Still very fruity. Tannins have mellowed significantly and there is quite a lot of acidity, but it’s just so big and so fruity as to seem sweet. Just a bit in your face too much. Perhaps more age will help but this wine overall felt too heavy for me. Full disclaimer I generally prefer old world style wines, but I don’t dislike all new world style wines… this just felt extreme. Maybe others will enjoy based on preference but not for me.
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Nose of potpourri, violets and peppered pork broth Fine-tannined mouth (initially some heat but after two hours settled down nicely) of figs, olives and matchstick wood. Shortish finish of plum skins and light roast coffee. No hurry to drink this one. Excellent with roast lamb (Australian lamb with wine by an Australian winemaker).
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Time to drink up. Spicy molasses on the nose. Decent Syrah notes of tea leaf, pepper, leather and Dr. Pepper and a minor tannin component that dries a bit on the finish. Decent but drying length.
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Beautiful wine. Still has some time left for sure, and impressive given the vintage. Lots of savory elements, but the fruit factor was fantastic at fourteen years in.
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Looking like it has a little age on it at 13 years old and holding up well. Still fruit driven by the blackberry and bramble. Medium light acidity and a pleasure to sip. There's definitely heat showing so my concern would be as the fruit fades the boozy note will only grow.
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Soft and ripe. A little muted on the nose, soft, not intense. Lots of easy going blackberry and black cherry fruit. Little to no tannins, little acidity. Reasonably short on the finish. Not a compelling wine. Dont have any more and would not buy again (Betz and Cayuse age way better), sure this would have been way more tasty a couple of years ago, seems just a little over the hill now.
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Very nice indeed! Just now hitting its peak after 12 years. Deep, dark color with no signs of age. Intense dark fruit. Tannins quite evident and softened just enough to be a great match to the fruit, acid and slight sweetness. Pleasant and intriguing back of mouth sharpness. No rough edges nor any other objectionable properties. A real treat. I had another bottle several months ago and it was the same.
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Bought on release, stored @55degrees. P&P'd. Dark, medium/heavy body. Well developed nose of ripe blackberries/blueberries, subtle barrel spice, and lite vanilla note. Tannins and acid fully integrated. A bit of alcohol heat but otherwise rich full-bodied midpalate. Downward from its peak. Drink up.
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Beautiful rose colored edges in the glass. On the nose: rum coffee cake, cherry licorice, tar, and butterscotch. On the palate: Bright acidity with gripping tannins shock the palate at first, making way for layers of dusted cocoa powder, red fruit, cream soda, and weathered leather notes finishing with a suggestion of a dark chocolate covered maraschino cherry. An interesting and complex Syrah.
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Drank last night and this wine met all expectations. Reserved fruit with a dense flavor tobacco and earth. The wine looks purple colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle.
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Noté le lendemain matin - bu deux bouteilles en parallèle dont une entamée 7 mois plus tôt à l’aide du Coravin. Pas de différence sensible entre les deux bouteilles. Très foncé, puissant, fruité, encore un peu jeune et tannique. Très beau vin.
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P&P. Great nose of blackberry, spice, cracked pepper and garrigue. Flavors of spicy blackberry, pepper and earth, with some barrel notes. Finishes with a distinct oaky vanilla flavor, continuing for 30+ seconds. Acid is medium, tannins still apparent but light at this stage. Quite well-integrated and drinking well (peak?). This seems like it has some time yet, so the 2014 Wine Spectator drinking window closure is horribly pessimistic. Drink now through 2017 or 2018, potentially longer, as Duval is known for making the highly age-worthy Penfolds Grange (and this is his "Sequel" to Grange).
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From memory. Garnet to black. Ripe blackberry and smoke nose, similar palate with lots of body. The finish was very warm. This wine tasted properly as syrah, and was well balanced, just very ripe and I could still taste the alcohol. One hears how a wine can be overripe and high in alcohol but still be 'balanced', and such is this, however just as an elephant with great balance still cannot be expected to slalom, I only enjoyed this wine in context (it is likely a good representative of its style).
