Given the rave reviews of the very young 2016 Pax Sonoma Hillsides Syrah, which I managed to try a few weeks ago, I decided to see how the same wine tastes in a good vintage at age 10. Cheaper, too.
Still very deeply colored, the 2006 has a nose of pomegranate and spice cake, vanilla, lilac (and like lilac, a little goes a long way: this particular aroma is a bit overpowering). Richly textured, almost a bit viscous. The syrah fruit here is on the tart side, which saves the wine. Nice persistence on the palate.
My take: the 2016 is cut from the same pattern, and will be a clone of the 2006 at age 10. A good syrah, easily justifies my 90pt score. But just as I'm skeptical that the 2016 merits 100pts, this 10 year old wine is great, but doesn't justify more than 90. A boire, but no urgency.
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Wonderful Rhone Style Cote Rotie Rhone �� made in the US. A lot of cherries and dried meat also some initial sourness. Very interesting, complex finish. First nose wet muddy soil quickly replaced by dominant cheerie fruit. This wine is a perfect companionship to meat pot dishes while the wind, rain pours down outside
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this wine has a lot going on but i find it hard to get past the tart cherry with seems to overwhelm my tastebuds. I would have much rather tried it in its youth and felt with the tannins. Or maybe I should have waited another few years and see what develops then. Ah but the mystery of it all. Sorry but can't make much recommendation here. I have several PAX that are coming up on ten years and will start drinking them now unless otherwise cautioned against it.
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Dark in color with a big whiff of dark sour fruit up front, developing an intruding eucalyptus note but never losing the sour quality. Fairly large-scaled and somewhat firm on the palate with dark fruit, again, a bit sour, and a bitterness on the finish. Guessed CA Syrah.
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Had to have some more. Need to let this breath a bit then awesomeness appears. This wine is more of a Rhone style Syrah.
Deep garnet in the glass. Nose of blueberries, black cherry, menthol and smoke. Palate of unripe blueberries, meat, olive, herbs, pepper and some acidity and minerality on the tail end. This is a very medium bodied wine but has a wonderful long finish and the tannins are suptle firm
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What a difference 3 years make. This wine is showing itself to be more of a Rhone style Syrah.
Deep garnet in the glass. Nose of blueberries, black cherry, menthol and smoke. Palate of unripe blueberries, meat, olive, herbs, pepper and some acidity and minerality on the tail end. This is a very medium bodied wine but has a wonderful long finish and the tannins are suptle firm.
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Decanted about an hour. Deep purple color. Grilled meat, black pepper, dried herbs, blackberries, baking spices, olives, and just a bit of licorice on the very savory nose. Medium body with fairly solid, ripe tannins and very nice acidity. More about the meaty, spicy, savory elements on the palate as the fruit takes the back seat. A bit of blackberry comes through on the finish but only as a counter point to the savory elements. Not your typical California Syrah, to me this is much more like a good Cote Rotie. I like this, a lot.
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P&P, decanted in the glass 30 mins or so, the obvious nose of cedar, pencil lead, and crushed blue fruits, I had one about 6 months ago and it was noticeably more mature, this one had perfect rim color and was fresh. In fact it was better the second day gassed..over all a great PQR from Pax. I have 3 more and will be interested to see how they evolve!
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Hmmm. This seemed over the hill. Still some of the funk but lacking in the fruit and focus that I remembered. If that's the case, this went downhill fast. I hope not since I have several more bottles in the cellar. I hope this was just an off bottle.
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Very unusual profile for a California Syrah. Tasted aged beyond its years, but in a pleasant interesting way. Old world in style, but almost more reminiscent of an aged Bordeaux than a Rhone. Lots of herbal, vegetal notes, with fairly subdued fruit and nice acidity. Probably not for everyone, but it worked for me.
