Kindly brought in by Ted. Opened last night and half bottle left. Initially, some funky, sewage like nose with a decent dose of volatile acids on palate. Now about 30 min in glass, much improved. The funky nose has blown off. Aromas of blackberries, plums, mild volatile acids, mild eucalyptus, and roasted game meats. Palate w tart pomegranate, some cranberries, tart blackberries, some mild volatile acids, a bit of roasted meats. Excellent acids with moderate tannins on a medium body. Finishes w some nice earth and coffee grounds. Not sure what to make of this. The fruit is there but seems to be fading and the acid juts out a bit too much. Was told that it was amazing last night. So sounds like this is a wine to drink up now.
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Drank from magnum on June 28, 2017. Spectacular bottle of wine with many years in front of it. Full bodied and complex and at the same time very elegant. Sorry to report it is my last bottle.
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PnP with friends at Sunday BBQ. While not bad, this wine is hanging on for dear life. On the nose, a bit raisiny, with some notes of cassis, green olive and meat. On the palate, decent fruit, slightly underripe blackberry, more olive and perhaps some spice, but the foregoing competes with notable astringency. The finished is quite clipped. No chance of this going anywhere but down hill. Probably was much better a few years ago. 89-
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Popped and poured and then drank from decanter over several hours. This is a very dark wine, but seems to be literally crumbling -- there are streaks of material in each glass and the end of the decanter looks like a sediment grenade exploded. On the nose, I get pepper, bacon, and some ripe black fruits. In the mouth, this is smooth and sweet with some blackberry notes, although the end of the bottle degrades into alcohol. The finish is somewhat sharp with orange peel elements. Overall, this is okay but definitely inferior to last time. This wine seems to be fading fast. Drink now! 90 points.
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Popped and poured, and then drank from decanter over several hours. This is a very dark purple wine -- it will stain your mouth. On the nose, I get blackberries, some meat, and road tar. In the mouth, this is a chewy wine with the texture of motor oil and a concentrated darkness. The finish is relaxed and smoothed out with age. This is a nice, well-aged wine that reminds me of a Northern Rhone with 10 years on it. 93 points.
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This bottle was much better than the one I had in 6/10. The wine seemed fresher and more full of life. After this tasting, I realized that since these big Pax bottles may not fit in everyone's wine storage units, there may be many that did not get proper storage available at auction. I'll still be a buyer, but now I'll think about it more... Tasted next to a magnum of 02 Cayuse En Cerise, and there were many similarities between those two wines.
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Opaque black ruby purple. Nose of melted asphalt and mocha. Huge. Lots of depth. Fresh ground coffee. Ponderous on the palate, kind of broods until first swallow when the huge, huge fruit cascades over the tongue. It's not terribly great or complex, but it is a huge wine. Needs a really thick, juicy charbroiled steak to act as a foil and let it really shine. 5-12-16-7: 90/100.
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Rhone / Rhone Ranger night (Snohomish, WA): The nose of this wine had red and blue fruit aromas with eucalyptus notes. With some time in the glass, the red fruit aromas became somewhat medicinal. The palate of this wine shows its age with some very smooth plum and berry flavors and the eucalyptus showing up again on the mid-palate. This wine seemed fully resolved and ready to drink now. The long finish also ended with the medicinal flavors coming forward. This was a wine that I had wanted to try since reading that Robert Parker gave it 100 points in the 10/09 Hedonist's Gazette - although that was out of a magnum. I wouldn't call this near 100, or think that it will last much longer, but it was very enjoyable now.
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Deep opaque purple. Quite cloudy. Wonderful nose of black fruit, earth, mushrooms. Full of fruit with good acidity, smooth tannins, medium to long finish, a with a slight bit of bitterness on the mid palate. Excellent.
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Captivating nose of dense blue fruit, strawberry, orange blossom, campfire and a touch of bacon fat. The blue fruit and strawberry along with a strong floral element continued onto the nicely weighted palate. The finish was initially very tart with prickly, lemony acidity. The acids did settle in over a couple of hours but never really balanced out. Acidification? I did enjoy that nose though.
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This wine has all the normal Pax stuff: iodine, meat, medicine; but it also has more acidity than most. Also it doesn't seem nearly as complex as most of the single vineyard Pax wines. Maybe it's a bit on the downside as I noticed absolutely no tannins. Christine has been kind of hit or miss with me. I'll probably spend the extra money and stick to the single vineyard stuff and the Keltie.
