Waited 7 years to drink my second and last bottle and it didn’t disappoint. Probably 2-3 years of life but fantastic right now. Still the best Syrah I’ve ever had.
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Absolutely fabulous. Nicely maturing, loads of pepper and spice, lots of dark fruit, very long finish. Wish I had more than the 4 downstairs. Syrah doesn’t get much better than this. 97+
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Passive cellared since direct purchase of library wines. Served w aged beef.
Wow. Super expressive nose of raspberry jam right from the cork pull. Red raspberry, black tea, loads of salinity. No heat. Some might complain of “jamminess” but while it’s juicy, the wine is well balanced.
Really drinking at peak. The tannins are resolved
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Drank my last bottle and similar to my 2015 bottle. Cracked pepper, blood soaked satchel of roasted venison draped in bacon, a dash of dried herbs, soy, olive and a sprinkle of sea salt. This bottle is why I buy good quality Sarahs. If you fruit mongers don’t appreciate an aged Syrah, I’ll buy your Pax Richards!
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Very big, bold nose, with lots of classic Cote Rotie smells - tar, creosote, bacon, smoke. Very rich in mouth. Ready now, but can age at least another five years.
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Not sure there is any remaining upside here - this seems to have leveled off to an inoffensive but one-dimensional blackberry-liqueur-heavy fruit bomb. Drink up.
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Paired this with lamb shank and tasted opposite a 2006 Pax Walker Hill. This wine is more forward, more red and less funk. I think this wine is probably rolling over here, as this tasting didn't match my past notes. I think I'll drink my other bottle this year or next.
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Initial PnP...Exuberant nose of of dark plum, dry cured olive, cracked pepper, and bee balm/earl grey. Lots of body. Tart, pleasantly stemmy, bright plummy fruit and a short, tangy, slightly tannic finish.
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Mostly agree with previous reviews. Liked by all, especially the wife, who said the nose reminded her of olives. I thought of BBQ sauce and boysenberries. A bit tart on the finish though. Last of four. Faded through the night. Best in its youth.
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Finally starting to make the turn? In the glass, moving from dark indigo to auburn. On the nose, dominated by blackberries for the first half hour, but afterwards, a more balanced mix of blackberries and lavender. On the palate, initially a somewhat harsh blackberry liqueur, but with that half hour of air, the palate shifts to blackberries, black raspberries, brine, and more lavender, with a smooth texture and some firm tannins on the finish. One bottle left, will be interesting to see where it ends up...
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Pulled cork in the morning and let sit open for 10 hours. WOTN in this 2006 horizontal for 2/3 of those present. meaty lavender nose and lush finish with consistent flavors, just a beautiful wine. Think the air really helped, no rush to drink these.
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As with my previous bottles, this wine kicks some serious arce. It had dark fruit on one whiff and then as my nose dipped in for a second it had seared meat with cracked pepper and salt but then a whiff of venison (game) slightly seared with a hint of the blood infused juice. To top it off it has black olive and soy in the backdrop to make it all complete. This sounds more like my dinner. Long story long, it's drinking well if you want to give it a shot.
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Wow. We decanted this wine for 12 hours the day before we drink it and it really only started to show after being open the second day for an additional two hours.
This is definitely a heavily extracted Sorock. It is dark, opaque and full of big bad juice. The tannins are very strong, and before it properly aerated, there was a strong white pepper sent an flavor in the nose and early body.
Once developed the Hughes were mostly dark fruit and more dark fruit and tenants that lingered and lingered. There is a little heat to the taste and in the early body perhaps some eucalyptus.
I think I will give my next bottle at least three years. (3q17 or later)
Alas, the rough, brambly edges are gone. This is now an olive dominated powerhouse. Cannot believe this is from Sonoma. A beguiling blend of olive tapenade, and blackberry. Hearty.
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This needs a lot of time. On day one, I decanted for 8 hours, and it was still rough. The following evening, this became a lot smoother...but still a beast. Absolutely gripping tannins, and a slight brackishness.
