1 hour decant. V - Clear, deep garnet with medium meniscus and high viscosity. N - Good balance of Olive, Smoked Meats, Black Raspberry, Plum and black cherry - with some sourdough. P - Again delicious with balanced fruit and savory flavors - more licorice and bramble than meat. S - Dry, Med+ body, Med acidity, fine/med tannins with Long finish. Med+ complexity with multiple layers. A bit more tar and deeper flavors as the evening wore on, whereas initially it was a bit lacking in power and more elegant. Drinking well now.
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Ripe and rich and ready now. Full bodied with just the right amount of tannins. Lots of red and blue fruits in this one. It paired well with bone-in pork chops with ginger teriyaki rub. Really liked this one.
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Started to sing after an hour or so. Initial impressions of bright raspberry turn darker and complex, with notes of blackberry, smoked meat, black pepper, and olive on the palate. Gets funky with secondary notes of barnyard, and a tarry note pops in on the medium-long finish.
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Funk-forward, olive, stone, floral, and some fresh fruit emerging on Day 2. Ripe, layered, juicy finish, very nice expression. Will sit on remaining bottles for another year.
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P&P. Very rich and full bodied Syrah, with Rocks Funk (although not nearly as funky as the Horsepower), blackberries, pepper and iodine. Drink now - 2030.
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Stony, leafy, smoky, and salty sweaty notes over intense blackberry and currant on the nose, quite heady. Follows up nicely in the mouth. Bright black fruit and olive notes that persist through the finish. Drinking great now, seems to have balance that will help it age elegantly. 93+
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My tasting note turned out really similar to Jeb Dunnuck's. Very ripe blackcurrant that only partially pokes it head out behind a stony, smoky mineral character- peat moss, sea air, brine, ash etc. Love that it still has a fruit presence even with all the earthiness that threatens to overwhelm, and time will tell if that fruit gets to blossom, but this was so delicious, unique and with no heat whatsoever. Unfortunately it disappeared quickly, none was saved for a day 2 analysis. Felt it was worth the price. Rated this the same as his 2015 M.C.K. syrah- I felt like this was a little more complex, but that the M.C.K. was more ready and fully expressive at this point, while this had some closed austerity. Would love to try this in a few years.
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Very opaque in the glass. Another huge wine from Charles Smith. Nice gritty tannins. Very long finish. Nice mirerality and graphite notes on the palate.
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Good daily drinker from the River Rocks vineyard. Dusty...crushed stone, plum and blackberry on the nose. On the palate the fruit takes a back seat to the minerality. Medium finish.
Nice WA Syrah. Another memorable one from Charles Smith. Good QPR.
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3/19/2024 - Lockareff Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drinking well now. 2nd day not so good.
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11/13/2023 - caroleandjay Likes this wine: 93 Points
1 hour decant.
V - Clear, deep garnet with medium meniscus and high viscosity.
N - Good balance of Olive, Smoked Meats, Black Raspberry, Plum and black cherry - with some sourdough.
P - Again delicious with balanced fruit and savory flavors - more licorice and bramble than meat.
S - Dry, Med+ body, Med acidity, fine/med tannins with Long finish. Med+ complexity with multiple layers.
A bit more tar and deeper flavors as the evening wore on, whereas initially it was a bit lacking in power and more elegant. Drinking well now.
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11/10/2023 - chardsy wrote: flawed
Cork showed signs of past seepage. Lingering bitter aftertaste.
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6/17/2023 - chardsy Likes this wine:
Balance of fruit and savory notes. I think the drinking window here is conservative and this has a few more years of good drinking.
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4/2/2021 - slabslovin Likes this wine: 93 Points
Complex on the tongue with lemony notes on the back end. Really nice interesting syrah.
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2/28/2021 - Hover low 64 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Ripe and rich and ready now. Full bodied with just the right amount of tannins. Lots of red and blue fruits in this one. It paired well with bone-in pork chops with ginger teriyaki rub. Really liked this one.
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7/18/2020 - akpace wrote: 89 Points
earth mushroom smoke blackberry
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3/24/2020 - ziavino wrote: 93 Points
Started to sing after an hour or so. Initial impressions of bright raspberry turn darker and complex, with notes of blackberry, smoked meat, black pepper, and olive on the palate. Gets funky with secondary notes of barnyard, and a tarry note pops in on the medium-long finish.
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2/8/2020 - pgm wrote: 93 Points
Notes as before, but with more of a stemmy character. Excellent and interesting wine.
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12/4/2019 - Mr. Brisket wrote: 94 Points
Funk-forward, olive, stone, floral, and some fresh fruit emerging on Day 2. Ripe, layered, juicy finish, very nice expression. Will sit on remaining bottles for another year.
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8/5/2019 - bplant13 wrote: 90 Points
A little funky, but good fruit. A little boring for the price.
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7/26/2019 - RPerro wrote: 93 Points
P&P. Very rich and full bodied Syrah, with Rocks Funk (although not nearly as funky as the Horsepower), blackberries, pepper and iodine. Drink now - 2030.
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7/20/2019 - Fugazism wrote: 93 Points
Delicious expression of ‘the rocks’. At least I think that’s where it’s from. Earth, leaves, olives, brine with a blackberry, currant nose. Loved it.
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7/9/2019 - pgm wrote: 93 Points
Stony, leafy, smoky, and salty sweaty notes over intense blackberry and currant on the nose, quite heady. Follows up nicely in the mouth. Bright black fruit and olive notes that persist through the finish. Drinking great now, seems to have balance that will help it age elegantly. 93+
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5/25/2019 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
My tasting note turned out really similar to Jeb Dunnuck's. Very ripe blackcurrant that only partially pokes it head out behind a stony, smoky mineral character- peat moss, sea air, brine, ash etc. Love that it still has a fruit presence even with all the earthiness that threatens to overwhelm, and time will tell if that fruit gets to blossom, but this was so delicious, unique and with no heat whatsoever. Unfortunately it disappeared quickly, none was saved for a day 2 analysis. Felt it was worth the price.
Rated this the same as his 2015 M.C.K. syrah- I felt like this was a little more complex, but that the M.C.K. was more ready and fully expressive at this point, while this had some closed austerity. Would love to try this in a few years.
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12/29/2018 - tjross Likes this wine: 94 Points
Double decanted for 3+ hours. Rocks notes on nose and palate. Well rounded and smooth. Big wine, but not unnecessarily so. Solid QPR.
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10/9/2018 - Brian Glas Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very opaque in the glass. Another huge wine from Charles Smith. Nice gritty tannins. Very long finish. Nice mirerality and graphite notes on the palate.
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6/22/2018 - austinwroberts Likes this wine: 91 Points
Good daily drinker from the River Rocks vineyard. Dusty...crushed stone, plum and blackberry on the nose. On the palate the fruit takes a back seat to the minerality. Medium finish.
Nice WA Syrah. Another memorable one from Charles Smith. Good QPR.
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5/29/2018 - Tyler C Likes this wine: 89 Points
Might be a bit early on this one. Decent dark fruits on the start but lacks structure.
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