The Royal City is always such a fun wine to drink. It always surprises me while being very true to its source. This time, the '14 was dark and brooding when first poured right after pulling the cork. Considerably more concentrated than a '12 I opened a few months ago. Slightly bricked around the edges but not off, at all. A strong hint of Walla Walla funk upon pulling the cork that dissipated within about 15 minutes as the wine opened up to reveal dense black fruit, cassis, smoked meats, and lavendar. After another 15 minutes, more smoke and pepper-y notes showed up, with violets and a fine mineral streak. The tannins are baby-bottom smooth. I pumped it down and tried it again and it evolved into a gorgeous, seamless Syrah that is velvety, lip-smacking and utterly deliciious. It can hang for a few more years without any trouble.
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Showed really well in rather esteemed company. Was riper and more plush than the other syrahs, but had a balanced profile and a lovely red floral note on the nose that really pushed this into another gear. Fruit leans fresh and towards a red profile despite the ripeness (I found this unique). Would like to try again.
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This is an outstanding wine. Very big. Leather, tobacco. Dark berries. Smooth! Perfect tannins. Drinking very well right now. We enjoyed it with a nice steak, roast potatoes, and sautéed kale.
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30 min decant before funneling back into the bottle for service at Ringside Steakhouse; paired with bone-in NY steak. First wine in the line-up and it was massive! Full bodied, showing black fruits, black tea, and pepper...very delicious and a great way to start our annual holiday dinner. Drink now - 2034.
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Its been two years since I last tasted this wine, and what a difference! This was my WOTN! Drinking extremely well. Everything was nicely integrated. Nose was remarkable, with sweet dark fruit, roasted meat, perfumed flowers, sage and bacon fat. Palate was equally nice, showing red and dark fruit, Australian pepper berry, spice and cigar, with hints of anise, olives and stone. The mouthfeel was luxurious and creamy. This wine was totally in my wheelhouse and, IMO, offers a nice qpr and alternative to SQN-esque wines. Definitely an outstanding Syrah! 95+
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30 minute decant. Nose shows dark cherries and kirsch. Dark plum and more kirsch start the palate, adding bacon fat and wet herbs before a sharp note of sweet and sour acidity, which puts things off-kilter. Lots of tension in the finish, with long looping tannins, clay, and red fruits with a smoky note to end things. We found this bottle disappointing.
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I opened this to find out if the last bottle I opened a few days ago was just a bad bottle or if this wine wasn’t evolving well at all. Confirmed the last one was just a bad bottle. This one was as fabulous as the one I sampled in 2021. Cranberry infused blackberry, great savoriness with herbs, charcuterie and a backbone/structure to age a long time. I’m getting a handle on the Royal Slope terroir when it comes to syrah; they often initially trick me into thinking WW rocks, to which it bears great similarity, but upon further inspection lacks the pronounced ferric-blood-olive brine that you usually get in the Rocks. 4+ (out of 5)
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Better 24 hours after double decanting. More enjoyable but still a bit sharp. Increased from 91 to 92.
Decent syrah but the best flavor components are somewhat overshadowed by a sharpness. Time with air helps but not enough. I prefer the better syrahs from Carlisle and Bedrock. I find this K Vintners to be over-rated and over-priced.
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Decanted 2 hours. This is a massive wine! Full body, lots of structure and fruit, with a nice savory edge. Lots of black with this one too: Blackberry, black tea, black pepper...just a delicious wine that paired very well with pizza, but was amazing all by itself. Drink now - 2034.
Pop and pour. This is a stunning, full-bodied Washington Syrah with saucy palate of black fruit, black tea, lime, kumquat peel, and long, thick finish. Starting to develop tertiary notes and showing much better than the one I gave a long decant previously.
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This wine is two-faced. The nose is an intoxicating and rather traditional Northern Rhone mashup savory fruit, peppers, roasted meat, bacon fat. The palate is just odd, it taste like its about to go bad, or has flavor components that shouldn't be in a wine. What did they do to make this? Nose is 94, palate is 87. So (87+94)/2 = 90.5.
