Stood upright for several days and decanted off the sediment. Decanting brought out darker red fruit and some game notes. Leaning a bit on the riper side but showing good balance and freshness. Not overly complex but impressive for almost 20 years old.
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Surprisingly lively in the glass for a Cali Syrah at this age. Great nose of flowers, minerals and white pepper on the finish. Fantastic Syrah for the price.
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Decanted 1.5 hour. Still pretty vibrant nose with aromas of game, jasmine, raspberry and earth. Nose took a little while to get come around. Flavors of coffee, cherry, plum and game. A gamey cherry note hangs there on the 20-25 second finish.
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Huge fan of dumol. Their chards are great. Interestingly had the 2012 version Of this syrah at the west of the west fest last summer and it was spectacular. Yet this aged bottle in front of me is really the opposite winE. This one is very hot and new world and chunky and inky. 14.7%. Not my thing. The other was spicy and peppery and light bodied. did they change their style or did the vintage change or am I an inconsistent taster? Not sure.
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Dark purple red. Richly fruited in all aspects. Dark plum, blackberry, and slight currant. Touches of olive and vanilla. Nicely focused. Medium finish, trace of heat. Very new world.
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Good but definitely not the best DuMol has to offer. Decanted for two hours. Reasonable fruit, decently integrated, limited finish. We're big fans of DuMol but will look more to other offerings in the future
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Dark purple. Modest nose of stones, mineral,dark fruit, and spice. Still has firm tannins, evolving, not old. Decent complexity . Probably liked it better two years ago when more fruit forward. My last bottle of 06, but many of the younger bottles to go.
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Dark garnet color. Aromas of dark berries, meat and herbs. Blackberry, earth and pepper flavors. Not real complex but offers a full body and lengthy finish with a little heat.
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Still rather tanic for a syrah, it did not do a good job holding up to bbq ribs. I thought it lacked flavor for a syrah, I think it will only lose flavor as you wait for the tanins to calm down.
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Was hoping some magic would take place since our last bottle, but I'm afraid it never happened. Overall, consistent with our previous notes, but I don't see the tannins ever completely resolving at this point. Drink up.
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Served with our annual cassoulet. Tasted against a good Chateauneuf-du-Pape of the same year it held its own. Amazing intensity of flavor, soft tannins, the meatiness and spiciness complementing the food, very long finish. Opened up more the next day, with the black fruit still there. Some sediment thrown at the end--guess that's where the tannins went.
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Deep dark curple, cork stained so deeply thought it was black. Strong, perhaps the alcohol content. Deep and dark and dense but not thick on the palate. Sort of sweet somehow. But nice. Dumol remains one of my favorite go to American made syrah. Other than the heat, a good wine. but with all the new syrahs coming out of California, iI wonder if other producers are making similar quality wines for about half what this costs. But I will continue to purchase because I like the flavor profile. Agin perhaps another 5 years.
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Had this syrah more than 3 years ago now. My notes back then indicated this one was brash, tight, a little hot, and in general, needed more time to meld. So, the additional time in bottle did smooth out the hard edges and allow the fruit to shine. However, this syrah was pretty monolithic in that it offered deep, dark blackberry and plum fruit, but that's all there was to it. Overall, was easy to drink but lacked complexity.
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Everyone liked this wine including a few novice winos which affirms its juicy, fairly straight ahead character with a bit of spice. Give it a few minutes to open up. A fine partner to lighter bbq fare and drinking well right now.
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Continues to perform well. Great dark berry nose with currants, boysenberry, pepper, and coffee. Palate has plenty of pure dark fruits, acidity, and slightly coarse tannins. Lengthy berry filled finish. A nice fruit driven and structured syrah. Continues to come together and drink well--far exceptional to the '07 and '08 versions. Hard to say it's worth the price, with lots of competition at this price point.
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GAIS blind tasting. Overshadowed by more interesting wines. Monolithic blue fruit with some herbal and meaty syrah characteristics. Structured but not tannic at this stage.