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Inky dark, slightly funky nose. Olives and iodine on day 1, but much more approachable and enjoyabe on night too. Dense juice with nice complexity adn good minerality on top of pleasing fruit
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Popped and poured at one of our parking lot tailgates. A nice melange of pepper. cherry and blueberry flavors. Quite smooth and at a very good point in the development curve. Color is dark and mouth feel is very smooth. There was a bit of astringent tanin on the tongue, which I had not noticed in previous bottles, but maybe that was the result of the lack of decant and drinking it out of a plastic wine glass. I got this for $20 when Joe Donlan was doing a cellar dump at Pax, and it was a rfeal bargain. I should have bought a barrel of it.
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Wow! What an incredible deal for$12.99! More like a Rhone wine than California. Some nice earthy funk on the nose. Blackberry, cherry and currant with a hint o spice on the palate. Nice structure and a good balance of tannin and acidity. Drinking great now but clearly has the legs to go longer. I bought 6 at this price and should have bought more.
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5 hour decant. Firing all cylinders. I got this as a part of Pax's cellar cleanj out for $20, which was a steal. I would not have beenj disappointed at $40. This is delicious juice with lots of fruit without banging the tongue too hard
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This wine had a great nose of cedar, a touch of smoke, and I was really looking forward to tasting, and it was dead. No substance or structure at all. It has been stored propperly since purchase, but I am wondering about it's provenance before purchase. I have a few more bottles of this, and I look forward to the next bottle. I hope this was just one bad bottle. In fairness to the wine, I am not going to give it a score.
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Ok, but not very special. True syrah traits of Iodine and some minerality, retained a slighly sour taste that some found offensive and wound up opening another bottle for guests.
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Bought this for $20 as Pax was dumping wines from their inventory. A real bargain at that price. This was not as complex as the earlier vintage Sonoma Hillsides, which was a syrah/greache blend, but it was still very enjoyable. Blueberries, red plum fruit, pepper spice, and a bit of chocolate, perhaps. Decanted for an hour and perhaps could have used longer. Very nice mouth feel and smoother than you might expect given the lack of age. I'm glad they decided to blow this out ikn an offer to the mailing list instead of giving to a wholesaler for that price and watch it reach $35 in the stores.
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Let this bad boy open up before tempting to drink.
Day 1 was very closed & tannic. Day 2 it showed its potential of a complex syrah. Nose of blueberries, black cherry, menthol and smoke. Palate of unripe blueberries, meat, olive, herbs, and some acidity and minerality on the tail end. The finish is above average and the tannins are extremely firm.
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This bottle had less complexity than others and was just mostly grape flavors without much else. Maybe it's because I've now tried most of the single vineyard Pax Syrahs, and this just doesn't do much for me anymore. I'll stop purchasing these and add more Carlisle Syrah for less money.
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Notes from day 2. A little more open than on day 1, but still much more of a complex bottle of syrah instead of the fruit driven typical Cali bottles. On the nose there is blueberries, black cherry, menthol and smoke. On the palate there is unripe blueberries, meat, olive, herbs, and some acidity and minerality on the tail end. The finish is above average and the tannins aren't really noticable at all. Still on the fence about the bottle, solid bottle, but not sure if it is worth the price of admission. 50+5+11+16+9
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Deep red with purple edges. At first the nose shows mostly blueberry and winey notes. Later there is hints of smoke, and more syrah aromas, later a bit of chocolate. The flavours are a bit dull and there is almost no tannins and a clipped finish. Missing something in the middle. Pretty mediocre on this day.
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This is the second one of the three I purchased. I dumped the first because it smelled like band aids. Well, either I'm just unlucky with 2 corked bottles, or that band aid smell is just part of the wine. In any event, maybe this is a style/personal preference thing, but I am just not getting it with this wine.
The nose is a meaty/band aid/funk that just doesn't appeal to me. There are some black fruits that lack depth, pretty muted. What fruit is there is quickly overwhelmed by some chalky/drying tannins. Off sour finish. I'm trying to find something I like, but it just isnt happening. The other side of thankfully I only have one left.
