. Didn't find this overly complex...
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3/23/2013 - PJRONeill wrote: 88 Points
Decanted a little after 7pm and four hours later this is still tough as teak and entirely unyielding. Medium-purple in color, a medium-intense nose of red currants, pepper, a little soy sauce, and a touch of pine. On the palate, its really primary, medium-plus acidity, medium plus coarse tannin with a sandpaper feel, a hint of blackberry but otherwise all structure and not a whole lot of fruit. This will come together and all will be well but right now its hard yards and not offering much in the pleasure department, although given its age that's no great surprise.
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3/22/2013 - salil wrote: 92 Points
No surprise that this is another really outstanding, layered and elegant Syrah from Éric. Initially it's a little tannic and surly, showing quite a lot of grip and not a whole lot aromatically, but after sitting open for two hours it turns into a really compelling package full of pure red and dark fruit, earth, florality and peppery spice with a faint gamey/leathery edge to the flavours. The purity and finesse here are really striking, though I'll try and give my other bottles a few years in the cellar.
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3/21/2013 - manonthemoon wrote: 89 Points
good qpr
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3/21/2013 - Rob and Meg wrote: 86 Points
Basketball, Beaujolais, and More! (Weygandt Wines - Washington, DC): Powerful nose of cassis compote, black pepper, tart blackberry, loam, and game. The medium bodied palate is similar, contrasting ripe black cherries with peppered game and broth. Finish adds a bit of complexity, with arising wood, licorice, and dried herbs. Well made and drinking well, though perhaps a bit standard. R&M86
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