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Decanted 3 hours and drank over 2. Smells like alcohol and heat and dark fruit. On palate, smooth and easy to drink, tannins have receded. Dark fruit, and thick feel. Some secondary / complex syrah flavors of meat and smokey flavors. However, not enough for this level of wine and was disappointed. I expected more given price point and reputation.
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Decanted for 7 hours before service. In my last note, I was hoping for more positive evolution over the intervening years to the next bottle, but this wasn't that. The tannins were definitely more resolved than in the last bottle, but what was left was an overly concentrated blackberry liqueur. Granted, the fruit is good, but I'm expecting more complexity and balance at this price point.
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Wow, a strong effort from Pax! When I first opened, there was a strong nose of blue/purple fruit (think what ripe prune plumbs would smell like) with a touch of violets on the front. Very tight and tannic at the outset, opened up beautifully after a couple of hours (not decanted, just open). Was fun to sip a tiny bit every so often over three hours as the baby back ribs cooked on the grill. Paired wonderfully with the savoriness of the ribs and cut through ny pork fat. Struggled a bit against the cider vinegar braised greens, but that is to be expected...very ice bottle.
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This is a big wine, and it took forever to open up. Big fruit with some fig/stem flavor, which went away after an hour or so. This wine needs time to evolve.
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Easy 95 pts here. Decanted in the glass for an hour and consumed over three. The nose is an amazing array of delicious deep black fruits with lively poultry herb and soy sauce. The palate re-enforces the nose and is a mix of intense complex fruit, more spice, and cassis’. The finish ends with round tannin and lasts at least 12 seconds in length. Thank you Mr.Rico! I look forward to my two remaining bottles. No rush to pop here; not a crime if you do however.
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Second bottle consumed since the release and did not disappoint. Nice nose of black olive, soy marinated meat, and dark berries. The finish was long into the night.
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Decanted for 1 1/2 hrs. Served with bourbon marinated grilled flank steak. Dark almost plum color. Nose of salty gamey meat and black raspberry. Attacks with salty soy jerky flavors, and big red fruit. Middle is pleasantly woody and peppery. Finish evolves over a few seconds with some peppery flavors and a nice backbone. I think we hit a home run on the pairing, but this was super interesting and probably the best Pax I've ever had. Its a huge and interesting wine by itself but really shines with a gamey meat like flank steak, venison, buffalo, maybe even wild duck.
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Decanted for four hours before serving, still quite tannic even after that. In the glass, dark, saturated, and opaque indigo. On the nose, a lovely mix of brine and lavender. On the palate, a surprisingly silky attack, followed by black raspberries, bacon fat/iodine, and a slightly sweet floral element. The finish is long and tannic. Drinkable now, but I think this has plenty of room for improvement over at least the next 3-5 years. A very nice counterpoint to grilled flank steak and chimichurri.
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Tied with the 2005 Cuvee Christine for my favorite Pax wine so far. Pop n' pour. Black cherry nose - like black cherry jello mix said my brother. Gorgeous nose, taste, mouthfeel and finish. A stellar wine, missing only some complexity.
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as pretty a syrah nose as i've encountered...a huge wine on the palate, a bit much for me but fans of a big style would be in heaven...long finish w no hard edges, carries the alcohol with no issues...not my preferred style but unquestionably a great wine for those favoring extracted syrah
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Drank within a few hours of decanting. This wine was like revisiting my first bottle of Pax wine. Highly concentrated and well balanced bottle of wine. The finish was long, soft and left you wanting more. Kudos!
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Since this wine is still pending delivery for most people, I thought I would leave a comment on the barrel sample I had last August at the winery. First, let me say that I love almost every offering from Pax and we were having a great time that day. Then we tried the Richards Family sample and all four of our jaws just dropped. The tasting note from Tyler about everyone just saying 'wow' is exactly what happened to us. Everything he says in the notes is absolutely true. The mouthfeel was incredible and the lavender really came through. It was the best Syrah and maybe the best wine I've ever had and this was 8 months before its release! At the time they thought it would be 2 years before it would be released, but it has been bottled now. I had them send me a few bottles last month, so if you are on the mailing list I think you can probably still get some. I would highly recommend you do.