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Tremendous cold-weather Cali Syrah...despite the rich fruit and the fairly high alcohol level (14.7%), it isn't jammy or oily, but is pure and lively with a medium-full body and some earth/spice notes. Clearly of extremely high quality and absolutely delicious.
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Loved it. Popped the cork and poured a glass. First drink had this intense licorice taste. As the night progressed the licorice dissipated and it became more dark berries or plum with pepper and then some fairly strong tannins emerged. long finish.
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As often happens with young California wine, the second or third try is not as exciting as the first. Nothing wrong with this one, but it seems more obvious that it's more of a simply fruit bomb than I remembered. Still, the bomb is filled with delicious plum and dark pear fruit like a good conserve you could put on your toast for breakfast.
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Pulled the cork and left in the bottle for 2 hours. Beautiful purple color in the glass with long legs. Dark fruits and a hint of cherry on palette. This wine is ready to drink now, but will easily sit a few more years.
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Spectacularly good California Syrah. Thick, rich, dense with super ripe but not over ripe, luscious dark berry fruit. Almost sweet but pulls back just in time. Terrific tannic structure. The oak is there but not overdone Just plain delicious. Completely ready now.
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Excellent. Concentrated, from its purple/blue color to its lengthy finish. Still primary but the structure and balance is impressive - not too hot or alcoholic, firm tannins and acidity. Dark berries and plum. It will be interesting to see if it develops more complexity with more time, but it is delicious to drink now with hearty food.
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I wish I had waited longer on this one. Big tannic, beautiful fruit. Tar, spice, graphite, leather, black and blueberries. really liked it but I would wait another 2 years to drink
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WOW -- what a great syrah -- this explodes with blueberries nad blackberries on the nose with no heat. Then you drink it and it gets better -- great deep color and falvor of berries but a lingering taste that lasts due to the great structure of this wine -- could not believe how good this was -- AMAZING!!
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Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of camphor, berries, white pepper, a bit of bacon fat and some notes of sandalwood. Flavors of black berries, cassis and black cherries. Medium acidity, medium to firm tannins, medium to full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold.
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Thanksgiving Wines (Farpointe Cellar): The nose had tar and leather, herbs and black currant. The palate was soft, and had black currant, cherry, and leather. It finished with tar and spice.
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thick texture - tons of carbon, graphite, lead, ink , minerals with currant and red fruit, touch of acid and spice on the finish - i found this to be less about the fruit and more mineral driven than most california syrahs although beware my tasting seems to differ from the CT majority here
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Good not great. Not a ton of depth to the wine. Decent fruit but not overly interesting. Certainly not woth the $60+ I paid retail when I was out of town.
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Popped and poured to wash the taste of the 2005 Reva out of my mouth. Classic nose and mouthfeel. Plums a la plancha, roasted meats, smoke and a hint of white pepper. Balanced and delicious.
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Red CApret: Coffee, coughsyrup, black berry--huge blue blk frt and earth--rich, teeth staining. Hiro got peppery spice in his glass. Grt, but very big.
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Consistent with previous tasting notes; this is all about pure fruit, but still no signs of secondary aromas and flavors. On the other hand, no signs of falling apart after 3.5 hours, so I don't know where this is going...
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This wine is a very dark hue of purple. Sweet black fruit and caramel aromas fill the glass. Plenty of black currant, blackberry and vanilla balanced nicely with a mineral edge and spicebox across the palate. The tannins are well integrated and linger well past the long finish. A lot going on but all in it's place. Another excellent wine from a very consistent producer. http://encompasswine.wordpress.com
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Big big wine. Almost thick in your glass - very concentrated. Dark purple/plum in color. Very strong syrah fruit - very fresh. Not necessarily complex but a very big fruit bomb
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Nearly black violet in the glass. Fruit forward nose with dark berries, plum, boysenberry, touch of blueberry, pepper, smoky sausage and vanilla oak. Huge fruit forward palate, with dark fruits, herbs, mocha, and heavy oak. More jammy than I recall the first bottle, but the alcohol stays in balance. Long complex finish with the dense care of dark fruits lasting 20sec or so, giving way to scorched earth, crushed rocks, and coffee. Seemed a little over the top and over extracted compared to my first bottle, but still a favorite. Could use a little time to integrate the fruit and oak a little better.