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Robert's Get-Together at Margaux's Table: PnP - This was totally in my wheelhouse, especially paired with a crawfish stuffed steak (little spicy). The spice and meat complimented the wine perfectly! Wine showed plenty of aromatics, with perfumed dark fruit, roasted meat, bacon, and spice. The palate showed well integrated black fruit with a plush mouthfeel and a velvety finish, as well as some cigar box, leather and charcoaled meat. After talking with others, I am quite sure the food helped this wine quite a bit. I tried it again later without any food, and while I didn't get the alcohol some others did earlier, I did get a little green, herbaceous and menthol notes that were not present when accompanied with food. Still, this wine had plenty of fruit, which I enjoyed. 94 with food, 93 without.
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Mixed Wines at Margaux's Table (Margaux's Table, White Bear Lake, MN): Very dark red/purple color. PNP, drank a glass over 45 minutes. Geez, if it was only about the nose, this would have been a slam dunk. Love that nose, classic, with roasted meats, bacon fat,, great high pitched aromatics, herbaceous, menthol, subtle forest floor, blackberry and purple fruits. The palate does not carry through the same complexity and balance; dark fruits, black cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, and a lot more of the herbaceous, green character here with a little heat coming through as well. We didn't have this with any food, and I think that would have helped the palate. Still, that nose....
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Decanted 3.5 hours. Relaxed palate with prune, velvety tannins, slate, herbs. Agree with the previous note that this is not showing in a particularly memorable way right now. I'll go back to pop and pour for next bottle.
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Just OK I think. Shocked I payed $100 for this. Tastes a lot like stewed fruit, prunes, fig, stewed strawberries and cherries. Some floral element. But really not expressive or memorable.
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Drank first bottle of 12 over two days. First day barely accessible with dense, impenetrably black fruit and spice like licking a savory hard candy and a long, unpleasantly intense finish. Second day it all resolved and was completely accessible although still impossibly youthful. The dark fruit and spice are lovely. This style seems polarizing even when it's ready to drink but I'm a fan. Probably another year before the next bottle.
4th Saturday Brown Bagger (Sue's): Double blind. Notes of candied black fruit, green olive & pimento, and just a hint of spice. The palate is dominated by a sour red fruit quality that I'm not particularly fond of. Slightly disjointed.
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Decanted for 12 hours (nothing like popping a cork at 6am before heading to work). Loads of fruit on the nose during decant. More tapenade than fruit in the glass. Readily drinkable at that point. Super tasty. Well structured. Needed the sous vide steak to round it out.
This is open for drinking, lots of rich leather and baking spices over loads of juicy blackberry, cherry, and red currant fruit. It’s well structured and has great balance, finishes long. Excellent overall.
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Not sure where some of these remarks are coming from as this was simply tremendous. Very experienced with Charles wines and Royal City and this bottle was not a let down. Served to a couple of people who have not had the pleasure and they were blown away. Balanced with enough power that let you know you were drinking a big Syrah.
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Deep red color with floral and blackberry aromas. Well balanced, full bodied with black licorice, pepper, and blackberry tastes. I was very happy with this wine and would buy again.
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My first Smith wine and a big disappointment. Maybe an off bottle, probably, drank over a couple days and ended up pouring it down the drain. 85 is actually generous
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Washington State (Excelsior, MN): Bonus bottle from Sherry and Joe. Thanks! Black olives, minerals, subtle fruit, tar and spice. Not a big wine on the pop and pour but I will assure you this will benefit with age. I think the reward will be big. 93-96. Recommendation: Hold. Drink 2022 and beyond. 93+
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I was expecting a bruiser, choking with sweet fruit, alcohol and tannins from this famous Washington state Syrah. I was wrong, it’s remarkably restrained. Tannins are soft and there’s no hint of heat. The Syrah is medium intensity and pure and stylish. Fairly simple though and not much of a future but it’s quite enjoyable now.