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7/1/2023 - DoubleMagnum Likes this wine: 94 Points
Lovely juice, the notes of olive that pop up with about thirty minutes of air time are amazing.
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1/16/2021 - danseng wrote: 98 Points
Waited 7 years to drink my second and last bottle and it didn’t disappoint. Probably 2-3 years of life but fantastic right now. Still the best Syrah I’ve ever had.
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11/25/2020 - Dogshaus Likes this wine:
Absolutely fabulous. Nicely maturing, loads of pepper and spice, lots of dark fruit, very long finish. Wish I had more than the 4 downstairs. Syrah doesn’t get much better than this. 97+
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10/3/2020 - Chrisinroch wrote: 93 Points
Passive cellared since direct purchase of library wines. Served w aged beef.
Wow. Super expressive nose of raspberry jam right from the cork pull. Red raspberry, black tea, loads of salinity. No heat. Some might complain of “jamminess” but while it’s juicy, the wine is well balanced.
Really drinking at peak. The tannins are resolved
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4/25/2018 - jimmythesaint wrote:
Drank my last bottle and similar to my 2015 bottle. Cracked pepper, blood soaked satchel of roasted venison draped in bacon, a dash of dried herbs, soy, olive and a sprinkle of sea salt. This bottle is why I buy good quality Sarahs. If you fruit mongers don’t appreciate an aged Syrah, I’ll buy your Pax Richards!
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11/21/2017 - cfulbright wrote: 96 Points
Very big, bold nose, with lots of classic Cote Rotie smells - tar, creosote, bacon, smoke. Very rich in mouth. Ready now, but can age at least another five years.
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7/31/2017 - NI1234 wrote: 86 Points
Sadly beyond peak. Jammy fruit bomb now.
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1/21/2017 - jshufelt wrote: 88 Points
Not sure there is any remaining upside here - this seems to have leveled off to an inoffensive but one-dimensional blackberry-liqueur-heavy fruit bomb. Drink up.
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5/13/2016 - Rick 4 Wine Likes this wine: 92 Points
Paired this with lamb shank and tasted opposite a 2006 Pax Walker Hill. This wine is more forward, more red and less funk. I think this wine is probably rolling over here, as this tasting didn't match my past notes. I think I'll drink my other bottle this year or next.
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3/14/2016 - jhieb Likes this wine: 93 Points
Great depth and character. Huge saline and olive favors. This could easily last another decade.
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10/24/2015 - Chrisinroch wrote:
Initial PnP...Exuberant nose of of dark plum, dry cured olive, cracked pepper, and bee balm/earl grey. Lots of body. Tart, pleasantly stemmy, bright plummy fruit and a short, tangy, slightly tannic finish.
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5/29/2015 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 90 Points
Mostly agree with previous reviews. Liked by all, especially the wife, who said the nose reminded her of olives. I thought of BBQ sauce and boysenberries. A bit tart on the finish though. Last of four. Faded through the night. Best in its youth.
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4/24/2015 - jshufelt wrote: 91 Points
Finally starting to make the turn? In the glass, moving from dark indigo to auburn. On the nose, dominated by blackberries for the first half hour, but afterwards, a more balanced mix of blackberries and lavender. On the palate, initially a somewhat harsh blackberry liqueur, but with that half hour of air, the palate shifts to blackberries, black raspberries, brine, and more lavender, with a smooth texture and some firm tannins on the finish. One bottle left, will be interesting to see where it ends up...
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4/17/2015 - MLD70 Likes this wine:
Pulled cork in the morning and let sit open for 10 hours. WOTN in this 2006 horizontal for 2/3 of those present. meaty lavender nose and lush finish with consistent flavors, just a beautiful wine. Think the air really helped, no rush to drink these.