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DuMOL Prebuy (K&L Distributors): Usually not a huge fan of domestic Syrah, but this is fantastic! Liked better than the Eddie's Patch, for now. Super ripe blue plum and blueberry pie. Bacon fat and roasted meat. Super rich and concentrated with well balanced acidity. Tannins are in check and are well integrated with the extracted blackberry fruit. Well done.
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Deep and dark; teeth-staining; no overripe fruit here, but big, rich and earthy with mild plum/blueberry fruit and plenty of dirt, mineral and wood. Very well-balanced. Unlike many fruit-forward syrahs and shiraz.
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Crown Fall 08 Upscale Tasting (Boca Raton, FL): Rich plum, blackberry, and blueberry fruit that was not overripe or hot on the finish. Big, full bore style, but still smooth and well balanced
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Wonderful aroma of black cherries and crushed blackberries. Full mouthfeel. Getting some blueberries and vanilla. Blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream? The alcohol peaks through a little along with some leather and licorice root. Wonderful wine. Nice long finish. Nicely balanced. This is good.
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A bit more acidic and rustic than DuMOL's Syrahs usually are. It seems out of whack at this early stage, but the potential is there and a long decant may sort it out. Packed with blackberry, dirt, and chocolate. Teeth-staining but not tannic. There's a burn of alcohol toward the back, but that's not surprising at 14.7%. I like the long blueberry finish. (Tasted twice, on 10/7/08 and 4/26/09, with roughly consistent notes. But I did like it better the second time around. It has smoothed out some since the last time, and I noticed a lot more herb and velvety blackberry on the second occasion. I've raised my score by a point.)
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Incredibly dark color, almost opaque. Very expressive nose--most expressive I've had in a while, with some dark berries (blackberry and plum) with some smoky meat and tar. Palate is full bodied, firm but fine tannins, and rather complex adding more earth and oak to the nose. Finish is long, complex and structured, with the dark fruits hanging on and tar on the back-end. Really carries the high alcohol well. A bit young, but still approachable, I probably won't open the other for 1-2 years, I'm guessing this will peak in 4-5 years, for what my opinion is worth.
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Brought this bottle to the Salt Lick after popping the cork and giving the bottle a violent shake at home. It was open for biz when I arrived 1 hr later. This was an excellent pairing for moist brisket, ribs, and habanero sauce. Gobs of dark fruits and tar, but balanced. This even paired very well with blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I was amazed by that.
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Wow. Great inky black color. Licorice and tar on the nose. What's that? Some cedar too. Wonderful blueberry and black cherry flavors with some black tea, tar and licorice. A touch of vanilla on the finish. Only thing keeping this from a higher score is a bit of heat on the finish.
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8:00 opened: black pepper, dark fruits, tight and closed right now. Linger fruit finish with good tannins.
This bottle was drunk over a 15 hours period. You can tell there is massive fruit waiting to be unleashed here but it is rather buried beneath powerful, grippy tannins. We kept hoping during the day it would come around but the tannins just kept creeping up. It is young and I apprecaite that. I would suggest just tucking this little treat away for a couple of years. It is quite serious.
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In the glass, dark purplish red at the rim fading almost immediately to an impenetrable inky black. On the nose, notes of plum and a slight floral element. On the palate, smooth and pure dark fruit, with notes of vanilla, and a shot of black pepper on the moderately long finish. Not terribly complex at this point, but the alcohol and tannins are already well integrated. It will be interesting to see whether secondary nuances show up a few years down the road.