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Two and a half hour decant. Deep rosy ruby color. Cocoa, black cherry, cigarette ash and Red Hots (cinnamon candy) on the nose. Smooth, tongue coating palate with cinnamon, iron and green foliage notes. Full, round tannins on the medium long finish.
There was something off about the palate for me. It didn’t match the nose, which had a bit too much cigarette for me.
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Still a beauty… not improving but holding at a high level. A beautiful wine, a big mouthful of fruit that is delightful. This guy knows how to vinify Syrah to get the most out of it.
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Really good wine. Tons of flavor.. Maybe not very distinct though. Lots of ripe fruit, very dense, juicy. Spice, ripe, not unique, but super delicious. The label says single vineyard "Stonebridge Vineyard", but AVA Washington State.. Which is odd. But delicious nonetheless.
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90 min decant. Super Bowl game Wine with steak chili. Deep ruby red. Nose of chrysanthemums, cedar, blackberries and allspice. Flavors are similar with fairly high acidity and alcohol. Low tannins. Nice wine but not really unique and not a great QPR at $100 per bottle.
Very tight on Night 1, not showing much on nose or palate (Mason, OH, Dec. 29). Better on Night 2 (NJ), with red berry notes. Much lighter bodied than I expected for a Charles Smith wine, but still quite nice. Would recommend decanting, if open now, or aging for 2+ years.
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A big one, but smooth. If you like the fruit bombs as we do, this is for you. It's young and will only get better. We had it with teriyaki salmon and rice, it was wonderful after an hour of air and got even better as the meal went on. I can see this at 98 like the 2012 in two years.
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3/14/2024 - mojotojo Likes this wine: 94 Points
The Royal City is always such a fun wine to drink. It always surprises me while being very true to its source. This time, the '14 was dark and brooding when first poured right after pulling the cork. Considerably more concentrated than a '12 I opened a few months ago. Slightly bricked around the edges but not off, at all. A strong hint of Walla Walla funk upon pulling the cork that dissipated within about 15 minutes as the wine opened up to reveal dense black fruit, cassis, smoked meats, and lavendar. After another 15 minutes, more smoke and pepper-y notes showed up, with violets and a fine mineral streak. The tannins are baby-bottom smooth. I pumped it down and tried it again and it evolved into a gorgeous, seamless Syrah that is velvety, lip-smacking and utterly deliciious. It can hang for a few more years without any trouble.
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1/27/2024 - Nutty08 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Showed really well in rather esteemed company. Was riper and more plush than the other syrahs, but had a balanced profile and a lovely red floral note on the nose that really pushed this into another gear. Fruit leans fresh and towards a red profile despite the ripeness (I found this unique). Would like to try again.
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1/27/2024 - Vincenzos Wines Likes this wine: 98 Points
This is an outstanding wine. Very big. Leather, tobacco. Dark berries. Smooth! Perfect tannins. Drinking very well right now. We enjoyed it with a nice steak, roast potatoes, and sautéed kale.
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12/9/2023 - RPerro Likes this wine: 94 Points
30 min decant before funneling back into the bottle for service at Ringside Steakhouse; paired with bone-in NY steak. First wine in the line-up and it was massive! Full bodied, showing black fruits, black tea, and pepper...very delicious and a great way to start our annual holiday dinner. Drink now - 2034.
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9/15/2023 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 95 Points
Pop and pour. Drinking at peak, I think, with balanced palate of mature but copious fruit, black tea, spices. Yummy.
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9/9/2023 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 95 Points
Minnesota Valley Wine Group Syrah Tasting (Amy & Scott's - Eagan, MN): Decanted 2 hours, poured back into bottle and pushed in cork. Removed cork at tasting and slo-O for another 2-3 hours before consumption.