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This is the style of Syrah that I love. Funky nose, deep purple hue, rich and complex. Decanted for 3 hours. Flavor profile dramaticaly changed over the course of the next. Very nice wine. Will seek more from this producer.
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Deep ruby/purple. Delicious complex and long lived on the palate. Dark fruit and depth worthy of the price drank even better over the 2nd day and it would have made a 1/3rd. Soft tannins but will age for quite some time.
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Very smokey nose at first, but that settled down a bit after 2 hours of decanting. Very nice wine that is still very young. I certainly got the tannins from the stems that Pax mentions on their website. Very nice entry level Pax and I will buy more in the future.
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This wine is light compared to other PAX syrahs but a good representation of Pax's style. We had this wine and a 2005 Griffin's Lair (GL) with some skirt steak topped with blue cheese and olive oil. Compared to the Griffin's Lair this might as well been bottled water--not a bad thing just that the GL was so big and extracted. On the nose the Sonoma Hill has plenty of fruit and crushed black pepper. The mid palate was bright and crispy though but like Sauv Blanc, the cherry and plums were very prominent but they didn't stick to the side of your mouth like the GL. The finish was wonderfully smooth with the usual fruit that you expect from Pax. The finish was a bit short but probably because it went head-to-head with the GL. Overall an awesome Syrah from CA a good entry point if you don't want to drop $60+ for the Alder Spring or Griffin's Lair.
I like it... A LOT.
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bright purple color in the glass. black cherries and smoke explode on the nose. strong tannins, a bit low on acid, but huge flavors of plums, earth, herbs and meat. very long finish. dense fruit, but this syrah packs serious complexity. just gorgeous, and it got better after being opened for a few hours.
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Deep purple color, thick almost viscous. black raspberry aromas with scorched earth and dried herbs. Rich, jammy fruit with roasted nut flavors. I normally don't go for big superripe reds but this wine is surprisingly balanced. I tasted this blind and thought it could be a cote-rotie. The vibrancy of the fruit suggested a small bit of viognier, but the label says 100% syrah.
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This was drinking much better than the first bottle. Did not need as much time in the decanter (really no need). Nose of Welch's grape juice along with some other berry fruit. Grape juice, raspberry and blackberry on the palate with some nice oak and a hint of smoke and leather. Very good.
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9/23/2018 - christianderivel wrote:
Gee,......two years too late. Over the hill, passed its time. My mistake.
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5/25/2018 - KPB wrote: 90 Points
Given the rave reviews of the very young 2016 Pax Sonoma Hillsides Syrah, which I managed to try a few weeks ago, I decided to see how the same wine tastes in a good vintage at age 10. Cheaper, too.
Still very deeply colored, the 2006 has a nose of pomegranate and spice cake, vanilla, lilac (and like lilac, a little goes a long way: this particular aroma is a bit overpowering). Richly textured, almost a bit viscous. The syrah fruit here is on the tart side, which saves the wine. Nice persistence on the palate.
My take: the 2016 is cut from the same pattern, and will be a clone of the 2006 at age 10. A good syrah, easily justifies my 90pt score. But just as I'm skeptical that the 2016 merits 100pts, this 10 year old wine is great, but doesn't justify more than 90. A boire, but no urgency.
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10/31/2016 - wino121 wrote: 88 Points
Rough around the edge, tannic but in good shape age wise..maybe in an odd spot.
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3/7/2015 - Kris G Likes this wine: 92 Points
smoke, very long and rich, classy wine, full
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1/10/2015 - Roggen Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wonderful Rhone Style Cote Rotie Rhone �� made in the US. A lot of cherries and dried meat also some initial sourness. Very interesting, complex finish. First nose wet muddy soil quickly replaced by dominant cheerie fruit. This wine is a perfect companionship to meat pot dishes while the wind, rain pours down outside
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1/4/2015 - dutradan@msn.com Likes this wine: 89 Points
this wine has a lot going on but i find it hard to get past the tart cherry with seems to overwhelm my tastebuds. I would have much rather tried it in its youth and felt with the tannins. Or maybe I should have waited another few years and see what develops then. Ah but the mystery of it all. Sorry but can't make much recommendation here. I have several PAX that are coming up on ten years and will start drinking them now unless otherwise cautioned against it.
