Opaque viscous and syrupy. Sublime. Muted plum and dark cherries. Briar. Med pmus acid with firever finish. Drink window does no justice, still drinking well. Violets. Exceptional.
With baby lamb chops on the grill roadted carrots.
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I'm going to miss this wine. Last of a case bought a long time ago. Amazed the fruit is still there. I told my wife generally you can tell how old a wine is by the separation of dark color to edge turning lighter color. This wine still looked so saturated. Went great with bbq ribs. I'll need to see if these guys still make wine.
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Rhone varietals at Cooking School (Loretta Paganini School of Cooking): A very nice showing for this wine. Seems to be getting close to peak but still retaining a great freshness. Inky purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, slight charred wood and dried violets. On the palate, this has a real deep complexity to it. Fresh acidity. Black raspberry fruit. Its big and rip but not over the top. food friendly. Wonderful showing. Worth opening a bottle if you own any.
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Similar to my previous note but this time the decant time was several hours longer which allowed the wine to open up even further. Had the chance to compare it to the 2008 vintage of the same wine and found the 04' much more developed. Great wine!
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Hour and a half decant, very dark, basically black, in the glass. I loved the nose on this syrah, it's full of dark fruit, pepper and that fantastic fleshy odor that reminded me more of a northern Rhone version than a California version of this grape. The palate continues on with what the nose offered, adding a pinch of coffee and anise to the mix. A little acidity is obvious on the back of the tongue and the tannins are opulent. I can't say enough about the complexity of this wine, it starts out strong and fades a touch into the long finish, this is a robust, full bodied, lively syrah, find a bottle and enjoy.
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Damn that's smooth. Black pepper, black berry, red meat on both the nose and taste. The first drink has a nice bite of pepper up front with many other flavors peeking around the corner. A very nice complex blend. Low to zero tannins and very low acidity. The finish is nice but not overpowering. Legs start slow and then run to finish the race. This is a very nice wine. Drink if you can.
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Silky smooth well aged Syrah. Dark fruit and pepper. Drank slightly chilled and it held the alcohol heat in check. I don't drink wines this big anymore but it was a reminder how good they can be when done right.
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Took this wine to a Christmas party and it was a huge hit, even though we were drinking out of plastic solo cups (now I know what to get my friend as a gift for next year!). Color was dark ruby and very opaque. A lot of dark fruit and very well integrated tannins. I had the last pour about two hours after opening the bottle and it was showing even better. I would recommend decanting this wine for at least an hour and of course consuming it out of a decent stem and this wine is probably a 94-95 pointer in my opinion.
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This has everything going right. Thick juicy fruit of cherry mixed with pan dropping from a rare roastbeef. Some underbrush and a hint of green grass. Mouthcoating and very complex. Great drinking window for my tastes as I like these wines young. Note to self, try one agin in three months.
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Very special wine from Santa Barbara, it's hard to believe this is a syrah sometimes, it drinks like a very BIG wine, excellent, fruit, dry and tannin balance great structure and mouthfeel, I love drinking this wine and it's hard to stop picking from these when I go downstairs looking for a really rewarding wine to drink. According to the Stolpman web site, the 2006 is "by invite only", I need to stat working on that invite asap !
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Huge headonistic silky dark fruit, chocolate & vanilla with some heat that is well contained. Nice roundness from front to back with a long finish. This is drinking very well right now and will age for quite a while to come. What a great wine!!!
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Decanted 1 hour, consumed over the following 3. Inky black color, roasted meat, scorched earth, black fruits. Extremely concentrated, rich, creamy mouthfeel, incredible finish. Reminiscent of a SQN in terms of mouthfeel and concentration. An extraordinary wine.
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OC Wine Dinner (Antonellos - Orange County, CA): A devilishly good wine. Dense aromas of blueberries, brown sugar, and white pepper. The explosive palate mirrors the nose with the addition of more mouth-watering spices. This wine could be reduced into a BBQ sauce and slathered on ribs, which is a very good thing in book. My WOTF. 92-93 points.
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Wildly stunning. Finally an American syrah that is bigger, yet more layered, developed and exciting than the huge Shiraz' from Australia. Very young - probably too much so right now, but guaranteed to blow your socks off.
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OC Wine Dinner--"Pair This" (Antonello In Costa Mesa): Last time I tasted this wine was in barrel up with Sashi Moorman, I believe as part of components that had yet to be assembled. If true, the wine shows as it did in barrel, which in the style I recalled it, rich, fat and intense--clearly all about CA. Stone fruit pit on the nose with some heat, a palate with powdery tannin, full of blackberry creme, tar and bittersweet chocolate. My notes have a smiley face next to them. Arnie, good choice and thank you!