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Opened two hours before serving, but no decanting. In the glass, deep red at the rim fading rapidly to inky blackness at the center. On the nose, dark fruit with a bit of bramble. On the palate, blackberries, soy sauce, and beef blood, with a shot of spicy black pepper and a load of tannins on the hot finish. I want to be clear; this was not an alcoholic finish, no burn in the throat, just lots of heat from the pepper and tannins. I don't think this is likely to ever come into balance, but at the same time, it is a good hearty wine now.
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Decanted for an hour and returned to the bottle for 8 more. A dark maroon in color and slightly cloudy. Explosive aromas of zingy raspberry, ink, bacon fat and wet slate. There is a slight prickle on the nose from high alcohol and (volatile?) acids. Flavors of raspberry liqueur, orange zest, brambly woodiness and a hint of black olive. The finish shows a bright, brambly red fruits, a touch of dusty minerals and a strong acid spine. Better than many wines out there but not my favorite Pax. Lacks balance and a little short on complexity. Seems more Zin than cool climate Syrah.
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Dark and brooding, with a musty smell that showed up an hour after opening but blew off an hour later. My one complaint is that it seemed very one-dimensional.
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Inky purple. Nose is quite fragrant, with sweet plum syrup, floral notes, cannuba wax. On the palate, still fairly tannic but the underlying material is starting to show through: ripe fruit, substantial acidity, chewy tannins. Quite hot on the finish and a little unbalanced. Just the same, an impressive syrah in a style more typical of cornas than calfornia! Give this and its siblings another 3 or 4 years.
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Not sure why I opened this. I opened one 6 mos. ago and it was all wrapped up upon itself and I noted at that time that I should wait a few years before opening the other. Black opaque the nose is overwhelmed by the alchohol. 24 hours later pretty much the same. Tons of stuff in this wine with a rich raspberry liquer and spices. Very dry on the palate with rather coarse tannin. Hot finish.
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<Isa, SF> Tight upon opening. Left it on the table, giving it an hour or 2 of air and that helped. Dark and Inky. Sweet, rich berries on the nose. Fresh, and sweet fruit. I didnt find it candied or hot as others have. I pulled it because RP advised it was ready and should be drunk early -- from this experience and for my taste, I think it can use a little more age (or decant.)
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Significantly improved over the last couple months. Dark nearly black, thick wine. Rasberry on the nose, developing some bacon fat. palate is all sweet fruit but not candied like the last bottle.
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Dark chocolate colored and thick and vicous in the glass. Yummy nose of raspberry, flowers, and hints of chocolate and earth. Unfortunately the nose did not quite follow through on the palate which was truncated and hot with lots of forward fruit but lacking in complexity. On day two, the wine was much better integrated with a much smoother palate and a more complex finish of bacon fat, earth and some gritty tannins. I have one other bottle which I will lay down for a couple of years.
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Cru (New York, NY): Wowza, this is a brawny beast. Opaque and intense with tons of melted road tar, caramel, briar and mint, this is a wooly young beast at 15.6% alchohol. At first this seemed a bit prickly, and the alcohol was very apparent, but with aeration this settled back and strutted its stuff. Still, this is is pretty tightly wound, monolithic, young and alcoholic. There is an impressive amount of raw material, but I am a little worried about the balance here. This could easily break into the 90's if it settles down, but for now I would keep hands off.
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3/19/2022 - James Kim wrote:
Kindly brought in by Ted. Opened last night and half bottle left. Initially, some funky, sewage like nose with a decent dose of volatile acids on palate. Now about 30 min in glass, much improved. The funky nose has blown off. Aromas of blackberries, plums, mild volatile acids, mild eucalyptus, and roasted game meats. Palate w tart pomegranate, some cranberries, tart blackberries, some mild volatile acids, a bit of roasted meats. Excellent acids with moderate tannins on a medium body. Finishes w some nice earth and coffee grounds. Not sure what to make of this. The fruit is there but seems to be fading and the acid juts out a bit too much. Was told that it was amazing last night. So sounds like this is a wine to drink up now.
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6/29/2017 - Dogshaus Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drank from magnum on June 28, 2017. Spectacular bottle of wine with many years in front of it. Full bodied and complex and at the same time very elegant. Sorry to report it is my last bottle.