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Very deep red/purple color, nearly black. Super fruity bouquet, really long legs. Slightly chewy, super vanilla flavor - reminiscent of pudding. Slightly astringent, velvet mouthfeel. --rea
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12/10/2023 - fdub Likes this wine: 92 Points
Stood upright for several days and decanted off the sediment. Decanting brought out darker red fruit and some game notes. Leaning a bit on the riper side but showing good balance and freshness. Not overly complex but impressive for almost 20 years old.
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7/18/2019 - Bwalter17 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very nice and smooth. Still has a few years left.
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4/22/2019 - wino121 wrote: 93 Points
Just a touch out of balance, high abva, otherwise absolutely killer.
Drink now.
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6/4/2018 - Francophile1 wrote: 90 Points
Surprisingly lively in the glass for a Cali Syrah at this age. Great nose of flowers, minerals and white pepper on the finish. Fantastic Syrah for the price.
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4/6/2018 - JAKAFUTZ Likes this wine: 92 Points
Plenty of life left. A little tight to begin with but opened up nicely after an hour in the decanter. Very nice wine!
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8/20/2017 - brettshores wrote: 94 Points
Vanilla flavors and very soft
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6/16/2017 - UpfromtheCellar wrote: 90 Points
Mature and drinking nicely. Lacks the savory and garique of the real thing but smooth mineral and not flabby or heavy. Bottle didn't last long!
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11/25/2016 - JayAAllen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Drink up!
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9/5/2016 - davidsm Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very nice at this point of its life. Peppery and full bodied and tastes like it will be at its peak for a while.
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4/1/2016 - slywka7 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted 1.5 hour. Still pretty vibrant nose with aromas of game, jasmine, raspberry and earth. Nose took a little while to get come around. Flavors of coffee, cherry, plum and game. A gamey cherry note hangs there on the 20-25 second finish.
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4/19/2015 - jeffreylubowski wrote: 85 Points
Huge fan of dumol. Their chards are great. Interestingly had the 2012 version Of this syrah at the west of the west fest last summer and it was spectacular. Yet this aged bottle in front of me is really the opposite winE. This one is very hot and new world and chunky and inky. 14.7%. Not my thing. The other was spicy and peppery and light bodied. did they change their style or did the vintage change or am I an inconsistent taster? Not sure.
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11/21/2014 - gmat5497 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Not quite a well rounded as one would expect but okay.
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10/19/2014 - nav2u Likes this wine: 90 Points
PnP. Inky purple. A savory nose of black fruits, meat, and pepper. Black fruits and spice with a drying finish.
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4/13/2014 - leadpencil wrote: 92 Points
Boysenberry, pepper, chalk
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12/13/2013 - JeremyQ wrote: 87 Points
Drank side by side with the 06 Herman Story Nuts and Bolts Syrah. This was better, more balanced. While there is some oak, it was much held in check.
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11/28/2013 - nectar14 wrote: 90 Points
Dark purple red. Richly fruited in all aspects. Dark plum, blackberry, and slight currant. Touches of olive and vanilla. Nicely focused. Medium finish, trace of heat. Very new world.
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11/17/2013 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Continues to drink beautifully!
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9/21/2013 - Vinobc wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Rich nose of dark fruit. Tannins faded with some contact with air, overall, very good. Will decant my remaining bottle.
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9/4/2013 - AccaDacca wrote: 88 Points
A bit underwhelming, but perhaps needed more decant time. Big, but without depth. Fruity without nuance. Just ok.
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9/1/2013 - MDRwinos wrote: 88 Points
Good but definitely not the best DuMol has to offer. Decanted for two hours. Reasonable fruit, decently integrated, limited finish. We're big fans of DuMol but will look more to other offerings in the future
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8/9/2013 - rustyRudy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Dark purple. Modest nose of stones, mineral,dark fruit, and spice.
Still has firm tannins, evolving, not old. Decent complexity .
Probably liked it better two years ago when more fruit forward.
My last bottle of 06, but many of the younger bottles to go.
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3/20/2013 - davidspieker wrote: 90 Points
Dark garnet color. Aromas of dark berries, meat and herbs. Blackberry, earth and pepper flavors. Not real complex but offers a full body and lengthy finish with a little heat.