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Gli Angeli, meaning ‘The Angels’ in Italian, is a purely hedonistic and wildly intense Syrah that I simply couldn’t put down. An opaque regal purple velvet in color and creamy texture to match was just the beginning of the seduction. Smoked aromas of ripe dark berry fruit and coco amazingly hid the heat of the 15.4% alcohol content. Even on the palate, not a trace of alcohol spoiled the libertine fruit expression of rich extracted blackberry and cassis. Hints of spiced oak and fine satin tannins integrate with the purity of fruit to create a full and polished mouthfeel finishing with a mineral and subtle chalk quality. The intense fruit persists well into a lengthy and lush finish that promises you won’t forget this sybaritic experience.
Note: The 2004 vintage was composed of 100% Syrah while the previous vintages had other grapes in a the blend.
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3/31/2018 - WineDoctors Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opaque viscous and syrupy. Sublime. Muted plum and dark cherries. Briar. Med pmus acid with firever finish. Drink window does no justice, still drinking well. Violets. Exceptional.
With baby lamb chops on the grill roadted carrots.
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11/19/2017 - Sfrye Likes this wine: 92 Points
I'm going to miss this wine. Last of a case bought a long time ago. Amazed the fruit is still there. I told my wife generally you can tell how old a wine is by the separation of dark color to edge turning lighter color. This wine still looked so saturated. Went great with bbq ribs. I'll need to see if these guys still make wine.
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11/3/2016 - bobadopolis Likes this wine: 93 Points
Spectacular.
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11/15/2015 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 93 Points
Rhone varietals at Cooking School (Loretta Paganini School of Cooking): A very nice showing for this wine. Seems to be getting close to peak but still retaining a great freshness. Inky purple in color. The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, slight charred wood and dried violets. On the palate, this has a real deep complexity to it. Fresh acidity. Black raspberry fruit. Its big and rip but not over the top. food friendly. Wonderful showing. Worth opening a bottle if you own any.
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4/20/2015 - quaffnov Likes this wine: 94 Points
Similar to my previous note but this time the decant time was several hours longer which allowed the wine to open up even further. Had the chance to compare it to the 2008 vintage of the same wine and found the 04' much more developed. Great wine!
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12/26/2014 - quaffnov Likes this wine: 94 Points
Hour and a half decant, very dark, basically black, in the glass. I loved the nose on this syrah, it's full of dark fruit, pepper and that fantastic fleshy odor that reminded me more of a northern Rhone version than a California version of this grape. The palate continues on with what the nose offered, adding a pinch of coffee and anise to the mix. A little acidity is obvious on the back of the tongue and the tannins are opulent. I can't say enough about the complexity of this wine, it starts out strong and fades a touch into the long finish, this is a robust, full bodied, lively syrah, find a bottle and enjoy.
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12/26/2014 - Mostholy Likes this wine: 93 Points
Damn that's smooth. Black pepper, black berry, red meat on both the nose and taste. The first drink has a nice bite of pepper up front with many other flavors peeking around the corner. A very nice complex blend. Low to zero tannins and very low acidity. The finish is nice but not overpowering. Legs start slow and then run to finish the race. This is a very nice wine. Drink if you can.
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7/26/2014 - Mscruggs wrote:
This wine is drinking great still but I'm thinking is in its prime will want to consume my remaining bottles over the next year.
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8/2/2012 - TEKinsider wrote: 95 Points
Silky, concentrated, dark and well balanced this wine is great! Very nice black fruit with a long silky finish. This one has plenty of life left.
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6/18/2012 - jupiter33 wrote: 93 Points
Silky smooth well aged Syrah. Dark fruit and pepper. Drank slightly chilled and it held the alcohol heat in check. I don't drink wines this big anymore but it was a reminder how good they can be when done right.
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12/10/2011 - Mscruggs wrote: 93 Points
Took this wine to a Christmas party and it was a huge hit, even though we were drinking out of plastic solo cups (now I know what to get my friend as a gift for next year!). Color was dark ruby and very opaque. A lot of dark fruit and very well integrated tannins. I had the last pour about two hours after opening the bottle and it was showing even better. I would recommend decanting this wine for at least an hour and of course consuming it out of a decent stem and this wine is probably a 94-95 pointer in my opinion.
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11/26/2011 - jupiter33 wrote: 91 Points
This bottle didn't stand up as well as the last bottle. Was not as smooth and integrated as the '03. Tasted with 06 as well.
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3/9/2010 - rdsboca wrote: 94 Points
This has everything going right. Thick juicy fruit of cherry mixed with pan dropping from a rare roastbeef. Some underbrush and a hint of green grass. Mouthcoating and very complex. Great drinking window for my tastes as I like these wines young. Note to self, try one agin in three months.
