A great wine that has aged beautifully. It was a mistake to pair it with BBQ chicken and sweet potato, but on its own it was a wonderfully balanced expression of dark fruit, acid, garrigue, and hints of vanilla. Wish I had more…
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Blackberries, subtle barbecue, black licorice, anise — symphonic nose with nice intensity. Sort of softer, middle of the road body and texture, it’s not brisk, but does end with nice acidity and precision. Spicy blackberry, not a ton of ultra-savory notes, but nice spice and good sense of density.
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Tasted after a night or two open. This is good, well balanced with sweet blackberry and dark cherry fruit. Lacking some of the smoky, gamey notes from the best WA syrahs, but this is a nice clean fruit forward example. Dont think this will improve much - would say drinking about peak.
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Upon opening, an earthy musty nose with a lean palate. Decanted 90 minutes and this mostly blew off to reveal a more stereotypical Walla Walla syrah with sweet red fruits, maybe some boysenberry and sage. Plush and slightly sweet palate with medium-to-long finish. Very fine tannins and a splash of acid indicate a few more years of good drinking, but with a good decant this is delicious now!
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Very nice and in a good place. Clean, bright, medium complexity. Missing a bit of precision in the flavors, but still had some blue fruits and meatiness. Ready to go.
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Tasted blind from a vial. Deep ruby, with a garnet rim. Med (+) nose of tart black fruit, ripe red fruit, tobacco, menthol, potting soil, some new oak spice, seemingly French in character. Dry, with med (+) acidity, tannin and alcohol. Med (+) body, flavor intensity and length, with a savory note on the finish. Very good quality, very well balanced and quite enjoyable. Old World elegance with New World fruit.
Moderate climate, with some age. If you miss the purple hue (as I did), it will throw you down the wrong path. Same if you miss the black pepper note. If you get the purple, nearly opaque color, then initial guesses could be Malbec, Shiraz, or young Cabernets. The lack of pyrazines should steer away from the Cabernets. It doesn't seem big enough for Australian Shiraz, but is too oaky and not savory enough for N. Rhône. This one was tough.
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As Steve Winwood would say, we’re back in the high life again. The dumb phase is over and this bottle is positively singing after a decant and four hours of air. Plum, blackberry, smoke, leather, oak, and tannin welded together in a wonderful harmony. Nice finish that hits the fruit and tannin notes. 14+% alcohol that is a bit noticeable, especially as the stronger finish elements fade. Would probably get better if I gave it more air, but there is no chance of that happening.
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Decanted and served. This showed beautifully right away, with focused dark fruit, black pepper, brambles, and earth. If you've been waiting, now is the time to open one.
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Initially this had a very slight effervescence which blew off pretty quickly. Not overly dark, but nice red berry and dark berry fruit. Lighter syrah style with more mainly red berry and cherry on the fruit with just a hint of currant and darker berry. Medium to long finish. Bright acidity, mellow tannins. Very nice, but lacking something.
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I agree with Ans. This bottle was in a bit of a dumb phase or something—definitely not as good as the prior two. I wish I had some chicken mole right now.
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This was missing acid or something to bring everything together when consumed on its own, but (and you may think I've lost my mind) it actually paired pretty nicely with a dark mole chicken dish. Not a bad wine, per se, but not my style either.
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I have come to the realization that most all of Walla Walla's '13 vintages are worth the money. This is no exception. Yes, a bit on the pricey side. Full bodied, DARK, lovely fragrance. Popped a few hours prior to gulleting. No need. My, my.
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10/15/2022 - Jake112380 Likes this wine: 92 Points
A great wine that has aged beautifully. It was a mistake to pair it with BBQ chicken and sweet potato, but on its own it was a wonderfully balanced expression of dark fruit, acid, garrigue, and hints of vanilla. Wish I had more…
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5/22/2022 - OaktownRush Likes this wine: 91 Points
Blackberries, subtle barbecue, black licorice, anise — symphonic nose with nice intensity. Sort of softer, middle of the road body and texture, it’s not brisk, but does end with nice acidity and precision. Spicy blackberry, not a ton of ultra-savory notes, but nice spice and good sense of density.
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4/23/2022 - wino121 wrote: 91 Points
In the window, see previous notes from 2020.
Drink now thru 2025/6
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5/17/2021 - thebonnydooner wrote: 88 Points
Tasted after a night or two open. This is good, well balanced with sweet blackberry and dark cherry fruit. Lacking some of the smoky, gamey notes from the best WA syrahs, but this is a nice clean fruit forward example. Dont think this will improve much - would say drinking about peak.
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2/6/2021 - redz wrote: 91 Points
Nice WA syrah. Young, will improve. PNP, had to open something while the PAX syrah was breathing...