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3/2/2013 - Sternmat Likes this wine: 93 Points
Drinking really well now. Clean nose, tastes of berries and game to me. Good mine reality and structure.
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10/12/2012 - candyman wrote:
after 40 min. the heat mellowed and the tannis softend
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10/9/2012 - gmat5497 wrote: 91 Points
Really nice
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9/13/2012 - pelwart wrote: 84 Points
Still rather tanic for a syrah, it did not do a good job holding up to bbq ribs. I thought it lacked flavor for a syrah, I think it will only lose flavor as you wait for the tanins to calm down.
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8/2/2012 - pjhr wrote: 93 Points
Another delicious DuMol!
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6/17/2012 - jshufelt wrote: 88 Points
Was hoping some magic would take place since our last bottle, but I'm afraid it never happened. Overall, consistent with our previous notes, but I don't see the tannins ever completely resolving at this point. Drink up.
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5/24/2012 - silton wrote:
Drank some time ago but very impressed, nice dark fruit, funk, a little gloss and a little savage. 90-93.
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2/2/2012 - mazik wrote: 93 Points
Served with our annual cassoulet. Tasted against a good Chateauneuf-du-Pape of the same year it held its own. Amazing intensity of flavor, soft tannins, the meatiness and spiciness complementing the food, very long finish. Opened up more the next day, with the black fruit still there. Some sediment thrown at the end--guess that's where the tannins went.
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1/29/2012 - discotrog wrote: 92 Points
incredibly well made
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1/18/2012 - gmat5497 wrote: 88 Points
Very average. Nothing really stood out.
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12/24/2011 - pmarlo wrote: 91 Points
Deep dark curple, cork stained so deeply thought it was black. Strong, perhaps the alcohol content. Deep and dark and dense but not thick on the palate. Sort of sweet somehow. But nice. Dumol remains one of my favorite go to American made syrah. Other than the heat, a good wine. but with all the new syrahs coming out of California, iI wonder if other producers are making similar quality wines for about half what this costs. But I will continue to purchase because I like the flavor profile. Agin perhaps another 5 years.
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12/24/2011 - davidspieker wrote: 90 Points
Dark garnet color. Aromas of dark berries, meat and herbs. Blackberry flavor with noticeable heat and spice. Full body with lengthy finish.
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11/10/2011 - wineaux2 wrote: 88 Points
Had this syrah more than 3 years ago now. My notes back then indicated this one was brash, tight, a little hot, and in general, needed more time to meld. So, the additional time in bottle did smooth out the hard edges and allow the fruit to shine. However, this syrah was pretty monolithic in that it offered deep, dark blackberry and plum fruit, but that's all there was to it. Overall, was easy to drink but lacked complexity.
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10/25/2011 - AccaDacca wrote: 91 Points
Spicy, with some fruit poking thru. Needed some time to open up, but was terrific over the course of the evening.
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10/23/2011 - shakedown wrote: 91 Points
Everyone liked this wine including a few novice winos which affirms its juicy, fairly straight ahead character with a bit of spice. Give it a few minutes to open up. A fine partner to lighter bbq fare and drinking well right now.
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10/22/2011 - ews3 wrote: 91 Points
BerserkerFest NYC (Peking Duck House, NYC): really nice, fruit-forward profile. dark berry fruit. less noticeable heat than the KB.
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10/16/2011 - sdr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Just what I like in a California wine at this price point. Juicy, flavorful, slightly spicy; a real lesson in the Syrah grape.
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5/17/2011 - pjhr wrote: 94 Points
Wonderfully delicious syrah! Cassis, blackberry and floral aromas and flavors with wonderful complexity on the palate and finish.
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5/15/2011 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
Continues to perform well. Great dark berry nose with currants, boysenberry, pepper, and coffee. Palate has plenty of pure dark fruits, acidity, and slightly coarse tannins. Lengthy berry filled finish. A nice fruit driven and structured syrah. Continues to come together and drink well--far exceptional to the '07 and '08 versions. Hard to say it's worth the price, with lots of competition at this price point.