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Splash decant and strain for sediment (had a lot) .... This is drinking quite well now. The fruit has receded, but is still present, though I'd say it's more of a secondary note. The tannins are smooth, but still bracingly dry. There is a big acid pop and a decent amount of spice and earth. Altogether well made, not even slightly hot and in a very well-balanced place right now. Drier and more responded than most California Syrahs. Hard to imagine it improving much, as I think it would suffer from further lose of fruit. ... Mother's Day 2015
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This is inky black syrah goodness. Had it for Christmas dinner with a brisket...perfection in a bottle. Beautifully balance wine with tons of blackberry and enough oak to balance the sweet fruit. Opened in advance, but should have decanted. Will be interesting to see how the leftovers are tomorrow.
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A beautiful example of Washington Syrah from one of those glorious early 21st century vintages. The wine was a bit cold still coming out of a long slumber in my cellar and so the aromas were a bit closed. The mouthfeel was pure velvet and as the wine warmed in the mouth it bloomed and exploded with luscious blackberry fruit, some graphite, and a noticeable floral quality. I kept expecting a more viscous and heavy wine but it just delivered a taste profile usually associated with weight like that in a lighter acidic and pretty juice. Not a Cayuse-type of funky Syrah, but a sweet, smooth and velvety glide down the magic slide. Oh why oh why do I not have more of this wine!?
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Inky purple, staining color extract. Not much going on in the nose but this note was written quickly after opening. Some high-toned berry in the nose. Ripe, smoky blueberry with slightly drying, finishing tannins. A bit bitter on the back end.
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It took 3 hours to finally reach the prime drinking window, Dark extracted fruit, medium + alcohol, stinging new oak, with a med to long finish. Nice wine.
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I had a magnum and wish I had another bottle. Drinking extremely well. Soft on the palate with a great nose and an amazing finish. Not over powering which I like. Another win for the Long Shadows team!!!
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Day 1: Decanted and aerated, but was still locked up. I was surprised that it wasn't more approachable after the D & A, being 8 yrs. past vintage. Also, drinking on its own. Day 2: Big improvement, with good nose that was missing the day before. It really came to life when paired with plank-grilled sockeye and grilled asparagus, totally expressing itself and complementing the meal. If it had been like this from the start I would have given it 2-3 point higher score.
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Fantastic stuff! Pnp'd, very floral pouring into the glass. The aromatics just engulfed the table at the restaurant, I couldn't pour the wine fast enough. At first the wine was a little one dimensional and high toned, but after 30 minutes the wine exploded to show depth, fruits darkened to blackberries with the perfect amount of toasty oak. The fruit and acid were center stage to the last drop. The pairing of the night was the mint chocolate ice cream. This in my perfect drinking window.
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At home with some leftovers, cold weather, nice spice with the meal. Haven't had this wine for a few years. Splash decanted for about 30 minutes, was open for business right away, added depth over two hours.
Bought this wine for the Grange connection - like most - no notes on my first tasting two years ago, don't remember it being memorable. Wine has put on weight and gained considerable complexity since last tasting.
Dark maroon to the rim, high ABV but no real heat on nose or palate. Dark fruit on the nose. Dark fruit, plums - Aussie style front palate - followed by oak, herbs, bacon, meat. Medium body, long finish.
Softer mouthfeel and tannins, slightly sweeter and softer style of Syrah than most from Washington I have experienced. Enjoyable and much improved from last bottle.
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Hmmm - interesting wine. I get a bit of the Washington funkiness on the aftertaste - almost like a second thought, but it's counterbalanced by an almost syrupy fruit characteristic. Left it to sit out for about 30 minutes before drinking. Opening up nicely. Was very popular with the crowd we were drinking with. Nice deep flavors.
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Black fruit nose. Black fruit in front, fading towards earthiness. Finishes somewhat flat. No complex but enjoyable, seems like it might be at an odd age.
