Yum! I waited a long time to open this bottle because my nickname for K Vintners Syrah Milbrandt is "The Beast." The tannins have softened, the wine is now in a special place, just fantastic, big, brawny, deep, but welcoming, like an embrace from a loved one, so a positive wine experience, still an overwhelming experience. An extraordinary, even profound wine. Deep purple color. Hint of vanilla on initial taste. Smooth mid-palette taste and just the right amount of tannin on swallow. Tastes like Syrah, duh. I won't write other descriptors. Really solid, but more than that, worthy of a designation like 'first growth', but that's old world, Bordeaux, different varietals, but man oh man, this is what wine is all about and this deserves special merit. Outstanding.
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After reading the review below we were worried about our bottle. We opened it and decanted it for about 90 minutes. We thoroughly enjoyed it with rack of lamb, blanched asparagus and oyster mushrooms. Good body-some spice- black cherry and nice structure and mouth feel. Delicious
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As others have said, closed and jumpy. Harsh and bitter. And truly fizzy as others have said. Like lightly carbonated. Not really recognizable as a Syrah. For the first hour, I was certain this was corked. I as well would have guessed some weird acidic strong Pinot Noir. The 2014 is one of my, if not the, favorite wines ever. Have had like 20 bottles of that one. The 2017 is good too. This one? First thought it was corked. So acidic and jumpy. Horrible vintage of a wine I like. What happened to this one? Something is way, way off.
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Opened, poured and let sit 1/hr. Then: Muted darkish fruit on the nose. Prickly sensation (as some have noted) on first sip and for the next 1/2 hour or so. From a taste perspective, i I didn't know this was a syrah, I would have said pinot (on the heavy side). Darkish fruit taste, but no noticeable syrah. Medium weight until about 45 min. into drinking, then it seems to put on weight. For the first 1/2 hr, tannins not an issue, then as it puts on weight, tannins much more noticeable. No finish to speak of, but even that gets fairly tannic at the 45 min. mark. Not interesting and not fun to drink. I have a couple more of these and guess I'll wait a year to try the next one and hope things get better.
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Nose shows a lot of sawdust with black pepper. Sweet red raspberry fruit has some rustic notes and is quickly followed with oregano and other dried herbs. Smooth finish, with plum fruit, leather, and firm tannins that start strong and linger for a long time. Nicely done, even on its own.
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Nose of blackberry and black fruit. Very dry black fruit with a massive wall of granite, stones, and tannins. Load of minerals on the finish with black pepper and aggressive dried herbs (oregano and chicory)... it was drier and more austere than expected and we forgot to score it.
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Fathers Day and this was very good after lunch. P-n-P, but it opened quickly with dark fruit, some vanilla, and moderate tannins. No signs of the fizz that others mentioned. So good we opened the 2nd bottle that was on hand.
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Nice nose. Dark Fruit a little earthy. First taste I got a fizz? Dissipated after while. Wine showed structure and nice balance. Tannins a little too prominent. Maybe more time in the bottle. Overall a nice approachable bottle.
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One of my least favorite K but still delicious - started fizzy as other reviewers noted - opened up to vanilla, spice, Earth and unripe fruit - not bad for $30
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Spritzy on the palate when first opening, which is very strange. Certainly a fault on the producers part. This blows off with some time but really not a solid start. The wine itself is nice, very rich, good enough structure. Very modern in its flavors, chocolate, cloves, ripe fruits, plum, prune, some meaty/bloody notes which seem to be de rigueur in Washington State Syrah. Ready to drink now, can age longer though.
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Tasted blind. White pepper, some stemmy qualities, red fruit. Very tight, good structure and balance. Powerful but not overdone. Very good. Will benefit from a few more years of cellaring.
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Hot mess. Spritz on the palate at first. After 3 hours of air that’s gone. Now it’s just sharp, disjointed and unpleasant. Perhaps this bottle is flawed but other notes sound similar.
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Day 2 review and it needs that and more. Menthol, spices, cedar and coffee beans. Still tight and not a lot of fruit showing. Acidity moderate. A hard wine to rate but right now around 88. I will revisit on day 3 and 4. Day 3 not much improvement. Agree with JACarucci on this one. Needs serious time and hopefully will come around. Some of the K wines drink great right out of the gate but this is not one. 88 is the max I would go on this wine and down the road not sure it will improve that much more.
