Nose - forest loam, dark fruit. Palate - full, smooth, with a long finish, full body. Pairing - vege "meat" loaf, potatoes au gratin, fresh frozen peas. Goose bumps- inducing perfect
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On the nose AND the palate, smokiness, forest floor and also dark berries. Smooth, very light tannins, medium full body, long finish, and delicious with mediterranean pizza.
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With primavera tonight, this was heavenly! Absolutely perfect.. Dark berries, smooth, silky, absolutely delicious.
2/10/23 - With cheese enchiladas tonight, with cole slaw and fried rice. Yuummm!! Wonderful with each individual item separately, and in any combination of 2 or all 3. PERFECT with a small square of strong (88% Cocoa) dark, Velvety chocolate!!!
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Nose shows tobacco smoke, earthiness, dark fruit. Palate mirrors that with a jammy fruitiness, beautifully smooth, slight tang of well- structured tannins, all the lovely dark fruits. Wonderful with a 4 cheese macaroni, (gruyere , fontina , aged cheddar and brie), meatball and a lovely salad with a lemon garlic viniagrette.
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Pnp through a Venturi and first impressions are of wine that is somewhat disjointed with the oak dominating. When decanted overnight, the wine integrated better the next day. Definitely recommend decanting the wine for a considerable time.
First night pnp- Notes of red cherries, blueberries , cedar, black pepper and spice, and barnyard funk. For a GSM blend it is surprisingly light in body at first pour, and with its deep red color and pinkish hues belies an appearance similar to that of a Pinot Noir. Light+ to medium bodied, medium+ acidity, pronounced tannins that are reigned barely in. Lively on the palate, but with less fruit and a dominant wood treatment, the wine ends in a long finish, which is similar to that of an over-smoked salmon in that it is interesting at first and tiresome soon after. What WE found in this wine to award it 95 pts is a head scratcher. Not the best example of a GSM blend nor the best buy from Costco. One can still drink and enjoy this with a weeknight steak but don’t expect anything memorable.
Second day, after overnight decant- When tasted after the long decant the wine morphed into a more robust medium bodied wine. The wood treatment became better integrated. The finish came into focus with a mix of strong black pepper spice, acids, and tannins, that leave a trail of excitement and slightly bitter burning sensations lingering for quite a long time. There are redeeming signs in the wine the second day, but not enough for me to get really excited about it. Raising the rating by a point. The high rating from WE does more damage than good for this wine. Repeat purchase? Nah
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Cette cuvée est un assemblage rhodanien à prédominance Syrah et Grenache. Sa composition varie d'un millésime à l'autre, par exemple il y aura plus de 50% de syrah dans le 2019. La famille Beckmen a une approche écologique en utilisant la biodynamie pour ses vignobles. Encore jeune il se présente avec une robe dense rubis foncé. Le nez est sur le fruit, les cerises, les prunes avec une touche de fumée et de cuir. La bouche offre des saveurs de fruits rouges et d'épices. Les tannins sont bien lisses, la finale est soyeuse, mais malheureusement un peu courte. Ce vin a été béni d'un score de 95 points par le Wine Enthusiast. 5375 caisses ont été produites.
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Red fruits, a little vanilla, and some pleasant smokiness on the nose. Ripe red fruit, baking spice, pepper, and earth on the palate. Medium plus acid, medium plus body, medium to long finish. Decent complexity and great QPR.
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This wine is a SCREAMING value. The nose is a rich bouquet of flowers and fruit and earth - it's leaping from the glass, like a bottle costing 4 times as much.
Palate is balanced and rich with fruit and earth and spice - lingering. Drinks well with or without food. At 16 bucks - I wondering how they did this!
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Hard to imagine a better QPR for a California blend. This is sophisticated and holds up over a few days (unlike most value wines). Love it for the value and its food friendliness.
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This gets better with time. Considering that it is only a couple of years old, the long-term prognosis is quite good. I went "rogue" a little and served this with Sloppy Joes and a salad. That 9% of Mourvedre really adds balance and stability to a top-heavy Syrah/Grenache blend.
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Wow, very nice red blend cuvée for $18. Decanted 1 hr. Hints of vanilla and blueberry with some wild flowers on the nose. On the palate blackberry tart and white pepper with a long dry and surprisingly very smooth finish. Nothing complex and a little flat on opening but flavors pleasantly develop and blend nicely soon after. Soft on the tongue, easy drinking and a very good buy.
