P90 tasting: Saw this on the list for a good price and decided to give it a go. Those familiar with my palate would know that I typically detest such wines, and I haven't been a fan of the Antica Terras that I have tried either.
Surprisingly perfumed and restrained nose, the palate wasn't overdone either despite being clearly a new-world Syrah. The sweetness of fruit added to rather than detracted from the wine, as it helped to make the wine less dense and heavy. Well-balanced despite the plushness, not overly-oaked or extracted; with a menthol note on the finish. Would have been interesting to open a Cayuse of the same vintage that I've been sitting on for some time alongside this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
We drank 2013 Gold Series along with a vertical tasting of its regular syrah 2013-17. We were a bit surprised by its regular 2013 syrah still in primary mode with higher acidity and edginess; and didn’t really evolve much after 3 hours. However, this is a great set up for 2013 Gold Series.
2013 Gold Series is a completely different wine as compared to its regular syrah. It’s my understanding that Gold series represents the best barrels (plots) determined when tasting the regular syrah; and then subject to longer barrel aging. Surprising, in un-SQN style, the effect of new barrel on Gold Series is not noticeable as Maggie prefers neutral barrel as I understood. It has the Northern Rhone texture coupled with California richness of fruit flavor. It’s good to have a California syrah drinking different from SQN-family. It may sound irony as Maggie was Manfred’s first assistant winemaker but she has been charting her own style and path. Bravo!
The 2013 gold series is still in primary phase with lots of blue fruits and finesse with seamless texture and suppleness. The tannin is well polished and very fine. This is a very enjoyable and balanced wine; yet I suspect this wine can maintain its primary phase for many more years.
Rating: 96-98; 96+
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Last of a 3-pack, and another wine (and producer) that I always ask “why don’t I buy more of this?”, especially as prices climb for so many others, yet these stay fairly consistent. Consumed from bottle over the course of an afternoon.
Gold label (extended barrel age). It’s tempting to want to compare these to SQN (or Andremily) due to winemaker, and while they share many similarities, Lillian seems to have a more elegant and floral profile. Deep black/purple in the glass, immediately smells of green whole cluster spice, black peppercorn, lavender and black berry fruit. The palate is very spice driven (herbal, pepper), with ripe red and dark fruit (raspberries, blackberries), and potpurri. Nothing about this is rich or extracted. Still sports a grippy finish, but the acidity right now keeps this well balanced. May get a tiny bit better, but this seems to be in the zone at the moment.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is a remarkably complex wine that evolved tremendously over just a few hours. Initially funky, savory and peppery. With a few hours in the decanter, it revealed hints of warm baking spices, more savory notes, and progressively riper fruit. Very well balanced acidity and fine tannin.
This is very good now but promises to continue evolving and for years to come. Wish I had a few more bottles to track over the next 10 years.
Black berry and plum aromas with cassis, baking spice and dark chocolate. Similar flavors are clearly ripe, but everything is well balanced and textured. So good now, probably further upside.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Two hour slow ox. Salami, blackberry and black currant on the nose. Dry, plush, mouth filling palate, with great acidity. Firm, full tannins on the medium long finish. Very well made, but a little too savory for my palate. I can understand the bigger scores from others.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Super Syrah Night (Casa Tomek): Everything you could want from a syrah. Great nose, wonderful texture, spice on the finish. Very well rounded and complete package in a wine. Earth, red and black fruits and some asphalt on the nose. Wonderful entry on the palate. Tasting note from memory.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very excited to taste this today. There’s a new release of Lillian this week and I want to see if I should buy more. It’s kind of pricey so much will depend on tonight’s tasting...
Popped and decanted and tasted after about 20 minutes. Apartment is a little smoky from a cooking fail, admittedly.
Inky black wine! Deep burgundy color. Moderately bright.
Nose is rich, deep, earthy, beefy, hint of pepper, plum, black olive.
On palate, wine is sound. Medium-high tannin, medium acid, high alcohol. Palate follows nose with some earthier and black pepper dimensions. Still pretty snappy and could some more time. Long finish. Real bruiser of a wine but man is it nice. On a price-performance basis it is hard to justify, but my ratings are price independent.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No
/ Comment
Two bottles direct from winery, one 1.5L the other a standard 750ml consumed side by side. The 1.5 was flawed, showed damage on the cork and was muted/muddled. The 750 was perfect, bright and lively, with rich dark fruit and lively pepper based spice. Both bottles stored in identical fashion.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opaque. Dark fruits on the nose. Add vanilla, licorice and black pepper on the palate. I like this vintage better than the inaugural gold series one, but if that wasn't rich enough, 2013 is perhaps a bit too extracted. When Maggie strikes the perfect balance, these wines will really stand out.
3/23/2024 - tpbrown5 wrote: 94 Points
This is a delicious wine, lots of minerality, not too sweet or jammy. Very balanced.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/22/2023 - melvinyeowq wrote: 93 Points
P90 tasting: Saw this on the list for a good price and decided to give it a go. Those familiar with my palate would know that I typically detest such wines, and I haven't been a fan of the Antica Terras that I have tried either.
Surprisingly perfumed and restrained nose, the palate wasn't overdone either despite being clearly a new-world Syrah. The sweetness of fruit added to rather than detracted from the wine, as it helped to make the wine less dense and heavy. Well-balanced despite the plushness, not overly-oaked or extracted; with a menthol note on the finish. Would have been interesting to open a Cayuse of the same vintage that I've been sitting on for some time alongside this.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/22/2023 - Zweder Likes this wine: 94 Points
USA 2013 tasting by Sander (By SS @ De Ertepeller in Papendrecht): In the bouquet red and dark berries as well as herbs and spices. On the palate juicy red berries, good and fresh acidity and a touch of sweetness. Elegant and beautiful wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/23/2023 - RhoneWho wrote: 97 Points
We drank 2013 Gold Series along with a vertical tasting of its regular syrah 2013-17. We were a bit surprised by its regular 2013 syrah still in primary mode with higher acidity and edginess; and didn’t really evolve much after 3 hours. However, this is a great set up for 2013 Gold Series.