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This bottle may have been flawed because it has a bit of carbonation on the palate. To correct this, I double decanted this bottle with vigorous shaking in between to release CO2. While I was initially turned off by this wine, I decided to officially rate it on day two because I enjoyed how it was showing even though it is very different than previous vintages.
Aromas of blackberry compote, tar, iodine, rubber, Indian spices. Palate is very well balanced, although flavor is indistinguished. Good structure and acid and alcohol is well integrated (in contrast to a few K Vintners wines I’ve had recently).
For the entry level single vineyard from K Vintners, this is a very interesting wine, despite its initially flawed characteristics.
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Nice deep vibrant color. Getting dark fruit on the nose. Possibly chinese five spice? Tannins are still a little tight. Fairly fruit forward and well balanced.Nice fairly long finish. Nice wine especially for the price. Should age another 5-7 years well.
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Despite what some other reviewers have said, I think this needs a good amount of time. Brambly black and blue fruit was suggested on the nose, but the palate hasn't filled in, and is seemingly dominated by high acidity. The palate is thin, but the hints of what's to come are present. Let this sit for at least a year or two
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This bottle was a little more gamey and funky than the last, the fruit took a backseat to notes of coffee, chocolate, herbs and seared meat. We splashed decanted and gave about 45 before the first glass which wasn't enough air time to really let the wine come into it's own.
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Very dark in the glass - deep purple but takes on a very red hue near the edge. Despite appearances the nose is pretty bright, offering red berry, notes of bitter espresso crema and herbs. A bit smokey, but the fruit is the real draw. It's light on it's feet too, very approachable after a pretty short decant. Notes of raspberry, lavender, campfire, and bitter chocolate - enough acidity and tannic structure without becoming more difficult than it should be.
I think it's reasonably better than the current CT score of 89, not quite the 90+ or whatever it scored though in WS or WA, but at $30 or so it's a pretty standout bottle. Definitely worth adding to you collection, either for the end of this BBQ season or next year.
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Washington Wine Tasting; 6/29/2017-7/1/2017 (Woodinville, Seattle, Jet City): Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City. Deep purple in color. Nose of spice, dried fruit, earth. Taste of spice, dark fruit... this is a big/rich syrah, especially at this price point. Bold long finish. An in your face Charles Smith syrah.
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A friend and I tasted this at Charles Smiths’ Jet City on 4/14/17. It had an elegant, focused bouquet of mineral, blackberry and plum aromas. The palate was dry and astringent with lots of lift and minerality. This was far too young!
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2/28/2024 - der Schmecker Likes this wine: 95 Points
Yum! I waited a long time to open this bottle because my nickname for K Vintners Syrah Milbrandt is "The Beast." The tannins have softened, the wine is now in a special place, just fantastic, big, brawny, deep, but welcoming, like an embrace from a loved one, so a positive wine experience, still an overwhelming experience. An extraordinary, even profound wine.
Deep purple color.
Hint of vanilla on initial taste.
Smooth mid-palette taste and just the right amount of tannin on swallow.
Tastes like Syrah, duh. I won't write other descriptors. Really solid, but more than that, worthy of a designation like 'first growth', but that's old world, Bordeaux, different varietals, but man oh man, this is what wine is all about and this deserves special merit. Outstanding.
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6/24/2023 - randy1358 Likes this wine: 95 Points
After reading the review below we were worried about our bottle. We opened it and decanted it for about 90 minutes. We thoroughly enjoyed it with rack of lamb, blanched asparagus and oyster mushrooms. Good body-some spice- black cherry and nice structure and mouth feel. Delicious
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5/31/2023 - Kustjagr wrote: 86 Points
As others have said, closed and jumpy. Harsh and bitter. And truly fizzy as others have said. Like lightly carbonated. Not really recognizable as a Syrah. For the first hour, I was certain this was corked. I as well would have guessed some weird acidic strong Pinot Noir. The 2014 is one of my, if not the, favorite wines ever. Have had like 20 bottles of that one. The 2017 is good too. This one? First thought it was corked. So acidic and jumpy. Horrible vintage of a wine I like. What happened to this one? Something is way, way off.