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3/13/2011 - MJTed wrote: 88 Points
GAIS blind tasting. Overshadowed by more interesting wines. Monolithic blue fruit with some herbal and meaty syrah characteristics. Structured but not tannic at this stage.
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12/31/2010 - jshufelt wrote: 90 Points
Consistent with previous tasting notes.
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12/18/2010 - pvetsch wrote: 92 Points
Tremendous cold-weather Cali Syrah...despite the rich fruit and the fairly high alcohol level (14.7%), it isn't jammy or oily, but is pure and lively with a medium-full body and some earth/spice notes. Clearly of extremely high quality and absolutely delicious.
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12/18/2010 - MrD Likes this wine: 91 Points
Loved it. Popped the cork and poured a glass. First drink had this intense licorice taste. As the night progressed the licorice dissipated and it became more dark berries or plum with pepper and then some fairly strong tannins emerged. long finish.
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12/11/2010 - sdr Likes this wine: 88 Points
As often happens with young California wine, the second or third try is not as exciting as the first. Nothing wrong with this one, but it seems more obvious that it's more of a simply fruit bomb than I remembered. Still, the bomb is filled with delicious plum and dark pear fruit like a good conserve you could put on your toast for breakfast.
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9/18/2010 - Kaizah wrote: 93 Points
Pulled the cork and left in the bottle for 2 hours. Beautiful purple color in the glass with long legs. Dark fruits and a hint of cherry on palette. This wine is ready to drink now, but will easily sit a few more years.
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9/5/2010 - sdr Likes this wine: 94 Points
Spectacularly good California Syrah. Thick, rich, dense with super ripe but not over ripe, luscious dark berry fruit. Almost sweet but pulls back just in time. Terrific tannic structure. The oak is there but not overdone Just plain delicious. Completely ready now.
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8/26/2010 - Wino from Michigan wrote: 93 Points
Very good -- I cannot believe how good this wine is and how great it is drinking now!
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8/7/2010 - sdr Likes this wine: 91 Points
Excellent. Concentrated, from its purple/blue color to its lengthy finish. Still primary but the structure and balance is impressive - not too hot or alcoholic, firm tannins and acidity. Dark berries and plum. It will be interesting to see if it develops more complexity with more time, but it is delicious to drink now with hearty food.
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3/27/2010 - Flav333 wrote: 93 Points
Boom.
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3/6/2010 - TJolley wrote:
3-6-2010 Kim P's B-day party
Wine #2
Amazing aroma that does not pass on to the palate.
Update: I have removed my rating on this wine, seeing new notes on how it is drinking makes me believe we had a flawed bottle.
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2/13/2010 - jtcseventysix wrote: 90 Points
Ripe currant fruit, fig and mild spice on the nose; good extraction with rich, spicy dark fruit; syrupy in texture; lingering finish.
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2/2/2010 - jjmurray23 wrote: 93 Points
Wonerful Syrah. Still too young. Try again next year.
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1/12/2010 - ptelgenh wrote: 92 Points
I wish I had waited longer on this one. Big tannic, beautiful fruit. Tar, spice, graphite, leather, black and blueberries. really liked it but I would wait another 2 years to drink
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12/24/2009 - Wino from Michigan wrote: 95 Points
WOW -- what a great syrah -- this explodes with blueberries nad blackberries on the nose with no heat. Then you drink it and it gets better -- great deep color and falvor of berries but a lingering taste that lasts due to the great structure of this wine -- could not believe how good this was -- AMAZING!!
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12/4/2009 - Snarf wrote: 90 Points
Last glass better than the first. Wait another year or two on the second bottle?
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11/21/2009 - wineismylife wrote: 90 Points
A few Saturday afternoon tasting notes...11/21/2009: WIML90
Tasted November 21, 2009 at a retail tasting.
Dark garnet to purple color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of camphor, berries, white pepper, a bit of bacon fat and some notes of sandalwood. Flavors of black berries, cassis and black cherries. Medium acidity, medium to firm tannins, medium to full bodied. Drink now with some air or continue to hold.