2013 Gold Series is a completely different wine as compared to its regular syrah. It’s my understanding that Gold series represents the best barrels (plots) determined when tasting the regular syrah; and then subject to longer barrel aging. Surprising, in un-SQN style, the effect of new barrel on Gold Series is not noticeable as Maggie prefers neutral barrel as I understood. It has the Northern Rhone texture coupled with California richness of fruit flavor. It’s good to have a California syrah drinking different from SQN-family. It may sound irony as Maggie was Manfred’s first assistant winemaker but she has been charting her own style and path. Bravo!
The 2013 gold series is still in primary phase with lots of blue fruits and finesse with seamless texture and suppleness. The tannin is well polished and very fine. This is a very enjoyable and balanced wine; yet I suspect this wine can maintain its primary phase for many more years.
Rating: 96-98; 96+
4 people found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
4/9/2023 - sjp1323 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great compliment to today's Easter brisket!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/21/2023 - Shay.Aldriedge Likes this wine: 95 Points
Last of a 3-pack, and another wine (and producer) that I always ask “why don’t I buy more of this?”, especially as prices climb for so many others, yet these stay fairly consistent. Consumed from bottle over the course of an afternoon.
Gold label (extended barrel age). It’s tempting to want to compare these to SQN (or Andremily) due to winemaker, and while they share many similarities, Lillian seems to have a more elegant and floral profile. Deep black/purple in the glass, immediately smells of green whole cluster spice, black peppercorn, lavender and black berry fruit. The palate is very spice driven (herbal, pepper), with ripe red and dark fruit (raspberries, blackberries), and potpurri. Nothing about this is rich or extracted. Still sports a grippy finish, but the acidity right now keeps this well balanced. May get a tiny bit better, but this seems to be in the zone at the moment.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/18/2022 - jkwoodward Likes this wine: 95 Points
This is stellar. Well made, integrating. Great fruit.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/30/2022 - Tony Ling Likes this wine: 93 Points
PNP into Riedel Bordeaux glass (“No” day): Deep purple to the eyes.
Ripe and dark plummy fruits driven nose, fine integration with oak.
Lots of liquorice, and woody spices to the finish.
Powerful and balanced wine here if not a little too much for my taste. 93-94 points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/22/2022 - Kayentacellars wrote: 92 Points
Olives
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/27/2021 - Nati Winos Likes this wine:
Fantastic wine, maybe the best Syrah we've had yet. All the aforementioned tasting notes apply.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/23/2020 - VettersVinos Likes this wine: 93 Points
This is a remarkably complex wine that evolved tremendously over just a few hours. Initially funky, savory and peppery. With a few hours in the decanter, it revealed hints of warm baking spices, more savory notes, and progressively riper fruit. Very well balanced acidity and fine tannin.
This is very good now but promises to continue evolving and for years to come. Wish I had a few more bottles to track over the next 10 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1)
4/21/2020 - Burgundy Al wrote: 93 Points
Black berry and plum aromas with cassis, baking spice and dark chocolate. Similar flavors are clearly ripe, but everything is well balanced and textured. So good now, probably further upside.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
3/21/2020 - jgreco wrote: flawed
Metallic taste, bottle was flawed
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
10/14/2019 - AGELVIS wrote: 92 Points
Two hour slow ox. Salami, blackberry and black currant on the nose. Dry, plush, mouth filling palate, with great acidity. Firm, full tannins on the medium long finish. Very well made, but a little too savory for my palate. I can understand the bigger scores from others.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/14/2019 - bubbachumps wrote: 95 Points
Super Syrah Night (Casa Tomek): Everything you could want from a syrah. Great nose, wonderful texture, spice on the finish. Very well rounded and complete package in a wine. Earth, red and black fruits and some asphalt on the nose. Wonderful entry on the palate. Tasting note from memory.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
2/9/2019 - tak4 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very excited to taste this today. There’s a new release of Lillian this week and I want to see if I should buy more. It’s kind of pricey so much will depend on tonight’s tasting...
Popped and decanted and tasted after about 20 minutes. Apartment is a little smoky from a cooking fail, admittedly.
Inky black wine! Deep burgundy color. Moderately bright.
Nose is rich, deep, earthy, beefy, hint of pepper, plum, black olive.
On palate, wine is sound. Medium-high tannin, medium acid, high alcohol. Palate follows nose with some earthier and black pepper dimensions. Still pretty snappy and could some more time. Long finish. Real bruiser of a wine but man is it nice. On a price-performance basis it is hard to justify, but my ratings are price independent.
1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comment
12/26/2018 - smphelps wrote: 91 Points
Two bottles direct from winery, one 1.5L the other a standard 750ml consumed side by side. The 1.5 was flawed, showed damage on the cork and was muted/muddled. The 750 was perfect, bright and lively, with rich dark fruit and lively pepper based spice. Both bottles stored in identical fashion.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/25/2017 - Teknsteel Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opaque. Dark fruits on the nose. Add vanilla, licorice and black pepper on the palate. I like this vintage better than the inaugural gold series one, but if that wasn't rich enough, 2013 is perhaps a bit too extracted. When Maggie strikes the perfect balance, these wines will really stand out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comments (1)