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1/22/2022 - Quiller wrote: 86 Points
Opened, poured and let sit 1/hr. Then: Muted darkish fruit on the nose. Prickly sensation (as some have noted) on first sip and for the next 1/2 hour or so. From a taste perspective, i I didn't know this was a syrah, I would have said pinot (on the heavy side). Darkish fruit taste, but no noticeable syrah. Medium weight until about 45 min. into drinking, then it seems to put on weight. For the first 1/2 hr, tannins not an issue, then as it puts on weight, tannins much more noticeable. No finish to speak of, but even that gets fairly tannic at the 45 min. mark. Not interesting and not fun to drink. I have a couple more of these and guess I'll wait a year to try the next one and hope things get better.
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7/15/2021 - Dine&Vine Likes this wine: 92 Points
So smooth yet complex. Drinking perfectly now; blue fruit, slight meat and spice. Went great with ratatouille!
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12/18/2020 - VAGenius Likes this wine: 92 Points
Nose shows a lot of sawdust with black pepper. Sweet red raspberry fruit has some rustic notes and is quickly followed with oregano and other dried herbs. Smooth finish, with plum fruit, leather, and firm tannins that start strong and linger for a long time. Nicely done, even on its own.
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4/4/2020 - VAGenius Likes this wine:
No detailed notes or score. It wasn't eye-popping - just a nice Syrah.
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2/24/2020 - Susaninaustin Likes this wine: 91 Points
3
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6/19/2019 - VAGenius Likes this wine:
Nose of blackberry and black fruit. Very dry black fruit with a massive wall of granite, stones, and tannins. Load of minerals on the finish with black pepper and aggressive dried herbs (oregano and chicory)... it was drier and more austere than expected and we forgot to score it.
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6/16/2019 - DB Lawton Likes this wine: 91 Points
2nd bottle, good as the first
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6/16/2019 - DB Lawton Likes this wine: 91 Points
Fathers Day and this was very good after lunch. P-n-P, but it opened quickly with dark fruit, some vanilla, and moderate tannins. No signs of the fizz that others mentioned. So good we opened the 2nd bottle that was on hand.
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9/30/2018 - UKCatFan Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice nose. Dark Fruit a little earthy. First taste I got a fizz? Dissipated after while. Wine showed structure and nice balance. Tannins a little too prominent. Maybe more time in the bottle. Overall a nice approachable bottle.
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9/27/2018 - djs wrote: 89 Points
Give this 3 or 4 years in the cellar.
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9/22/2018 - Susaninaustin Likes this wine:
2.76
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7/4/2018 - jeffjohnsonjj@hotmail.com wrote: 90 Points
I did not notice any fizz like other reviewers. Soft, round and easy to drink, went well with a grilled ribeye.
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5/16/2018 - Breaktheory Likes this wine: 91 Points
One of my least favorite K but still delicious - started fizzy as other reviewers noted - opened up to vanilla, spice, Earth and unripe fruit - not bad for $30
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4/15/2018 - PT insurgent wrote:
Spritzy on the palate when first opening, which is very strange. Certainly a fault on the producers part. This blows off with some time but really not a solid start. The wine itself is nice, very rich, good enough structure. Very modern in its flavors, chocolate, cloves, ripe fruits, plum, prune, some meaty/bloody notes which seem to be de rigueur in Washington State Syrah. Ready to drink now, can age longer though.
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3/24/2018 - edog77 wrote: flawed
Cork obviously comprised w wine leaking. Oxidized wine w sour spoiled palate. So disappointed.
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3/21/2018 - BigTex22 wrote:
Wife drank. Her comments, “I like the carbonation fizz i feel on my tongue with this. There is a hint of chocolate and tobacco that i like. Earthy.”
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3/13/2018 - ziavino wrote: 92 Points
Aromas and flavors of black pepper, smoke, tar, and blackberry. This conceals its strength well, and is deliciously integrated already.
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3/11/2018 - Rani Likes this wine: 91 Points
Tasted blind. White pepper, some stemmy qualities, red fruit. Very tight, good structure and balance. Powerful but not overdone. Very good. Will benefit from a few more years of cellaring.