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Delightful rich nose of dark fruits. The promise of the nose follows through on the palate, with rich fruity balanced deliciousness. Had this tonight will chicken parmesan and a fresh salad of lettuce and tomato with Italian dressing, this was a perfect pairing.
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PNP. Licorice, cherry and blackberry. Fruit forward, round mouthfeel. Not quite my style, a bit hot and notes of stewed fruit. Fans of the style may rate higher.
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Big, but beautiful deep red. Fruit forward, smooth mouthfeel. Jammy with strawberry, leather, raspberry. Maybe Too jammy for my tastes. A bit hot on opening, letting sit a bit to burn off the alcohol.
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Blackberry and dark plum fruit. Overall very well balanced between tannin and acidity nice finish almost into long finish category. This wine is good with or without food.
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A great easy drinking Rhone blend. Very fruit forward with dark berries and tea flavors. Balanced and not distracting tannins and an overall round mouth feel that integrates everything. Nothing off about this wine and a great bargain under $20.
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Affordable Santa Ynez valley blend of blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Counoise. Medium-dark ruby color. Offers blackcurrant, blackberry, leather, black tea and white pepper. Attractive, with opulent blackberry and blueberry on the palate, with a skeleton of chewy tannins that could use some time to resolve. At this price, can drink now or (if you have room) stash a few away for the future.
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Popped and poured. Aromas of raspberry, red licorice, toasted oak and bramble. Ripe red cherry, black tea, vanilla, bramble and spice on the palate. Good persistence. Medium to full bodied. Served with chicken, chick peas, radicchio and penne.
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Nose- dark fruit, pepper light, charcoal, grapey, light earthy. Palate- and Nice balance, slightly fruit forward with dark fruit and a hint of red cherry, light earthiness, The pepperiness smooths out completely with food. Was gorgeous with bow tie pasta, marinara and homemade vegetarian meatballs 7/26/20- the 2nd half of the bottle was with shepherd's pie, green beans and small red potatoes and sliced fresh tomatoes, and it was absolutely delicious!
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Had to try after WE95 to see if worth going long...enjoyed the spiced white chocolate covered cherry-raspberry with a streak of mint, solid acidic balance and smooth light-bodied texture for easy early drinking, but kind of tough to see much more than a 90-91 potential here. Complexity required of a ~95 level syrah seems quite a stretch, especially compared to many other Rhone Ranger efforts.
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A bunch of ripe red fruit on the nose tempered with a bit of heat as well. On the palate, I find this wine to be a bit heavy and laden with lots of dark red fruit and a bit out of balance on the heavy/meaty side. Generally a cuvée aims to blend disparate varietals into a cohesive wine. I can’t help but feel this is more of a mashup of varietals that just don’t play well together. Not entirely unpleasant but not nearly as good as it’s been before.
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4/3/2024 - CourtlyDoc Likes this wine: 95 Points
Nose - forest loam, dark fruit.
Palate - full, smooth, with a long finish, full body.
Pairing - vege "meat" loaf, potatoes au gratin, fresh frozen peas.
Goose bumps- inducing perfect
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4/21/2023 - CourtlyDoc Likes this wine: 94 Points
On the nose AND the palate, smokiness, forest floor and also dark berries. Smooth, very light tannins, medium full body, long finish, and delicious with mediterranean pizza.
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2/8/2023 - CourtlyDoc Likes this wine: 95 Points
With primavera tonight, this was heavenly! Absolutely perfect.. Dark berries, smooth, silky, absolutely delicious.
2/10/23 - With cheese enchiladas tonight, with cole slaw and fried rice. Yuummm!! Wonderful with each individual item separately, and in any combination of 2 or all 3. PERFECT with a small square of strong (88% Cocoa) dark, Velvety chocolate!!!
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3/15/2022 - CourtlyDoc Likes this wine: 96 Points
Nose shows tobacco smoke, earthiness, dark fruit.
Palate mirrors that with a jammy fruitiness, beautifully smooth, slight tang of well- structured tannins, all the lovely dark fruits. Wonderful with a 4 cheese macaroni, (gruyere , fontina , aged cheddar and brie), meatball and a lovely salad with a lemon garlic viniagrette.
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10/31/2021 - MamaBlair Likes this wine:
Fruity without being jammy. Enjoyable after decant
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10/22/2021 - rahul_d_chatter@yahoo.com Likes this wine: 88 Points
Pnp through a Venturi and first impressions are of wine that is somewhat disjointed with the oak dominating. When decanted overnight, the wine integrated better the next day. Definitely recommend decanting the wine for a considerable time.