Its been two years since I last tasted this wine, and what a difference! This was my WOTN! Drinking extremely well. Everything was nicely integrated. Nose was remarkable, with sweet dark fruit, roasted meat, perfumed flowers, sage and bacon fat. Palate was equally nice, showing red and dark fruit, Australian pepper berry, spice and cigar, with hints of anise, olives and stone. The mouthfeel was luxurious and creamy. This wine was totally in my wheelhouse and, IMO, offers a nice qpr and alternative to SQN-esque wines. Definitely an outstanding Syrah! 95+
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9/9/2023 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 93 Points
Minnesota Valley Fine Wine Tasting Group Syrah Tasting (Eagan, MN): Cranberry, spice, white pepper, cherry and earth. Very subtle for a Royal City and I am fine with that. Medium plus finish. Drink now or hold for a few. 4 points
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9/7/2023 - VAGenius wrote: 90 Points
30 minute decant. Nose shows dark cherries and kirsch. Dark plum and more kirsch start the palate, adding bacon fat and wet herbs before a sharp note of sweet and sour acidity, which puts things off-kilter. Lots of tension in the finish, with long looping tannins, clay, and red fruits with a smoky note to end things. We found this bottle disappointing.
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6/17/2023 - NMSteve Likes this wine:
I opened this to find out if the last bottle I opened a few days ago was just a bad bottle or if this wine wasn’t evolving well at all. Confirmed the last one was just a bad bottle. This one was as fabulous as the one I sampled in 2021. Cranberry infused blackberry, great savoriness with herbs, charcuterie and a backbone/structure to age a long time. I’m getting a handle on the Royal Slope terroir when it comes to syrah; they often initially trick me into thinking WW rocks, to which it bears great similarity, but upon further inspection lacks the pronounced ferric-blood-olive brine that you usually get in the Rocks. 4+ (out of 5)
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6/2/2023 - MWiking wrote: 93 Points
har utvecklats rejält och blivit ett väldigt snyggt vin
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2/27/2023 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 94 Points
This still takes a couple hours to open up, but then a complex and delicious Washington Syrah with full body and funky edges.
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12/28/2022 - mac-eye Likes this wine: 92 Points
[revised]
Better 24 hours after double decanting. More enjoyable but still a bit sharp. Increased from 91 to 92.
Decent syrah but the best flavor components are somewhat overshadowed by a sharpness. Time with air helps but not enough. I prefer the better syrahs from Carlisle and Bedrock. I find this K Vintners to be over-rated and over-priced.
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12/19/2022 - Wine Warrior 1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big wine that was overshadowed by other wines for the night. The wine is everything you expect from a Chuck Smith wine.
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9/19/2022 - Emmet2 wrote: 95 Points
Great wine. Opened and poured this along with a 2006. This was super right away where the ‘06 took time to open up. Really nice wine
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5/1/2022 - jeffmudd Does not like this wine: 90 Points
I’m hoping this is just a one off, but a watered down taste to this bottle. A big bummer.
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2/5/2022 - RPerro Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted 2 hours. This is a massive wine! Full body, lots of structure and fruit, with a nice savory edge. Lots of black with this one too: Blackberry, black tea, black pepper...just a delicious wine that paired very well with pizza, but was amazing all by itself. Drink now - 2034.
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1/26/2022 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 94 Points
Pop and pour. This is a stunning, full-bodied Washington Syrah with saucy palate of black fruit, black tea, lime, kumquat peel, and long, thick finish. Starting to develop tertiary notes and showing much better than the one I gave a long decant previously.
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10/2/2021 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
This wine is two-faced. The nose is an intoxicating and rather traditional Northern Rhone mashup savory fruit, peppers, roasted meat, bacon fat. The palate is just odd, it taste like its about to go bad, or has flavor components that shouldn't be in a wine. What did they do to make this? Nose is 94, palate is 87. So (87+94)/2 = 90.5.