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8/1/2014 - AllRed wrote:
Dark in color with a big whiff of dark sour fruit up front, developing an intruding eucalyptus note but never losing the sour quality. Fairly large-scaled and somewhat firm on the palate with dark fruit, again, a bit sour, and a bitterness on the finish. Guessed CA Syrah.
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10/31/2013 - wino121 wrote: 89 Points
It was disjointed middle to end, not sure this will ever correct its self.
But it was still fresh and the color was bright on the edges.
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2/11/2013 - yofog wrote: 91 Points
Bretty, not too soft, delightful. Has real character.
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11/19/2012 - Wino Joe wrote: 92 Points
Had to have some more. Need to let this breath a bit then awesomeness appears. This wine is more of a Rhone style Syrah.
Deep garnet in the glass. Nose of blueberries, black cherry, menthol and smoke. Palate of unripe blueberries, meat, olive, herbs, pepper and some acidity and minerality on the tail end. This is a very medium bodied wine but has a wonderful long finish and the tannins are suptle firm
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11/11/2012 - Wino Joe wrote: 92 Points
What a difference 3 years make. This wine is showing itself to be more of a Rhone style Syrah.
Deep garnet in the glass. Nose of blueberries, black cherry, menthol and smoke. Palate of unripe blueberries, meat, olive, herbs, pepper and some acidity and minerality on the tail end. This is a very medium bodied wine but has a wonderful long finish and the tannins are suptle firm.
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5/8/2012 - MichaelF wrote:
Totally CORKED
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3/24/2012 - cbbrown3 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted about an hour. Deep purple color. Grilled meat, black pepper, dried herbs, blackberries, baking spices, olives, and just a bit of licorice on the very savory nose. Medium body with fairly solid, ripe tannins and very nice acidity. More about the meaty, spicy, savory elements on the palate as the fruit takes the back seat. A bit of blackberry comes through on the finish but only as a counter point to the savory elements. Not your typical California Syrah, to me this is much more like a good Cote Rotie. I like this, a lot.
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3/12/2012 - wino121 wrote: 90 Points
P&P, decanted in the glass 30 mins or so, the obvious nose of cedar, pencil lead, and crushed blue fruits, I had one about 6 months ago and it was noticeably more mature, this one had perfect rim color and was fresh. In fact it was better the second day gassed..over all a great PQR from Pax. I have 3 more and will be interested to see how they evolve!
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2/23/2012 - marsilius wrote: flawed
corked. Very sad.
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2/5/2012 - zheem wrote:
One of the not so bad, not so special, Pax releases. Has aged quickly compared to other offerings.
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12/12/2011 - kmack wrote:
Hmmm. This seemed over the hill. Still some of the funk but lacking in the fruit and focus that I remembered. If that's the case, this went downhill fast. I hope not since I have several more bottles in the cellar. I hope this was just an off bottle.
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10/4/2011 - stevenjstein Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very unusual profile for a California Syrah. Tasted aged beyond its years, but in a pleasant interesting way. Old world in style, but almost more reminiscent of an aged Bordeaux than a Rhone. Lots of herbal, vegetal notes, with fairly subdued fruit and nice acidity. Probably not for everyone, but it worked for me.