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Very dark purple in color with dark fruits (plum) on the nose. The plum was consistent on the taste, joined by blackberry. The finish was strong and lingering.
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Winemaker, John Duval, formerly with Penfold's Grange. 14.7% abv. Darkly colored. Dark fruits dominate the nose. Drinks smoothly with fine-grained "sandy" texture, probably from the tannins, and dark berry flavor. It also shows a bit of subtly leafy or herbal notes. Ripe fruit but not overblown and not presenting as "hot" despite the rather high alcoholic content. There is delicious, lip-smacking fruit in the midpalate and the finish is a bit drying but not off-putting. There is also some fine sediment in the glass. This is perhaps more Australian than French in style, but personally I like that the tannins are muted, not forbidding, and I am willing to forego some of the pepper and bacon or smoked meat (although I like those qualities in Syrah) in exchange for the attractive black fruits. This was my first wine from the Long Shadows Wineries project. I tried to order some of the Poet's Leap Riesling at the same time as I ordered this, but it was sold out.
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At first not a lot to the wine. No finish and not much of a nose. about 2-3 hours into drinking it, it finally opened up and was much better. Typical syrah with dark fruits and goes best with a big rich "beefy" meal. It had a good finish with the food. It was much better with the food than on its own.
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Decanted x 2 hours, 3/4 consumed over 3 hours with braised beef. Modest on the nose. Moderately concentrated on the palate. Abundant dark fruit (plum, dark cherry, black berry). Integrated and balanced slightly toward tart. Excellent. 90-91.
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Caricatural. Arômes de pruneaux, de torréfaction et de d'épices comme la réglisse. Bouche est chaude, capiteuse et peu complexe. Un vin sur-mûri et chaud (14,7%) dont la finesse et l'équilibre laisse à désirer.
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Completely enjoyable. Popped and poured. Not sure where the lukewarm comments came from in some of the other reviews, but everyone is entitled to their opinion on CT. I had the '05 the other night and I was amazed at how consistent this winery is. This is a softer and slightly sweeter style of Syrah. Those looking for a mouthful of leather and barnyard should look elsewhere. I preferred the soft tannins and the long finish of this Syrah.
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Upon opening closed and tight. Decanted over 2 hours before tasting. Color: Dark purple color Nose: Closed nose at first. After four hours opened showing leather, dark cherry, green pepper, lead, light oak Taste: Hot alcohol at first taste. After four hours predominant taste of black berries, cherries, chocolate, lead, leather, hint of vanilla Medium to long finish, balanced tannins. Needs more cellar time.
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Deep fruit with more balance and elegance than I expected. Drank this over 4 (!) days, and the wine retained its freshness and balance. No hurry on this, I think.
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Tons of dark fruit, with hints of leather and smoke on the finish. Decanted for 1 hr - could've used more, but showing nicely now. Probably nearing peak as acidity is fading...
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Wine, needs a solid decant. Much better second day over first as it has really smoothed out and is silky and not as "biting". Deep and dark, smooth, integrated, medium to long finish. Great stuff!
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Gave this a long 3 hour decant and drank over the following few hours - I really think it benefits from a few hours to wake up. Appears very dark in the glass, with deep purple hues. Brambly dark fruits, caramelized meats and herb notes on the nose, and equally rich on the palate - more purple fruits and white pepper. The heavier alcohol content is nicely integrated - no real heat to detract though the tannins grip nicely through the finish. It start to drop off after 6 hours... really not a criticism, just thought I'd mention it. Very solid wine overall.
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Needs lots of air/time to come to life, very enjoyable. The wine looks Inky colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Stoniness, Black Pepper, Espresso, Flint, and Alcohol/Hot. It tastes like Red Currant, Fig, Light toast, Smokey Bacon, Bark, and Alcohol/Hot. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Satin-like texture. The wine finishes Long.