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10/2/2021 - I'd Rather Be Drinking Wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Robert's Get-Together at Margaux's Table: PnP - This was totally in my wheelhouse, especially paired with a crawfish stuffed steak (little spicy). The spice and meat complimented the wine perfectly! Wine showed plenty of aromatics, with perfumed dark fruit, roasted meat, bacon, and spice. The palate showed well integrated black fruit with a plush mouthfeel and a velvety finish, as well as some cigar box, leather and charcoaled meat. After talking with others, I am quite sure the food helped this wine quite a bit. I tried it again later without any food, and while I didn't get the alcohol some others did earlier, I did get a little green, herbaceous and menthol notes that were not present when accompanied with food. Still, this wine had plenty of fruit, which I enjoyed. 94 with food, 93 without.
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10/2/2021 - rocknroller wrote: 91 Points
Mixed Wines at Margaux's Table (Margaux's Table, White Bear Lake, MN): Very dark red/purple color. PNP, drank a glass over 45 minutes. Geez, if it was only about the nose, this would have been a slam dunk. Love that nose, classic, with roasted meats, bacon fat,, great high pitched aromatics, herbaceous, menthol, subtle forest floor, blackberry and purple fruits. The palate does not carry through the same complexity and balance; dark fruits, black cherry, blackberry, boysenberry, and a lot more of the herbaceous, green character here with a little heat coming through as well. We didn't have this with any food, and I think that would have helped the palate. Still, that nose....
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5/23/2021 - Quiet Lion wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 3.5 hours. Relaxed palate with prune, velvety tannins, slate, herbs. Agree with the previous note that this is not showing in a particularly memorable way right now. I'll go back to pop and pour for next bottle.
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1/9/2021 - PT insurgent wrote:
Just OK I think. Shocked I payed $100 for this. Tastes a lot like stewed fruit, prunes, fig, stewed strawberries and cherries. Some floral element. But really not expressive or memorable.
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6/28/2020 - Larobinett Likes this wine:
Solid
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6/27/2020 - Larobinett Likes this wine:
Solid
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6/2/2020 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 95 Points
Drank first bottle of 12 over two days. First day barely accessible with dense, impenetrably black fruit and spice like licking a savory hard candy and a long, unpleasantly intense finish. Second day it all resolved and was completely accessible although still impossibly youthful. The dark fruit and spice are lovely. This style seems polarizing even when it's ready to drink but I'm a fan. Probably another year before the next bottle.
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5/5/2020 - Wine&guns Likes this wine: 94 Points
Must decant. I opened it at 8am, then 5pm it was beautifully open for tasting. Loads of dark fruit, blackberry/boysenberry notes. Floral notes of
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1/25/2020 - AllRed wrote: 88 Points
4th Saturday Brown Bagger (Sue's): Double blind. Notes of candied black fruit, green olive & pimento, and just a hint of spice. The palate is dominated by a sour red fruit quality that I'm not particularly fond of. Slightly disjointed.
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10/25/2019 - tjross Likes this wine: 95 Points
Decanted for 12 hours (nothing like popping a cork at 6am before heading to work). Loads of fruit on the nose during decant. More tapenade than fruit in the glass. Readily drinkable at that point. Super tasty. Well structured. Needed the sous vide steak to round it out.
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10/22/2019 - pgm wrote: 94 Points
This is open for drinking, lots of rich leather and baking spices over loads of juicy blackberry, cherry, and red currant fruit. It’s well structured and has great balance, finishes long. Excellent overall.
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9/28/2019 - jeffmudd wrote: 95 Points
Not sure where some of these remarks are coming from as this was simply tremendous. Very experienced with Charles wines and Royal City and this bottle was not a let down. Served to a couple of people who have not had the pleasure and they were blown away.
Balanced with enough power that let you know you were drinking a big Syrah.