First night pnp-
Notes of red cherries, blueberries , cedar, black pepper and spice, and barnyard funk. For a GSM blend it is surprisingly light in body at first pour, and with its deep red color and pinkish hues belies an appearance similar to that of a Pinot Noir. Light+ to medium bodied, medium+ acidity, pronounced tannins that are reigned barely in. Lively on the palate, but with less fruit and a dominant wood treatment, the wine ends in a long finish, which is similar to that of an over-smoked salmon in that it is interesting at first and tiresome soon after. What WE found in this wine to award it 95 pts is a head scratcher. Not the best example of a GSM blend nor the best buy from Costco. One can still drink and enjoy this with a weeknight steak but don’t expect anything memorable.
Second day, after overnight decant-
When tasted after the long decant the wine morphed into a more robust medium bodied wine. The wood treatment became better integrated. The finish came into focus with a mix of strong black pepper spice, acids, and tannins, that leave a trail of excitement and slightly bitter burning sensations lingering for quite a long time. There are redeeming signs in the wine the second day, but not enough for me to get really excited about it. Raising the rating by a point. The high rating from WE does more damage than good for this wine.
Repeat purchase? Nah
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9/17/2021 - BPB1 wrote: 70 Points
Can't taste G, S or the M in this GSM blend. Very short. Drink now.
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5/28/2021 - Rodenbach99 Likes this wine: 84 Points
Cette cuvée est un assemblage rhodanien à prédominance Syrah et Grenache. Sa composition varie d'un millésime à l'autre, par exemple il y aura plus de 50% de syrah dans le 2019. La famille Beckmen a une approche écologique en utilisant la biodynamie pour ses vignobles. Encore jeune il se présente avec une robe dense rubis foncé. Le nez est sur le fruit, les cerises, les prunes avec une touche de fumée et de cuir. La bouche offre des saveurs de fruits rouges et d'épices. Les tannins sont bien lisses, la finale est soyeuse, mais malheureusement un peu courte. Ce vin a été béni d'un score de 95 points par le Wine Enthusiast. 5375 caisses ont été produites.
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5/24/2021 - cobystilp wrote: 87 Points
Earthy barnyard
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5/22/2021 - Ceo wrote: 92 Points
yumm
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5/11/2021 - cmcleish wrote:
Good for a weeknight wine. Plum nose, vanilla, oak, smoke, plum. Slight tannins, short finish.
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4/23/2021 - axz055 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Red fruits, a little vanilla, and some pleasant smokiness on the nose. Ripe red fruit, baking spice, pepper, and earth on the palate. Medium plus acid, medium plus body, medium to long finish. Decent complexity and great QPR.
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3/14/2021 - BMWclarinet wrote: 93 Points
This wine is a SCREAMING value. The nose is a rich bouquet of flowers and fruit and earth - it's leaping from the glass, like a bottle costing 4 times as much.
Palate is balanced and rich with fruit and earth and spice - lingering. Drinks well with or without food. At 16 bucks - I wondering how they did this!
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2/4/2021 - VoVo Likes this wine: 88 Points
Hard to imagine a better QPR for a California blend. This is sophisticated and holds up over a few days (unlike most value wines). Love it for the value and its food friendliness.
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2/3/2021 - scarlet834 Likes this wine: 94 Points
This gets better with time. Considering that it is only a couple of years old, the long-term prognosis is quite good. I went "rogue" a little and served this with Sloppy Joes and a salad. That 9% of Mourvedre really adds balance and stability to a top-heavy Syrah/Grenache blend.
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2/2/2021 - Minnesota wrote: 80 Points
This vintage consistently tastes of smoke. Grapes should have been sold off as bulk.
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1/2/2021 - Tenpasttwo Likes this wine: 90 Points
Wow, very nice red blend cuvée for $18. Decanted 1 hr. Hints of vanilla and blueberry with some wild flowers on the nose. On the palate blackberry tart and white pepper with a long dry and surprisingly very smooth finish. Nothing complex and a little flat on opening but flavors pleasantly develop and blend nicely soon after. Soft on the tongue, easy drinking and a very good buy.
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12/10/2020 - tmiusa wrote: 87 Points
Fruity, medium to full-bodied; Rhone blend via California. Nicely balanced, good with or without food.
