A heady perfume of purple flowers and blue fruits. There’s BBQ smoke and fragrant black pepper in the background. Intense, broad, penetrating, svelte and caressing in all the right places. Utterly delicious and an unbeatable value. If I had to drink only one Syrah for the rest of my days this bottle would be on the shortlist of a very short list.
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A wine full of black fruit. Fragrant cassis and blackberry nose with some pepper. Rich and intense. Powerful palate with good fruit and depth. Long tasty finish. Needs food.
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The wine looks inky colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like forest floor, mineral and black pepper. It tastes like black currant (cassis), forest floor and alcohol/hot. The body is full. The wine has coarse texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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Popped and poured through an aerator. Christmas day wine! Dark and savory. Flavors of dark currant, blueberry, dark chocolate, and pronounced cracked black pepper. Medium-plus body with just enough acidity and medium-minus tannins. Not goopy or syrupy at all, at least to my taste.
Delicious wine and a great value. Great character to this.
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I'm a big fan of Stolpman, but this one's a bit on the heavy side. Highly perfumed nose. There's a syrupy, biting attack to the plum, prune and blackberry fruit that could be reined in for better balance. Otherwise this wine has great acid and smooth but mildly grippy tannins, suggesting it could sail on for several years. Maybe some time will help tamp down that sharp fruit.
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Backyard Tasting (Casa Shikoh): blue and black fruits; dense, powerful, lots of fruit on the palate but medium tannin, 14.1% ABV; 50% whole cluster inclusion; $30
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Supple, black and blue fruit, leather - delicious. Very well integrated, drink or hold but not sure how much more this will improve with time. Excellent QPR, won’t be confused for Rhône but tame (delightful) for CA.
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Medium purple. Initially, the nose exudes freshness, like the air after a spring downpour. Beyond that one finds smoked raspberry, blueberry sauce, hazelnut and iodine. Mouth-coating and richly concentrated flavors lead into a long finish that showcases sweet and savory spices framed by muscular tannins. Layered, textured, balanced and simply delicious.
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Very good. Although I did guess California syrah tasting blind, I also thought it could be Northern Rhone -- it reminded me of Cornas. That is a compliment. I dislike the big, jammy California syrahs that professional critics score highly; they taste like syrup for an ice cream sundae. This wine is more legit. Although the structure is flabby by Northern Rhone standards, comprising just moderate tannins and low acidity, the wine is reasonably balanced. I liked the wine's flavor profile of slightly jammy dark berry fruit, ground spices, and gaminess. Concentration was good, and I felt there was some unexpressed weight. This wine should improve over the next couple of years.
Drank at Mortons in Charlotte for $70, great fruit, lacking a bit of tannins, not that complex, I enjoyed but several other cab fans were not impressed which was surprising , drank with steak, might drink again.
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Dense and pure with clarity to the fruit. Inky purple showing ripe blackberries and blackcurrant with a nice peppery note. Feels tight given the youth, but should come around.
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1/30/2024 - DavidWong168 Likes this wine: 95 Points
A heady perfume of purple flowers and blue fruits. There’s BBQ smoke and fragrant black pepper in the background. Intense, broad, penetrating, svelte and caressing in all the right places. Utterly delicious and an unbeatable value. If I had to drink only one Syrah for the rest of my days this bottle would be on the shortlist of a very short list.
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10/20/2023 - Zinful Lover wrote:
Ok
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1/21/2023 - Kriz wrote: 90 Points
A wine full of black fruit. Fragrant cassis and blackberry nose with some pepper. Rich and intense. Powerful palate with good fruit and depth. Long tasty finish. Needs food.
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1/20/2021 - Cove Haven wrote: 89 Points
The wine looks inky colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like forest floor, mineral and black pepper. It tastes like black currant (cassis), forest floor and alcohol/hot. The body is full. The wine has coarse texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has medium acidity.
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12/25/2020 - _Al_Gore_Rhythm_ wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured through an aerator. Christmas day wine! Dark and savory. Flavors of dark currant, blueberry, dark chocolate, and pronounced cracked black pepper. Medium-plus body with just enough acidity and medium-minus tannins. Not goopy or syrupy at all, at least to my taste.
Delicious wine and a great value. Great character to this.
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11/23/2020 - valecnik wrote: 88 Points
I'm a big fan of Stolpman, but this one's a bit on the heavy side. Highly perfumed nose. There's a syrupy, biting attack to the plum, prune and blackberry fruit that could be reined in for better balance. Otherwise this wine has great acid and smooth but mildly grippy tannins, suggesting it could sail on for several years. Maybe some time will help tamp down that sharp fruit.
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7/19/2020 - rwerner Likes this wine: 92 Points
Big bright dark fruit that pared beautifully with BBQ short ribs.
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5/5/2020 - Kriz wrote: 90 Points
Nice and big. A little too big for what I like. Big deep nose with black and purple fruit. Tasty palate with a hint of bitters. I like it.
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4/18/2020 - ashikoh Likes this wine: 92 Points
Backyard Tasting (Casa Shikoh): blue and black fruits; dense, powerful, lots of fruit on the palate but medium tannin, 14.1% ABV; 50% whole cluster inclusion; $30
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4/4/2020 - gratefulbbq Likes this wine: 92 Points
Supple, black and blue fruit, leather - delicious. Very well integrated, drink or hold but not sure how much more this will improve with time. Excellent QPR, won’t be confused for Rhône but tame (delightful) for CA.
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3/9/2020 - dingodog wrote: 90 Points
Purple flower candy, smoked banana, bacon raspberry, moderate fruity tobacco ala hookah
Young
Med ++ tannins after opening up, chalky black fruit
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9/12/2019 - DavidWong168 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Medium purple. Initially, the nose exudes freshness, like the air after a spring downpour. Beyond that one finds smoked raspberry, blueberry sauce, hazelnut and iodine. Mouth-coating and richly concentrated flavors lead into a long finish that showcases sweet and savory spices framed by muscular tannins. Layered, textured, balanced and simply delicious.
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8/10/2019 - rmalloy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very good. Although I did guess California syrah tasting blind, I also thought it could be Northern Rhone -- it reminded me of Cornas. That is a compliment. I dislike the big, jammy California syrahs that professional critics score highly; they taste like syrup for an ice cream sundae. This wine is more legit. Although the structure is flabby by Northern Rhone standards, comprising just moderate tannins and low acidity, the wine is reasonably balanced. I liked the wine's flavor profile of slightly jammy dark berry fruit, ground spices, and gaminess. Concentration was good, and I felt there was some unexpressed weight. This wine should improve over the next couple of years.
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7/7/2019 - robmatic wrote:
Outstanding value. Could use time cellaring.
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3/21/2019 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Black fruit and structure and powerful. Dark and dense. Of good interest.
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3/19/2019 - mwneil Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank at Mortons in Charlotte for $70, great fruit, lacking a bit of tannins, not that complex, I enjoyed but several other cab fans were not impressed which was surprising , drank with steak, might drink again.
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3/10/2019 - cdebeau Likes this wine: 93 Points
Velvety smooth tannins, long lingering finish
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2/27/2019 - JonnyG Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dense, intense, powerful. Blue fruit, polished and glycerined, with enough bramble to make it interesting. Should improve with age.
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12/3/2018 - depechemoroder Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dense and pure with clarity to the fruit. Inky purple showing ripe blackberries and blackcurrant with a nice peppery note. Feels tight given the youth, but should come around.
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11/16/2018 - Neecies Likes this wine:
Tim's. Flintstone vitamins, sweet and heavy, fairly ripe leaning toward goopy, a monster.
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