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8/19/2019 - Pessah Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep red color with floral and blackberry aromas. Well balanced, full bodied with black licorice, pepper, and blackberry tastes. I was very happy with this wine and would buy again.
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8/18/2019 - Guns&Wine Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decant for at least 3+ hrs. But absolutely a solid Syrah from Washington with the usual suspects of flavor package. A great investment to hold.
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7/1/2019 - dlcass Likes this wine: 93 Points
I was a bit underwhelmed. Nice wine overall; better on day 2. Nose of olive tapenade, minimal "spice". Not particularly interesting.
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3/25/2019 - michigan dogs wrote: 85 Points
My first Smith wine and a big disappointment. Maybe an off bottle, probably, drank over a couple days and ended up pouring it down the drain. 85 is actually generous
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3/2/2019 - 3daywinereview.com wrote: 93 Points
Washington State (Excelsior, MN): Bonus bottle from Sherry and Joe. Thanks! Black olives, minerals, subtle fruit, tar and spice. Not a big wine on the pop and pour but I will assure you this will benefit with age. I think the reward will be big. 93-96.
Recommendation: Hold. Drink 2022 and beyond. 93+
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1/20/2019 - Doctor Koulodare Likes this wine: 96 Points
Super-intense. Mineral, olives, and dark fruit nose, with a great berry and smoky notes. Goes on and on and on.
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1/19/2019 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
I was expecting a bruiser, choking with sweet fruit, alcohol and tannins from this famous Washington state Syrah. I was wrong, it’s remarkably restrained. Tannins are soft and there’s no hint of heat. The Syrah is medium intensity and pure and stylish. Fairly simple though and not much of a future but it’s quite enjoyable now.
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12/21/2018 - AGELVIS wrote: 88 Points
Two and a half hour decant. Deep rosy ruby color. Cocoa, black cherry, cigarette ash and Red Hots (cinnamon candy) on the nose. Smooth, tongue coating palate with cinnamon, iron and green foliage notes. Full, round tannins on the medium long finish.
There was something off about the palate for me. It didn’t match the nose, which had a bit too much cigarette for me.
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12/15/2018 - seijaro Likes this wine: 95 Points
Still a beauty… not improving but holding at a high level. A beautiful wine, a big mouthful of fruit that is delightful. This guy knows how to vinify Syrah to get the most out of it.
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11/23/2018 - PT insurgent wrote:
Really good wine. Tons of flavor.. Maybe not very distinct though. Lots of ripe fruit, very dense, juicy. Spice, ripe, not unique, but super delicious.
The label says single vineyard "Stonebridge Vineyard", but AVA Washington State.. Which is odd. But delicious nonetheless.
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9/29/2018 - N.Bonaparte wrote: 93 Points
60 min decant. In prime, good balance, ready to go, nice fruit. Will hold for 15 years.
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3/15/2018 - akpace wrote: 93 Points
Light tannins, rich and bold, tobacco and earthy. Hints of cherry and vanilla.
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2/4/2018 - RockyII Likes this wine: 92 Points
90 min decant. Super Bowl game Wine with steak chili. Deep ruby red. Nose of chrysanthemums, cedar, blackberries and allspice. Flavors are similar with fairly high acidity and alcohol. Low tannins. Nice wine but not really unique and not a great QPR at $100 per bottle.
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12/30/2017 - jmcnewjersey wrote: 92 Points
Very tight on Night 1, not showing much on nose or palate (Mason, OH, Dec. 29). Better on Night 2 (NJ), with red berry notes. Much lighter bodied than I expected for a Charles Smith wine, but still quite nice. Would recommend decanting, if open now, or aging for 2+ years.
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3/24/2017 - seijaro Likes this wine: 96 Points
A big one, but smooth. If you like the fruit bombs as we do, this is for you. It's young and will only get better. We had it with teriyaki salmon and rice, it was wonderful after an hour of air and got even better as the meal went on. I can see this at 98 like the 2012 in two years.
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