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1/30/2021 - BHRH Likes this wine: 91 Points
Upon opening, an earthy musty nose with a lean palate. Decanted 90 minutes and this mostly blew off to reveal a more stereotypical Walla Walla syrah with sweet red fruits, maybe some boysenberry and sage. Plush and slightly sweet palate with medium-to-long finish. Very fine tannins and a splash of acid indicate a few more years of good drinking, but with a good decant this is delicious now!
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10/25/2020 - Château de Farmer Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very nice and in a good place. Clean, bright, medium complexity. Missing a bit of precision in the flavors, but still had some blue fruits and meatiness. Ready to go.
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10/24/2020 - wino121 wrote: 92 Points
Simple decant,
Beautiful wine, full throttled ripe fruit, along with a supple finish, it was delicious.
Drink now thru 2022-4.
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10/10/2020 - stbraunt Likes this wine: 90 Points
It’s nice but a touch heavy. Needs a really big flavor dinner to hold up.
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10/9/2020 - mwkoehler Likes this wine: 92 Points
This went from great to wonderful over an hour. Give it air
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10/2/2020 - Jake112380 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consistent with prior notes. Wish I had more than just one more bottle. Also wish they made vintages past 2013.
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8/2/2020 - RPerro Likes this wine: 93 Points
Spot on with my previous note. Really great wine.
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7/16/2020 - TannicBeast Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasted blind from a vial. Deep ruby, with a garnet rim. Med (+) nose of tart black fruit, ripe red fruit, tobacco, menthol, potting soil, some new oak spice, seemingly French in character. Dry, with med (+) acidity, tannin and alcohol. Med (+) body, flavor intensity and length, with a savory note on the finish. Very good quality, very well balanced and quite enjoyable. Old World elegance with New World fruit.
Moderate climate, with some age. If you miss the purple hue (as I did), it will throw you down the wrong path. Same if you miss the black pepper note. If you get the purple, nearly opaque color, then initial guesses could be Malbec, Shiraz, or young Cabernets. The lack of pyrazines should steer away from the Cabernets. It doesn't seem big enough for Australian Shiraz, but is too oaky and not savory enough for N. Rhône. This one was tough.
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6/11/2020 - Jake112380 Likes this wine: 92 Points
As Steve Winwood would say, we’re back in the high life again. The dumb phase is over and this bottle is positively singing after a decant and four hours of air. Plum, blackberry, smoke, leather, oak, and tannin welded together in a wonderful harmony. Nice finish that hits the fruit and tannin notes. 14+% alcohol that is a bit noticeable, especially as the stronger finish elements fade. Would probably get better if I gave it more air, but there is no chance of that happening.
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5/13/2020 - rakasome Likes this wine: 90 Points
True WA syrah. Bold, fruity, aromatic. A treat.
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5/9/2020 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted and served. This showed beautifully right away, with focused dark fruit, black pepper, brambles, and earth. If you've been waiting, now is the time to open one.
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5/6/2020 - thebonnydooner wrote: 88 Points
Initially this had a very slight effervescence which blew off pretty quickly. Not overly dark, but nice red berry and dark berry fruit. Lighter syrah style with more mainly red berry and cherry on the fruit with just a hint of currant and darker berry. Medium to long finish. Bright acidity, mellow tannins. Very nice, but lacking something.
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4/1/2020 - sqn19 Does not like this wine: 84 Points
Medium to light body, flavors are washed out and there is a bit of effervescence with is not pleasing. Overall not very good.
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3/13/2020 - Jake112380 wrote:
I agree with Ans. This bottle was in a bit of a dumb phase or something—definitely not as good as the prior two. I wish I had some chicken mole right now.
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1/27/2020 - anstruletz wrote: 87 Points
This was missing acid or something to bring everything together when consumed on its own, but (and you may think I've lost my mind) it actually paired pretty nicely with a dark mole chicken dish. Not a bad wine, per se, but not my style either.
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12/5/2019 - Jake112380 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Superb. Flavor explodes from the glass. Needs some air to really show well. Decent and give it some time.
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11/11/2019 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 92 Points
Drank over three days. Bold and dark on day one, but much more accessible thereafter. Good acid and dark fruit. No rush.
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10/24/2019 - Jake112380 wrote: 91 Points
Dark fruit, a bit of funk. Long finish. Great.
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5/20/2019 - RPerro Likes this wine: 93 Points
Black cherry, some funk (although not as much as other vintages/bottles), umami, licorice and earth. Drink now - 2023.
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4/2/2019 - rakasome Likes this wine: 92 Points
I have come to the realization that most all of Walla Walla's '13 vintages are worth the money. This is no exception. Yes, a bit on the pricey side. Full bodied, DARK, lovely fragrance. Popped a few hours prior to gulleting. No need. My, my.
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