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2/7/2015 - jimmythesaint wrote:
As with my previous bottles, this wine kicks some serious arce. It had dark fruit on one whiff and then as my nose dipped in for a second it had seared meat with cracked pepper and salt but then a whiff of venison (game) slightly seared with a hint of the blood infused juice. To top it off it has black olive and soy in the backdrop to make it all complete. This sounds more like my dinner. Long story long, it's drinking well if you want to give it a shot.
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9/26/2014 - buckeye76 wrote: 96 Points
BIG FRUIT IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR, BLACKBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, LICORICE, TOBACCO, AND SOME MEATINESS. COMPLEX WINE WITH A LONG FINISH
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7/27/2014 - Rick 4 Wine wrote: 95 Points
Wow. We decanted this wine for 12 hours the day before we drink it and it really only started to show after being open the second day for an additional two hours.
This is definitely a heavily extracted Sorock. It is dark, opaque and full of big bad juice. The tannins are very strong, and before it properly aerated, there was a strong white pepper sent an flavor in the nose and early body.
Once developed the Hughes were mostly dark fruit and more dark fruit and tenants that lingered and lingered. There is a little heat to the taste and in the early body perhaps some eucalyptus.
I think I will give my next bottle at least three years. (3q17 or later)
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6/20/2014 - jhieb Likes this wine: 94 Points
Alas, the rough, brambly edges are gone. This is now an olive dominated powerhouse. Cannot believe this is from Sonoma. A beguiling blend of olive tapenade, and blackberry. Hearty.
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4/20/2014 - jshufelt wrote: 88 Points
Consistent with previous tasting notes.
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9/22/2013 - jhieb Likes this wine: 92 Points
This needs a lot of time. On day one, I decanted for 8 hours, and it was still rough. The following evening, this became a lot smoother...but still a beast. Absolutely gripping tannins, and a slight brackishness.
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5/21/2013 - jimmythesaint wrote:
Still a beast but a good one.
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5/5/2013 - GrandeSerataFuori Likes this wine: 88 Points
Beastly. Ash, blackberry jam, Sharpie. There's a little left, let's see what day two brings.
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3/24/2013 - cpsmith33 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted 3 hours and drank over 2. Smells like alcohol and heat and dark fruit. On palate, smooth and easy to drink, tannins have receded. Dark fruit, and thick feel. Some secondary / complex syrah flavors of meat and smokey flavors. However, not enough for this level of wine and was disappointed. I expected more given price point and reputation.
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1/26/2013 - jshufelt wrote: 89 Points
Decanted for 7 hours before service. In my last note, I was hoping for more positive evolution over the intervening years to the next bottle, but this wasn't that. The tannins were definitely more resolved than in the last bottle, but what was left was an overly concentrated blackberry liqueur. Granted, the fruit is good, but I'm expecting more complexity and balance at this price point.
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11/2/2012 - jhieb wrote: 93 Points
BEAST. Decanted for 10 hours. The wine was just starting to open up. Massive. The definition of extracted. Spices, ash, and dark fruit.
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9/15/2012 - Growler69 wrote: 93 Points
Wow, a strong effort from Pax! When I first opened, there was a strong nose of blue/purple fruit (think what ripe prune plumbs would smell like) with a touch of violets on the front. Very tight and tannic at the outset, opened up beautifully after a couple of hours (not decanted, just open). Was fun to sip a tiny bit every so often over three hours as the baby back ribs cooked on the grill. Paired wonderfully with the savoriness of the ribs and cut through ny pork fat. Struggled a bit against the cider vinegar braised greens, but that is to be expected...very ice bottle.
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7/31/2012 - jhieb wrote: 91 Points
This is a big wine, and it took forever to open up. Big fruit with some fig/stem flavor, which went away after an hour or so. This wine needs time to evolve.
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6/24/2012 - jrbearden wrote: 92 Points
Great wine but needs to decant greater than4 hrs
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6/3/2012 - jimmythesaint wrote:
Decanted for about 7+hours. Still drinking strong and paired very nicely with smoked prime rib roast.