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8/6/2011 - kennyg wrote: 92 Points
Inky dark, slightly funky nose. Olives and iodine on day 1, but much more approachable and enjoyabe on night too. Dense juice with nice complexity adn good minerality on top of pleasing fruit
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9/20/2010 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured at one of our parking lot tailgates. A nice melange of pepper. cherry and blueberry flavors. Quite smooth and at a very good point in the development curve. Color is dark and mouth feel is very smooth. There was a bit of astringent tanin on the tongue, which I had not noticed in previous bottles, but maybe that was the result of the lack of decant and drinking it out of a plastic wine glass. I got this for $20 when Joe Donlan was doing a cellar dump at Pax, and it was a rfeal bargain. I should have bought a barrel of it.
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8/21/2010 - kmack wrote:
Wow! What an incredible deal for$12.99! More like a Rhone wine than California. Some nice earthy funk on the nose. Blackberry, cherry and currant with a hint o spice on the palate. Nice structure and a good balance of tannin and acidity. Drinking great now but clearly has the legs to go longer. I bought 6 at this price and should have bought more.
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6/19/2010 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 91 Points
5 hour decant. Firing all cylinders. I got this as a part of Pax's cellar cleanj out for $20, which was a steal. I would not have beenj disappointed at $40. This is delicious juice with lots of fruit without banging the tongue too hard
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1/30/2010 - Adonisd1956 wrote:
This wine had a great nose of cedar, a touch of smoke, and I was really looking forward to tasting, and it was dead. No substance or structure at all. It has been stored propperly since purchase, but I am wondering about it's provenance before purchase. I have a few more bottles of this, and I look forward to the next bottle. I hope this was just one bad bottle. In fairness to the wine, I am not going to give it a score.
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1/3/2010 - zheem wrote:
Ok, but not very special. True syrah traits of Iodine and some minerality, retained a slighly sour taste that some found offensive and wound up opening another bottle for guests.
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12/26/2009 - nelsstromborg wrote: 93 Points
Opened XMAS Eve 2009. Wine had a very nice deep inky purple. Nice long finish with a lot of fruit on the front palette. Very good wine.
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10/24/2009 - J @ y H @ c k wrote: 90 Points
Bought this for $20 as Pax was dumping wines from their inventory. A real bargain at that price. This was not as complex as the earlier vintage Sonoma Hillsides, which was a syrah/greache blend, but it was still very enjoyable. Blueberries, red plum fruit, pepper spice, and a bit of chocolate, perhaps. Decanted for an hour and perhaps could have used longer. Very nice mouth feel and smoother than you might expect given the lack of age. I'm glad they decided to blow this out ikn an offer to the mailing list instead of giving to a wholesaler for that price and watch it reach $35 in the stores.
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10/14/2009 - Wino Joe wrote: 90 Points
Let this bad boy open up before tempting to drink.
Day 1 was very closed & tannic. Day 2 it showed its potential of a complex syrah. Nose of blueberries, black cherry, menthol and smoke. Palate of unripe blueberries, meat, olive, herbs, and some acidity and minerality on the tail end. The finish is above average and the tannins are extremely firm.
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8/23/2009 - stlbites wrote: 91 Points
Good. Blueberries and smoke. Maybe a little overpriced though.
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4/20/2009 - danseng wrote: 87 Points
This bottle had less complexity than others and was just mostly grape flavors without much else. Maybe it's because I've now tried most of the single vineyard Pax Syrahs, and this just doesn't do much for me anymore. I'll stop purchasing these and add more Carlisle Syrah for less money.
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4/5/2009 - manonthemoon wrote: 91 Points
Notes from day 2. A little more open than on day 1, but still much more of a complex bottle of syrah instead of the fruit driven typical Cali bottles. On the nose there is blueberries, black cherry, menthol and smoke. On the palate there is unripe blueberries, meat, olive, herbs, and some acidity and minerality on the tail end. The finish is above average and the tannins aren't really noticable at all. Still on the fence about the bottle, solid bottle, but not sure if it is worth the price of admission. 50+5+11+16+9
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3/21/2009 - David J Cooper wrote:
Deep red with purple edges. At first the nose shows mostly blueberry and winey notes. Later there is hints of smoke, and more syrah aromas, later a bit of chocolate. The flavours are a bit dull and there is almost no tannins and a clipped finish. Missing something in the middle. Pretty mediocre on this day.