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Gorgeous, silky wine with great balance. Fine tannins on the finish that linger and trail off ever so softly. To me, this is more earthy and dark. The fruit is subtle, but pulling its weight and balancing out the oak very nicely. Delicious! Drank from 375ml bottle.
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4th Saturday Group brown bagger (Rich & Dana's): Opaque inky crimson color. Notes of black fruit, incense, blue fruit and roasted herbs. Full-bodied with flavors of roasted meat and dark fruit. Shut down quite hard as it sat in the glass, dominated by vanilla qualities and really nothing else. Guessed Syrah.
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Drank alongside 08 Evening Land Pinot Noir Seven Springs for something heavier and this delivered nicely. Looks dark and almost intimidating in the glass, but the nose is a great mix of fruit and spice and the taste enhance that further - blackberries, currants, black pepper.... enjoyable all the way around.
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Very similar to my note from 3 years ago, this wine doesn't seem to have evolved much. Soft, ripe, round, low acid, lot's of fruit that hides the considerble alcohol (14.7%) nicely, this is inoffensive but unremarkable. Its biggest offense is the unneccesarily heavy and oversized bottle.
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In a word, excellent. Dark purple with dark fruits, plums, currants and spices. Nice body with a great mouthfeel. Medium to long finish. Definitely a very good example of a Washington Syrah.
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Maybe it was all the hype that was placed upon this wine from people at my work, or the decent reviews of this wine that caused it to not meet up to my expectations. This was a good syrah but, not what I had hoped for from the infamous penfolds grange producer. The wine is deep purple in color with aromas of sweet black fruit, black pepper and allspice. On the palate, this wine came across medium/full bodied with grippy tannins and smooth, soft texture. For me, lots of plum, blackberry, black currant and subtle American oak notes. Not a very extensive finish but 20-30 seconds, not to shabby at all. Half-way through the tasting, I changed my rating from 87pts to 89pts. The wine does have a sort of allure that the more you drink it the more it seems to adapt to a wine that you enjoy more and not because I'm getting drunker. ( a buddy and I split a .375ml)
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Rounder than my first note, nicely opened up, cherries and blackberries, quite sweet. Nicely concentrated and rounded finish. I like this style of wine!
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Popped & decanted at local restaurant. Very tight initially, with a lot of smoke on the nose. Opened up nicely. Big red fruit, good mouthfeel and a smooth finish. Really nice bottle.
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Forgot how good this wine is. Read the note by wineismylife. He is right on, but I don't get the roasted meats and I do get some coffee and vanilla. Good for dinner or sipping by itself. (4+13+17+7)
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Tasted blind at monthly wine night. Quick decant and needed longer. Initially, lots of heat on both nose and palate. Ripe red fruit and spice flavors dominate with heat spiking on the finish. Really don't know how to score this because it had definitely settled down after tasting later in the night but still had an overripe Aussie feel to it. Not what I was expecting. I'll pop another one soon.
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Bargains vs. Big Boys (Farpointe Cellar): Loads of game, bacon, and smoke on the nose, with small amounts of flowers and blackberry. A wonderful mix of flavors on the palate. It moves from grilled meat to blackberry to cedar and then to tar. The tannins are soft and and the finish is slightly spicy.
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Purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of violets, roasted meat, cinnamon and mixed dark fruits. Flavors of black cherries, black raspberries, plums and black berries. Medium acidity, medium tannins, medium to full bodied. Drink now with some air and over the next 5-7 years.
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Absolutely wonderful. Tight on the opening, but after a bit of time, opened up and smoothed out. Nicely balanced, lots of big ripe red berries. Allow it the time to open.
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We drank this with friends on 10/17/10 (a great pairing with Venison Stew). It was very big & ripe with a terrific bouquet of smoked meat, licorice, blackberry, black cherry, spice, pepper and toast aromas. The palate was also big and ripe with very liqueur like concentration of flavors…blackberry, plum, black cherry, spice, licorice and pepper.