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2/14/2012 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 88 Points
Forgot to review this right afterwards, but remember it being not as impressive as last year. It was a little better two days later though.
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12/31/2011 - jshufelt wrote: 91 Points
Consistent with previous tasting notes.
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12/6/2011 - jgrapski wrote: 96 Points
Awesome bottle. The nose is complex and mixes savory and fruit. Big red fruit and some floral components in the mouth. The finish is forever.
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4/21/2011 - Cellar Fiend wrote: 95 Points
Easy 95 pts here. Decanted in the glass for an hour and consumed over three. The nose is an amazing array of delicious deep black fruits with lively poultry herb and soy sauce. The palate re-enforces the nose and is a mix of intense complex fruit, more spice, and cassis’. The finish ends with round tannin and lasts at least 12 seconds in length. Thank you Mr.Rico! I look forward to my two remaining bottles. No rush to pop here; not a crime if you do however.
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11/29/2010 - jimmythesaint wrote:
Second bottle consumed since the release and did not disappoint. Nice nose of black olive, soy marinated meat, and dark berries. The finish was long into the night.
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9/26/2010 - Chrisinroch wrote: 95 Points
Decanted for 1 1/2 hrs. Served with bourbon marinated grilled flank steak. Dark almost plum color. Nose of salty gamey meat and black raspberry. Attacks with salty soy jerky flavors, and big red fruit. Middle is pleasantly woody and peppery. Finish evolves over a few seconds with some peppery flavors and a nice backbone. I think we hit a home run on the pairing, but this was super interesting and probably the best Pax I've ever had. Its a huge and interesting wine by itself but really shines with a gamey meat like flank steak, venison, buffalo, maybe even wild duck.
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8/28/2010 - jshufelt wrote: 93 Points
Decanted for four hours before serving, still quite tannic even after that. In the glass, dark, saturated, and opaque indigo. On the nose, a lovely mix of brine and lavender. On the palate, a surprisingly silky attack, followed by black raspberries, bacon fat/iodine, and a slightly sweet floral element. The finish is long and tannic. Drinkable now, but I think this has plenty of room for improvement over at least the next 3-5 years. A very nice counterpoint to grilled flank steak and chimichurri.
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6/5/2010 - pgruber wrote: 96 Points
Ethereal. Just awesome. My favorite syrah bty far.
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1/1/2010 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 93 Points
Tied with the 2005 Cuvee Christine for my favorite Pax wine so far. Pop n' pour. Black cherry nose - like black cherry jello mix said my brother. Gorgeous nose, taste, mouthfeel and finish. A stellar wine, missing only some complexity.
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11/21/2009 - olm2000 wrote:
as pretty a syrah nose as i've encountered...a huge wine on the palate, a bit much for me but fans of a big style would be in heaven...long finish w no hard edges, carries the alcohol with no issues...not my preferred style but unquestionably a great wine for those favoring extracted syrah
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5/24/2009 - sumshark wrote: 95 Points
Great wine, needs an additional two years to integrate.
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5/18/2009 - jimmythesaint wrote:
Drank within a few hours of decanting. This wine was like revisiting my first bottle of Pax wine. Highly concentrated and well balanced bottle of wine. The finish was long, soft and left you wanting more. Kudos!
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4/5/2009 - danseng wrote: 98 Points
Since this wine is still pending delivery for most people, I thought I would leave a comment on the barrel sample I had last August at the winery. First, let me say that I love almost every offering from Pax and we were having a great time that day. Then we tried the Richards Family sample and all four of our jaws just dropped. The tasting note from Tyler about everyone just saying 'wow' is exactly what happened to us. Everything he says in the notes is absolutely true. The mouthfeel was incredible and the lavender really came through. It was the best Syrah and maybe the best wine I've ever had and this was 8 months before its release! At the time they thought it would be 2 years before it would be released, but it has been bottled now. I had them send me a few bottles last month, so if you are on the mailing list I think you can probably still get some. I would highly recommend you do.
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