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2/15/2015 - Fid wrote: 89 Points
PnP with friends at Sunday BBQ. While not bad, this wine is hanging on for dear life. On the nose, a bit raisiny, with some notes of cassis, green olive and meat. On the palate, decent fruit, slightly underripe blackberry, more olive and perhaps some spice, but the foregoing competes with notable astringency. The finished is quite clipped. No chance of this going anywhere but down hill. Probably was much better a few years ago. 89-
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1/4/2015 - whitmanlholt wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured and then drank from decanter over several hours. This is a very dark wine, but seems to be literally crumbling -- there are streaks of material in each glass and the end of the decanter looks like a sediment grenade exploded. On the nose, I get pepper, bacon, and some ripe black fruits. In the mouth, this is smooth and sweet with some blackberry notes, although the end of the bottle degrades into alcohol. The finish is somewhat sharp with orange peel elements. Overall, this is okay but definitely inferior to last time. This wine seems to be fading fast. Drink now! 90 points.
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5/17/2014 - whitmanlholt Likes this wine: 93 Points
Popped and poured, and then drank from decanter over several hours. This is a very dark purple wine -- it will stain your mouth. On the nose, I get blackberries, some meat, and road tar. In the mouth, this is a chewy wine with the texture of motor oil and a concentrated darkness. The finish is relaxed and smoothed out with age. This is a nice, well-aged wine that reminds me of a Northern Rhone with 10 years on it. 93 points.
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10/6/2012 - jsebiri wrote:
big big nose of blue berries , not as dynamic on the tongue....nice syrah.......maybe past prime i would drink more for sure
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4/9/2011 - last chance wrote: 95 Points
This bottle was much better than the one I had in 6/10. The wine seemed fresher and more full of life. After this tasting, I realized that since these big Pax bottles may not fit in everyone's wine storage units, there may be many that did not get proper storage available at auction. I'll still be a buyer, but now I'll think about it more... Tasted next to a magnum of 02 Cayuse En Cerise, and there were many similarities between those two wines.
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3/24/2011 - MicklethePickle wrote: 90 Points
Opaque black ruby purple. Nose of melted asphalt and mocha. Huge. Lots of depth. Fresh ground coffee. Ponderous on the palate, kind of broods until first swallow when the huge, huge fruit cascades over the tongue. It's not terribly great or complex, but it is a huge wine. Needs a really thick, juicy charbroiled steak to act as a foil and let it really shine. 5-12-16-7: 90/100.
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6/26/2010 - last chance wrote: 92 Points
Rhone / Rhone Ranger night (Snohomish, WA): The nose of this wine had red and blue fruit aromas with eucalyptus notes. With some time in the glass, the red fruit aromas became somewhat medicinal. The palate of this wine shows its age with some very smooth plum and berry flavors and the eucalyptus showing up again on the mid-palate. This wine seemed fully resolved and ready to drink now. The long finish also ended with the medicinal flavors coming forward. This was a wine that I had wanted to try since reading that Robert Parker gave it 100 points in the 10/09 Hedonist's Gazette - although that was out of a magnum. I wouldn't call this near 100, or think that it will last much longer, but it was very enjoyable now.
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2/7/2010 - WineDoctors wrote:
this is a monocromatic overated 90 + point bottle of wine; if it was acceptable before, it is, alas, past
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6/25/2009 - wpd wrote: 90 Points
Deep opaque purple. Quite cloudy. Wonderful nose of black fruit, earth, mushrooms. Full of fruit with good acidity, smooth tannins, medium to long finish, a with a slight bit of bitterness on the mid palate. Excellent.
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4/14/2009 - mgl wrote: 92 Points
Smooth and wonderful
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4/3/2009 - pgordon62 wrote: 89 Points
Captivating nose of dense blue fruit, strawberry, orange blossom, campfire and a touch of bacon fat. The blue fruit and strawberry along with a strong floral element continued onto the nicely weighted palate. The finish was initially very tart with prickly, lemony acidity. The acids did settle in over a couple of hours but never really balanced out. Acidification? I did enjoy that nose though.
