Clear garnet in color. Looks much older in glass than 6 years. On nose dark chocolate, tobacco, leather, and dried fruit. Nice acidity, med body, elegant tannins, well balanced, black licorice, dark chocolate, spice, dried cranberry on palate. Very nice wine.
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Strawberry nose with clean rich entry. Nice mouthfeel as this glides to mid-palate with more strawberry, supple fruit, an herbal note, a spicy tinge, and enough acidity to put all in balance. Chewy tannins add to the satisfying texture. Really a yummy Grenache that is in a good place right now.
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Game of Rhones (The WineSellar & Brasserie, San Diego, CA): 100% Grenache from Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard Alta Mesa Block (Grenache Noir Clone) and Block J (Alban and 136 Clone); 20% whole cluster & 80% destemmed frt was fermented in open top fermentors, then aged 22 mos in FR oak, 7% new puncheons, 42% neutral puncheons, & 51% 2nd fill barriques; 14 Barrels produced; 15.5% ABV
N: Slightly closed; Smoky, toast, with some spice?
P: Med body; ALMOST swtish frt (with some heat?) met by tannic pucker which only somewhat resolves by the LONG, somewhat tannic, slightly bitter finish. NEEDS time, but then? 92 pts WA. [If anyone is interested, wine-searcher still shows one mid-May 2018 source @ $39.99.]
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Halfway through the first glass and already just bought (well, auctioned on WineBid, technically) more bottles. It's that compelling. As expected, enormous raspberry, cherry, and blueberry fruit. Really ripe, polished, and pure SB profile. But it's also got mocha, dried thyme, tea, tobacco, vanilla, and chalky tannins that give a great balancing grip. Delicious, yet serious, AND a great value; i.e. the Sans Liege calling card.
P: Med, poss MF, body; Swtish frt met by astringency mid palate; Long, spicy, very slightly astringent/bitter finish. Not a fan of the style, I guess. [For the 1 other vendor I still see offering this, $37.99 is a competitive price.] 92 pts WA, though I didn't actually read the review. 15.5% ABV
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Nice bottle to drink after work. Just enough acidity to hit you across the face. Nice dark front with a black pepper and blackberry spice. The nose is probably 10x better than the wine, showing a purple coconut and cinnamon spice Girl Scout cookie. The middle was a little dirty, showing concentration and depth. Rather happy with this bottle, and not bad given the price, but perhaps a BIT overpriced for what you get on this one.
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Rhubarb, red fruit and a bit of heat on the nose and front of this one. Mid palate is luscious and ripe. Finish is hedonistically rich, Not super balanced but very enjoyable for the new world wine lover. Alc is high at 15.5 so you must enjoy this style to fully appreciate this wine but hey hedonism is in :-) Old world wine afficianados may differ in opinion, of couse :-)
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Decanted approx. 1 hour ... This opens with cherry and strawberry, with a broad tannic backbone. Some spice, but more granite. Fairly classic Grenache profile. Still obviously quite young. Good, but not outstanding for the price point.
9/26/2020 - DStone Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nice acidity and good balance. As was stated by rexmerlot, this wine looks more aged than 7 years in the bottle. A fine effort from Curt.
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6/29/2018 - rexmerlot Likes this wine: 92 Points
Clear garnet in color. Looks much older in glass than 6 years. On nose dark chocolate, tobacco, leather, and dried fruit. Nice acidity, med body, elegant tannins, well balanced, black licorice, dark chocolate, spice, dried cranberry on palate. Very nice wine.
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2/16/2018 - Primordialsoup Likes this wine: 92 Points
Strawberry nose with clean rich entry. Nice mouthfeel as this glides to mid-palate with more strawberry, supple fruit, an herbal note, a spicy tinge, and enough acidity to put all in balance. Chewy tannins add to the satisfying texture. Really a yummy Grenache that is in a good place right now.
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7/15/2017 - srh wrote:
Game of Rhones (The WineSellar & Brasserie, San Diego, CA): 100% Grenache from Santa Barbara Highlands Vineyard Alta Mesa Block (Grenache Noir Clone) and Block J (Alban and 136 Clone); 20% whole cluster & 80% destemmed frt was fermented in open top fermentors, then aged 22 mos in FR oak, 7% new puncheons, 42% neutral puncheons, & 51% 2nd fill barriques; 14 Barrels produced; 15.5% ABV
N: Slightly closed; Smoky, toast, with some spice?
P: Med body; ALMOST swtish frt (with some heat?) met by tannic pucker which only somewhat resolves by the LONG, somewhat tannic, slightly bitter finish. NEEDS time, but then? 92 pts WA. [If anyone is interested, wine-searcher still shows one mid-May 2018 source @ $39.99.]
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7/5/2017 - King of all vines wrote: 92 Points
Delicious.
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6/8/2017 - tomherer Likes this wine: 93 Points
Halfway through the first glass and already just bought (well, auctioned on WineBid, technically) more bottles. It's that compelling. As expected, enormous raspberry, cherry, and blueberry fruit. Really ripe, polished, and pure SB profile. But it's also got mocha, dried thyme, tea, tobacco, vanilla, and chalky tannins that give a great balancing grip. Delicious, yet serious, AND a great value; i.e. the Sans Liege calling card.
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1/21/2017 - srh wrote:
CA Dreamin' (The WineSellar & Brasserie, San Diego, CA): N: Muted; some berries/earth
P: Med, poss MF, body; Swtish frt met by astringency mid palate; Long, spicy, very slightly astringent/bitter finish. Not a fan of the style, I guess. [For the 1 other vendor I still see offering this, $37.99 is a competitive price.] 92 pts WA, though I didn't actually read the review. 15.5% ABV
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11/7/2016 - vegasoenophile Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delicious! Rich, layered, complex and luscious.
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10/14/2016 - mflesh wrote:
Nice bottle to drink after work. Just enough acidity to hit you across the face. Nice dark front with a black pepper and blackberry spice. The nose is probably 10x better than the wine, showing a purple coconut and cinnamon spice Girl Scout cookie. The middle was a little dirty, showing concentration and depth. Rather happy with this bottle, and not bad given the price, but perhaps a BIT overpriced for what you get on this one.
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2/11/2016 - TK Mastres wrote: 91 Points
Rhubarb, red fruit and a bit of heat on the nose and front of this one. Mid palate is luscious and ripe. Finish is hedonistically rich, Not super balanced but very enjoyable for the new world wine lover. Alc is high at 15.5 so you must enjoy this style to fully appreciate this wine but hey hedonism is in :-)
Old world wine afficianados may differ in opinion, of couse :-)
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6/18/2015 - markandsusanw wrote: 89 Points
Decanted approx. 1 hour ... This opens with cherry and strawberry, with a broad tannic backbone. Some spice, but more granite. Fairly classic Grenache profile. Still obviously quite young. Good, but not outstanding for the price point.
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