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2/27/2010 - cabrnay wrote: 94 Points
A Beautiful wine as always, see my past notes on this wine and vintage for details
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2/13/2010 - jupiter33 wrote: 94 Points
Decanted 1 hour, initial funk and alcohol blew off, well integrated smooth hedonistic bomb.
Drank over 2 days. Day 2 tannins still very present, finish is long, definite blueberry notes developed. Delicious.
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1/17/2010 - cabrnay wrote: 94 Points
Very special wine from Santa Barbara, it's hard to believe this is a syrah sometimes, it drinks like a very BIG wine, excellent, fruit, dry and tannin balance great structure and mouthfeel, I love drinking this wine and it's hard to stop picking from these when I go downstairs looking for a really rewarding wine to drink. According to the Stolpman web site, the 2006 is "by invite only", I need to stat working on that invite asap !
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7/7/2009 - TEKinsider wrote: 96 Points
Huge headonistic silky dark fruit, chocolate & vanilla with some heat that is well contained. Nice roundness from front to back with a long finish. This is drinking very well right now and will age for quite a while to come. What a great wine!!!
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3/2/2009 - idrinkvino wrote: 93 Points
Coffeed dark fruit. Not a wine for the timid. A solid QPR.
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8/15/2008 - compiq wrote: 94 Points
Paired with bbq ribs. An absolutely delicious wine, put a 2004 burgundy consumed earlier to shame
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8/9/2008 - IAMVLAD wrote: 94 Points
see my last note. still young, but tremendous concentration of fruit.
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6/22/2008 - blondon wrote: 95 Points
Decanted 1 hour, consumed over the following 3. Inky black color, roasted meat, scorched earth, black fruits. Extremely concentrated, rich, creamy mouthfeel, incredible finish. Reminiscent of a SQN in terms of mouthfeel and concentration. An extraordinary wine.
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6/15/2008 - Amerique wrote: 95 Points
delicious intense blackberry flavors with sweet vanilla oaky tinge, long finish
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5/27/2008 - IAMVLAD wrote: 96 Points
terrific. one of the best young syrahs that i've ever tasted. rich, concentraed fruit. well balanced. wish that i had more.
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1/3/2008 - idrinkvino wrote: 93 Points
Huge rasberry, strawberry and lavender fragrance. Possibly too much heat with this wine, but it's also the heat that makes it a giant experience.
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12/2/2007 - idrinkvino wrote: 93 Points
Serious, serious heat on this wine, but still enough fruit to make it an excellent drinking experience. Big all around.
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9/9/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 92 Points
OC Wine Dinner (Antonellos - Orange County, CA): A devilishly good wine. Dense aromas of blueberries, brown sugar, and white pepper. The explosive palate mirrors the nose with the addition of more mouth-watering spices. This wine could be reduced into a BBQ sauce and slathered on ribs, which is a very good thing in book. My WOTF. 92-93 points.
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9/9/2007 - idrinkvino wrote: 95 Points
Wildly stunning. Finally an American syrah that is bigger, yet more layered, developed and exciting than the huge Shiraz' from Australia. Very young - probably too much so right now, but guaranteed to blow your socks off.
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9/8/2007 - Frank Murray III wrote:
OC Wine Dinner--"Pair This" (Antonello In Costa Mesa): Last time I tasted this wine was in barrel up with Sashi Moorman, I believe as part of components that had yet to be assembled. If true, the wine shows as it did in barrel, which in the style I recalled it, rich, fat and intense--clearly all about CA. Stone fruit pit on the nose with some heat, a palate with powdery tannin, full of blackberry creme, tar and bittersweet chocolate. My notes have a smiley face next to them. Arnie, good choice and thank you!
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6/7/2007 - Cavalry19D wrote:
Gli Angeli, meaning ‘The Angels’ in Italian, is a purely hedonistic and wildly intense Syrah that I simply couldn’t put down. An opaque regal purple velvet in color and creamy texture to match was just the beginning of the seduction. Smoked aromas of ripe dark berry fruit and coco amazingly hid the heat of the 15.4% alcohol content. Even on the palate, not a trace of alcohol spoiled the libertine fruit expression of rich extracted blackberry and cassis. Hints of spiced oak and fine satin tannins integrate with the purity of fruit to create a full and polished mouthfeel finishing with a mineral and subtle chalk quality. The intense fruit persists well into a lengthy and lush finish that promises you won’t forget this sybaritic experience.
Note: The 2004 vintage was composed of 100% Syrah while the previous vintages had other grapes in a the blend.
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