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2/13/2009 - tim_c wrote: 85 Points
This is the second one of the three I purchased. I dumped the first because it smelled like band aids. Well, either I'm just unlucky with 2 corked bottles, or that band aid smell is just part of the wine. In any event, maybe this is a style/personal preference thing, but I am just not getting it with this wine.
The nose is a meaty/band aid/funk that just doesn't appeal to me. There are some black fruits that lack depth, pretty muted. What fruit is there is quickly overwhelmed by some chalky/drying tannins. Off sour finish. I'm trying to find something I like, but it just isnt happening. The other side of thankfully I only have one left.
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12/12/2008 - emdub wrote: 92 Points
This is the style of Syrah that I love. Funky nose, deep purple hue, rich and complex. Decanted for 3 hours. Flavor profile dramaticaly changed over the course of the next. Very nice wine. Will seek more from this producer.
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11/18/2008 - winelovr2001 wrote: 92 Points
Black fruit, menthol, and spice. Ethyl acetate is definitely there, but doesn't detract too much.
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10/31/2008 - jimmythedentist wrote: 92 Points
Deep ruby/purple. Delicious complex and long lived on the palate. Dark fruit and depth worthy of the price drank even better over the 2nd day and it would have made a 1/3rd. Soft tannins but will age for quite some time.
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5/19/2008 - danseng wrote: 89 Points
Very smokey nose at first, but that settled down a bit after 2 hours of decanting. Very nice wine that is still very young. I certainly got the tannins from the stems that Pax mentions on their website. Very nice entry level Pax and I will buy more in the future.
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5/13/2008 - vinole wrote: 91 Points
Nice juicy currant flavors on a medium body frame with some smooth tannins on the finish. Should improve with a few years of bottle age.
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5/10/2008 - kietkopelli wrote: 92 Points
This wine is light compared to other PAX syrahs but a good representation of Pax's style. We had this wine and a 2005 Griffin's Lair (GL) with some skirt steak topped with blue cheese and olive oil. Compared to the Griffin's Lair this might as well been bottled water--not a bad thing just that the GL was so big and extracted. On the nose the Sonoma Hill has plenty of fruit and crushed black pepper. The mid palate was bright and crispy though but like Sauv Blanc, the cherry and plums were very prominent but they didn't stick to the side of your mouth like the GL. The finish was wonderfully smooth with the usual fruit that you expect from Pax. The finish was a bit short but probably because it went head-to-head with the GL. Overall an awesome Syrah from CA a good entry point if you don't want to drop $60+ for the Alder Spring or Griffin's Lair.
I like it... A LOT.
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4/20/2008 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 91 Points
bright purple color in the glass. black cherries and smoke explode on the nose. strong tannins, a bit low on acid, but huge flavors of plums, earth, herbs and meat. very long finish. dense fruit, but this syrah packs serious complexity. just gorgeous, and it got better after being opened for a few hours.
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2/28/2008 - JMillah wrote: 90 Points
Deep purple color, thick almost viscous. black raspberry aromas with scorched earth and dried herbs.
Rich, jammy fruit with roasted nut flavors. I normally don't go for big superripe reds but this wine is surprisingly balanced.
I tasted this blind and thought it could be a cote-rotie. The vibrancy of the fruit suggested a small bit of viognier,
but the label says 100% syrah.
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12/14/2007 - jnanz wrote: 91 Points
This was drinking much better than the first bottle. Did not need as much time in the decanter (really no need). Nose of Welch's grape juice along with some other berry fruit. Grape juice, raspberry and blackberry on the palate with some nice oak and a hint of smoke and leather. Very good.
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11/19/2007 - rscott wrote: 90 Points
Nice Rich Syrah, smokey, full of fruit with a creamy feel. long finish. makes you want another sniff & sip.
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