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12/10/2020 - CourtlyDoc Likes this wine: 94 Points
Delightful rich nose of dark fruits. The promise of the nose follows through on the palate, with rich fruity balanced deliciousness. Had this tonight will chicken parmesan and a fresh salad of lettuce and tomato with Italian dressing, this was a perfect pairing.
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12/5/2020 - Maphill01 wrote:
PNP. Licorice, cherry and blackberry. Fruit forward, round mouthfeel. Not quite my style, a bit hot and notes of stewed fruit. Fans of the style may rate higher.
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12/3/2020 - awoodby wrote: 90 Points
Big, but beautiful deep red. Fruit forward, smooth mouthfeel. Jammy with strawberry, leather, raspberry. Maybe Too jammy for my tastes. A bit hot on opening, letting sit a bit to burn off the alcohol.
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11/16/2020 - alitman Likes this wine: 91 Points
Blackberry and dark plum fruit. Overall very well balanced between tannin and acidity nice finish almost into long finish category. This wine is good with or without food.
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10/20/2020 - scarlet834 Likes this wine: 92 Points
We can certainly why this has gotten some rave reviews. We have four bottles, and this was the first that we drank. It went very well with pizza.
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10/1/2020 - CurtaVino wrote: 89 Points
A great easy drinking Rhone blend. Very fruit forward with dark berries and tea flavors. Balanced and not distracting tannins and an overall round mouth feel that integrates everything. Nothing off about this wine and a great bargain under $20.
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9/18/2020 - daveyk39 wrote: 91 Points
Affordable Santa Ynez valley blend of blend of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Counoise. Medium-dark ruby color. Offers blackcurrant, blackberry, leather, black tea and white pepper. Attractive, with opulent blackberry and blueberry on the palate, with a skeleton of chewy tannins that could use some time to resolve. At this price, can drink now or (if you have room) stash a few away for the future.
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9/15/2020 - hoservin wrote: 89 Points
Popped and poured. Aromas of raspberry, red licorice, toasted oak and bramble. Ripe red cherry, black tea, vanilla, bramble and spice on the palate. Good persistence. Medium to full bodied. Served with chicken, chick peas, radicchio and penne.
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9/1/2020 - seijaro Likes this wine: 92 Points
An excellent red blend at a bargain price. A real step up from the 2017. Needs more time, I'm guessing in 2-3 years it could be 94-95.
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8/20/2020 - carlsport Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drank on virtual tasting with Steve. Quite good.
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7/31/2020 - Kayecheg Likes this wine:
Ripe dark fruits, smooth, full on the entire palate, lingering finish
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7/29/2020 - davidspieker wrote: 89 Points
Consistent with previous notes.
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7/24/2020 - CourtlyDoc Likes this wine: 93 Points
Nose- dark fruit, pepper light, charcoal, grapey, light earthy.
Palate- and Nice balance, slightly fruit forward with dark fruit and a hint of red cherry, light earthiness, The pepperiness smooths out completely with food. Was gorgeous with bow tie pasta, marinara and homemade vegetarian meatballs
7/26/20- the 2nd half of the bottle was with shepherd's pie, green beans and small red potatoes and sliced fresh tomatoes, and it was absolutely delicious!
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7/17/2020 - Laz4wine Likes this wine: 89 Points
Had to try after WE95 to see if worth going long...enjoyed the spiced white chocolate covered cherry-raspberry with a streak of mint, solid acidic balance and smooth light-bodied texture for easy early drinking, but kind of tough to see much more than a 90-91 potential here. Complexity required of a ~95 level syrah seems quite a stretch, especially compared to many other Rhone Ranger efforts.
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7/14/2020 - davidspieker wrote: 88 Points
Youthful dark red color. Warm dark berry aromas. Ripe raspberry and cherry flavors with some body and lots of heat on the finish. Fruit bomb.
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6/26/2020 - ludja wrote: 90 Points
Fantastic everyday wine. What will 2019 be like?
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6/17/2020 - TK Mastres wrote: 85 Points
A bunch of ripe red fruit on the nose tempered with a bit of heat as well. On the palate, I find this wine to be a bit heavy and laden with lots of dark red fruit and a bit out of balance on the heavy/meaty side. Generally a cuvée aims to blend disparate varietals into a cohesive wine. I can’t help but feel this is more of a mashup of varietals that just don’t play well together. Not entirely unpleasant but not nearly as good as it’s been before.
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