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3/21/2009 - danseng wrote: 88 Points
This wine has all the normal Pax stuff: iodine, meat, medicine; but it also has more acidity than most. Also it doesn't seem nearly as complex as most of the single vineyard Pax wines. Maybe it's a bit on the downside as I noticed absolutely no tannins. Christine has been kind of hit or miss with me. I'll probably spend the extra money and stick to the single vineyard stuff and the Keltie.
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12/31/2007 - jshufelt wrote: 89 Points
Opened two hours before serving, but no decanting. In the glass, deep red at the rim fading rapidly to inky blackness at the center. On the nose, dark fruit with a bit of bramble. On the palate, blackberries, soy sauce, and beef blood, with a shot of spicy black pepper and a load of tannins on the hot finish. I want to be clear; this was not an alcoholic finish, no burn in the throat, just lots of heat from the pepper and tannins. I don't think this is likely to ever come into balance, but at the same time, it is a good hearty wine now.
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7/1/2007 - jdiv wrote: flawed
Very badly corked.
Tried the Saran wrap thing. Seemed to help the odor a bit, but still a very seriously flawed bottle.
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6/20/2007 - pgordon62 wrote: 89 Points
Decanted for an hour and returned to the bottle for 8 more. A dark maroon in color and slightly cloudy. Explosive aromas of zingy raspberry, ink, bacon fat and wet slate. There is a slight prickle on the nose from high alcohol and (volatile?) acids. Flavors of raspberry liqueur, orange zest, brambly woodiness and a hint of black olive. The finish shows a bright, brambly red fruits, a touch of dusty minerals and a strong acid spine. Better than many wines out there but not my favorite Pax. Lacks balance and a little short on complexity. Seems more Zin than cool climate Syrah.
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6/15/2007 - Cow Town wrote: 88 Points
Dark and brooding, with a musty smell that showed up an hour after opening but blew off an hour later. My one complaint is that it seemed very one-dimensional.
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2/25/2007 - KPB wrote: 90 Points
Inky purple. Nose is quite fragrant, with sweet plum syrup, floral notes, cannuba wax. On the palate, still fairly tannic but the underlying material is starting to show through: ripe fruit, substantial acidity, chewy tannins. Quite hot on the finish and a little unbalanced. Just the same, an impressive syrah in a style more typical of cornas than calfornia! Give this and its siblings another 3 or 4 years.
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6/7/2006 - KellyW wrote: 88 Points
Not sure why I opened this. I opened one 6 mos. ago and it was all wrapped up upon itself and I noted at that time that I should wait a few years before opening the other. Black opaque the nose is overwhelmed by the alchohol. 24 hours later pretty much the same. Tons of stuff in this wine with a rich raspberry liquer and spices. Very dry on the palate with rather coarse tannin. Hot finish.
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9/16/2005 - lorenzo wrote: 90 Points
<Isa, SF>
Tight upon opening. Left it on the table, giving it an hour or 2 of air and that helped. Dark and Inky. Sweet, rich berries on the nose. Fresh, and sweet fruit. I didnt find it candied or hot as others have. I pulled it because RP advised it was ready and should be drunk early -- from this experience and for my taste, I think it can use a little more age (or decant.)
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9/12/2005 - Mike V wrote: 91 Points
Significantly improved over the last couple months. Dark nearly black, thick wine. Rasberry on the nose, developing some bacon fat. palate is all sweet fruit but not candied like the last bottle.
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4/12/2005 - onholiday wrote: 88 Points
Dark chocolate colored and thick and vicous in the glass. Yummy nose of raspberry, flowers, and hints of chocolate and earth. Unfortunately the nose did not quite follow through on the palate which was truncated and hot with lots of forward fruit but lacking in complexity. On day two, the wine was much better integrated with a much smoother palate and a more complex finish of bacon fat, earth and some gritty tannins. I have one other bottle which I will lay down for a couple of years.
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2/10/2005 - Eric wrote: 89 Points
Cru (New York, NY): Wowza, this is a brawny beast. Opaque and intense with tons of melted road tar, caramel, briar and mint, this is a wooly young beast at 15.6% alchohol. At first this seemed a bit prickly, and the alcohol was very apparent, but with aeration this settled back and strutted its stuff. Still, this is is pretty tightly wound, monolithic, young and alcoholic. There is an impressive amount of raw material, but I am a little worried about the balance here. This could easily break into the 90's if it settles down, but for now I would keep hands off.
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