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11/21/2009 - mmurry wrote: 92 Points
Thanksgiving Wines (Farpointe Cellar): The nose had tar and leather, herbs and black currant. The palate was soft, and had black currant, cherry, and leather. It finished with tar and spice.
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11/1/2009 - S. Lorin wrote: 90 Points
thick texture - tons of carbon, graphite, lead, ink , minerals with currant and red fruit, touch of acid and spice on the finish - i found this to be less about the fruit and more mineral driven than most california syrahs
although beware my tasting seems to differ from the CT majority here
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10/4/2009 - rdsboca wrote: 87 Points
Good not great. Not a ton of depth to the wine. Decent fruit but not overly interesting. Certainly not woth the $60+ I paid retail when I was out of town.
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9/12/2009 - blondon wrote:
Popped and poured to wash the taste of the 2005 Reva out of my mouth. Classic nose and mouthfeel. Plums a la plancha, roasted meats, smoke and a hint of white pepper. Balanced and delicious.
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6/24/2009 - Drankthewholebottle wrote: 92 Points
Outstanding wine, but lost some points for value. Why the hell did I buyanother?
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6/20/2009 - peternelson wrote: 92 Points
Red CApret: Coffee, coughsyrup, black berry--huge blue blk frt and earth--rich, teeth staining. Hiro got peppery spice in his glass. Grt, but very big.
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5/22/2009 - jshufelt wrote: 90 Points
Consistent with previous tasting notes; this is all about pure fruit, but still no signs of secondary aromas and flavors. On the other hand, no signs of falling apart after 3.5 hours, so I don't know where this is going...
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5/20/2009 - whynblog wrote: 90 Points
This wine is a very dark hue of purple. Sweet black fruit and caramel aromas fill the glass. Plenty of black currant, blackberry and vanilla balanced nicely with a mineral edge and spicebox across the palate. The tannins are well integrated and linger well past the long finish. A lot going on but all in it's place. Another excellent wine from a very consistent producer.
http://encompasswine.wordpress.com
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5/3/2009 - jrf wrote: 92 Points
Big big wine. Almost thick in your glass - very concentrated. Dark purple/plum in color. Very strong syrah fruit - very fresh. Not necessarily complex but a very big fruit bomb
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2/20/2009 - MJTed wrote: 89 Points
Big and beefy with black fruit, toast and smoke. Well-structred but not overly tannic. May improve complexity with age.
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2/7/2009 - Nutty08 wrote: 91 Points
Nearly black violet in the glass. Fruit forward nose with dark berries, plum, boysenberry, touch of blueberry, pepper, smoky sausage and vanilla oak. Huge fruit forward palate, with dark fruits, herbs, mocha, and heavy oak. More jammy than I recall the first bottle, but the alcohol stays in balance. Long complex finish with the dense care of dark fruits lasting 20sec or so, giving way to scorched earth, crushed rocks, and coffee. Seemed a little over the top and over extracted compared to my first bottle, but still a favorite. Could use a little time to integrate the fruit and oak a little better.
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2/6/2009 - Drankthewholebottle wrote: 95 Points
Outstanding, but not quite extraordinary. @ $55, I won't be buying too much more.
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1/6/2009 - Deb293 wrote: 92 Points
Mighty tasty and still very young. Rich and earthy; should have waited.
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12/20/2008 - jjclips2 wrote: 93 Points
DuMOL Prebuy (K&L Distributors): Usually not a huge fan of domestic Syrah, but this is fantastic! Liked better than the Eddie's Patch, for now. Super ripe blue plum and blueberry pie. Bacon fat and roasted meat. Super rich and concentrated with well balanced acidity. Tannins are in check and are well integrated with the extracted blackberry fruit. Well done.
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12/11/2008 - jtcseventysix wrote: 90 Points
Deep and dark; teeth-staining; no overripe fruit here, but big, rich and earthy with mild plum/blueberry fruit and plenty of dirt, mineral and wood. Very well-balanced. Unlike many fruit-forward syrahs and shiraz.