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3/4/2018 - Jason wrote: 75 Points
Hot mess. Spritz on the palate at first. After 3 hours of air that’s gone. Now it’s just sharp, disjointed and unpleasant. Perhaps this bottle is flawed but other notes sound similar.
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2/4/2018 - Steve Jaasund wrote: 60 Points
Awful. Fuzzies effect on the tip of the tongue
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1/29/2018 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 88 Points
Day 2 review and it needs that and more. Menthol, spices, cedar and coffee beans. Still tight and not a lot of fruit showing. Acidity moderate. A hard wine to rate but right now around 88. I will revisit on day 3 and 4.
Day 3 not much improvement. Agree with JACarucci on this one. Needs serious time and hopefully will come around. Some of the K wines drink great right out of the gate but this is not one. 88 is the max I would go on this wine and down the road not sure it will improve that much more.
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1/28/2018 - deetz Likes this wine: 91 Points
This bottle may have been flawed because it has a bit of carbonation on the palate. To correct this, I double decanted this bottle with vigorous shaking in between to release CO2. While I was initially turned off by this wine, I decided to officially rate it on day two because I enjoyed how it was showing even though it is very different than previous vintages.
Aromas of blackberry compote, tar, iodine, rubber, Indian spices. Palate is very well balanced, although flavor is indistinguished. Good structure and acid and alcohol is well integrated (in contrast to a few K Vintners wines I’ve had recently).
For the entry level single vineyard from K Vintners, this is a very interesting wine, despite its initially flawed characteristics.
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1/11/2018 - UKCatFan Likes this wine: 91 Points
Nice deep vibrant color. Getting dark fruit on the nose. Possibly chinese five spice? Tannins are still a little tight. Fairly fruit forward and well balanced.Nice fairly long finish. Nice wine especially for the price.
Should age another 5-7 years well.
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10/7/2017 - JACarucci wrote:
Despite what some other reviewers have said, I think this needs a good amount of time. Brambly black and blue fruit was suggested on the nose, but the palate hasn't filled in, and is seemingly dominated by high acidity. The palate is thin, but the hints of what's to come are present. Let this sit for at least a year or two
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9/14/2017 - Ewhite30 Likes this wine:
This bottle was a little more gamey and funky than the last, the fruit took a backseat to notes of coffee, chocolate, herbs and seared meat. We splashed decanted and gave about 45 before the first glass which wasn't enough air time to really let the wine come into it's own.
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9/8/2017 - brown57 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank at the Taylors. No detailed notes but enjoyed it.
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9/6/2017 - ChrisWagner Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice QPR WA syrah. More on the olive and tannic side than the funk of the Rocks.
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8/4/2017 - Ewhite30 Likes this wine:
Very dark in the glass - deep purple but takes on a very red hue near the edge. Despite appearances the nose is pretty bright, offering red berry, notes of bitter espresso crema and herbs. A bit smokey, but the fruit is the real draw. It's light on it's feet too, very approachable after a pretty short decant. Notes of raspberry, lavender, campfire, and bitter chocolate - enough acidity and tannic structure without becoming more difficult than it should be.
I think it's reasonably better than the current CT score of 89, not quite the 90+ or whatever it scored though in WS or WA, but at $30 or so it's a pretty standout bottle. Definitely worth adding to you collection, either for the end of this BBQ season or next year.
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7/5/2017 - RieslingFanatic wrote:
Spicy pepper, grilled meat, red and blue fruits, crushed rocks too. Savoury, sour palate, bright red fruits, balanced but tight.
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6/29/2017 - GoBlue2002 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Washington Wine Tasting; 6/29/2017-7/1/2017 (Woodinville, Seattle, Jet City): Sampled at the K tasting room in Jet City.
Deep purple in color. Nose of spice, dried fruit, earth.
Taste of spice, dark fruit... this is a big/rich syrah, especially at this price point. Bold long finish.
An in your face Charles Smith syrah.
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4/14/2017 - garambler wrote: 89 Points
A friend and I tasted this at Charles Smiths’ Jet City on 4/14/17. It had an elegant, focused bouquet of mineral, blackberry and plum aromas. The palate was dry and astringent with lots of lift and minerality. This was far too young!
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