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11/8/2008 - vinole wrote: 92 Points
Crown Fall 08 Upscale Tasting (Boca Raton, FL): Rich plum, blackberry, and blueberry fruit that was not overripe or hot on the finish. Big, full bore style, but still smooth and well balanced
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10/31/2008 - ptelgenh wrote: 93 Points
Very pleased with this bottle and it will only get better with age. Dense and dark. Cedar and vanilla with spicy nutmeg and blueberries. long finish.
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10/18/2008 - t_moderne wrote: 92 Points
Wonderful aroma of black cherries and crushed blackberries. Full mouthfeel. Getting some blueberries and vanilla. Blueberry pie with vanilla ice cream? The alcohol peaks through a little along with some leather and licorice root. Wonderful wine. Nice long finish. Nicely balanced. This is good.
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10/7/2008 - Stephan O wrote: 91 Points
A bit more acidic and rustic than DuMOL's Syrahs usually are. It seems out of whack at this early stage, but the potential is there and a long decant may sort it out. Packed with blackberry, dirt, and chocolate. Teeth-staining but not tannic. There's a burn of alcohol toward the back, but that's not surprising at 14.7%. I like the long blueberry finish. (Tasted twice, on 10/7/08 and 4/26/09, with roughly consistent notes. But I did like it better the second time around. It has smoothed out some since the last time, and I noticed a lot more herb and velvety blackberry on the second occasion. I've raised my score by a point.)
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8/28/2008 - Nutty08 wrote: 92 Points
Incredibly dark color, almost opaque. Very expressive nose--most expressive I've had in a while, with some dark berries (blackberry and plum) with some smoky meat and tar. Palate is full bodied, firm but fine tannins, and rather complex adding more earth and oak to the nose. Finish is long, complex and structured, with the dark fruits hanging on and tar on the back-end. Really carries the high alcohol well. A bit young, but still approachable, I probably won't open the other for 1-2 years, I'm guessing this will peak in 4-5 years, for what my opinion is worth.
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8/3/2008 - jwebtx wrote: 91 Points
Brought this bottle to the Salt Lick after popping the cork and giving the bottle a violent shake at home. It was open for biz when I arrived 1 hr later. This was an excellent pairing for moist brisket, ribs, and habanero sauce. Gobs of dark fruits and tar, but balanced. This even paired very well with blackberry cobbler with vanilla ice cream. I was amazed by that.
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7/7/2008 - t_moderne wrote: 92 Points
Wow. Great inky black color. Licorice and tar on the nose. What's that? Some cedar too. Wonderful blueberry and black cherry flavors with some black tea, tar and licorice. A touch of vanilla on the finish. Only thing keeping this from a higher score is a bit of heat on the finish.
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6/15/2008 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
8:00 opened: black pepper, dark fruits, tight and closed right now. Linger fruit finish with good tannins.
This bottle was drunk over a 15 hours period. You can tell there is massive fruit waiting to be unleashed here but it is rather buried beneath powerful, grippy tannins. We kept hoping during the day it would come around but the tannins just kept creeping up. It is young and I apprecaite that. I would suggest just tucking this little treat away for a couple of years. It is quite serious.
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5/30/2008 - jshufelt wrote: 90 Points
In the glass, dark purplish red at the rim fading almost immediately to an impenetrable inky black. On the nose, notes of plum and a slight floral element. On the palate, smooth and pure dark fruit, with notes of vanilla, and a shot of black pepper on the moderately long finish. Not terribly complex at this point, but the alcohol and tannins are already well integrated. It will be interesting to see whether secondary nuances show up a few years down the road.
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5/1/2008 - mike_d wrote: 91 Points
Very deep red/purple color, nearly black. Super fruity bouquet, really long legs. Slightly chewy, super vanilla flavor - reminiscent of pudding. Slightly astringent, velvet mouthfeel. --rea
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