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Compare to others that I have had from WA this falls short of its $60 price tag. It doesn't feel like it is taking risks, if feels really straight ahead and commercial. Maybe it will evolve in a couple of years, it is very good stuff, but really why buy this when I can buy his Aussie projects for $30 less? And at that price those are rockin.
I am not being fair. A bit backward right now, we will see where it goes.
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Popped an poured and is drinking very well right now. Can't recall all the exact details since it was 1 bottle in many I had for dinner with friends, I am lucky to have a couple more bottles and will probably add to that.
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Amazingly good wine from the Long Shadows co-op winery in Walla Walla WA made by a true master of this grape varietal. Highly recommend this, will be looking to collect and build a vertical of this, too expensive though to be a really good QPR even as good as the wine is. Enjoyed last night at a wine tasting at our house following an Asian dinner with CT wine buddy neighborbill and spouses. 100% Washington fruit, well structured, very dark wine, big mouth feel with long delicious aftertaste, very little sediment, intense yet balanced wine with a lot of cellar time left but opened up nicely - very drinkable with a four hour decant. Big yet balanced nose with dark stone fruit, black pepper and allspice. Very rich and balanced flavors included terroir, iron, black pepper, red fruit and balanced oak.
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taste: well polished, and smooth full bodied feel with silky tannins and tones of black cherries, black berries, spice tones and some real tasty tones of red and black currants that lurk underneath. Good tannins, but not overbearing
overall: has a stylish and sexy quality to it. Forward without being over ripe or over blown. This comes off as one that should drink well very early, though it may need a short amount of time to polish itself off a bit more
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Big & ripe with tons of fruit, firm tannins, but a better effort than the 2004. Alcohol (14.7) seems in balance. While good, this could get tiring to drink more than a glass or two.
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12/1/2023 - funderwood10 Does not like this wine: 83 Points
Still very fruity. Tannins have mellowed significantly and there is quite a lot of acidity, but it’s just so big and so fruity as to seem sweet. Just a bit in your face too much. Perhaps more age will help but this wine overall felt too heavy for me. Full disclaimer I generally prefer old world style wines, but I don’t dislike all new world style wines… this just felt extreme. Maybe others will enjoy based on preference but not for me.
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10/21/2023 - skifree wrote: 91 Points
Quite enjoyable, definitely new world with lots of oak to go with the fruit. Decent acidity to pair with food. From a mag, so still quite primary.
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4/12/2021 - Acohen Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lots of blue fruit, violets and licorice notes
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2/12/2021 - tenorselbow wrote: 91 Points
Nose of potpourri, violets and peppered pork broth
Fine-tannined mouth (initially some heat but after two hours settled down nicely) of figs, olives and matchstick wood. Shortish finish of plum skins and light roast coffee. No hurry to drink this one. Excellent with roast lamb (Australian lamb with wine by an Australian winemaker).
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10/24/2020 - guitarguy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Time to drink up. Spicy molasses on the nose. Decent Syrah notes of tea leaf, pepper, leather and Dr. Pepper and a minor tannin component that dries a bit on the finish. Decent but drying length.
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5/13/2020 - herzog330 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Beautiful wine. Still has some time left for sure, and impressive given the vintage. Lots of savory elements, but the fruit factor was fantastic at fourteen years in.
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5/26/2019 - brigcampbell wrote:
Looking like it has a little age on it at 13 years old and holding up well. Still fruit driven by the blackberry and bramble. Medium light acidity and a pleasure to sip. There's definitely heat showing so my concern would be as the fruit fades the boozy note will only grow.
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3/8/2019 - thebonnydooner wrote: 84 Points
Soft and ripe. A little muted on the nose, soft, not intense. Lots of easy going blackberry and black cherry fruit. Little to no tannins, little acidity. Reasonably short on the finish. Not a compelling wine. Dont have any more and would not buy again (Betz and Cayuse age way better), sure this would have been way more tasty a couple of years ago, seems just a little over the hill now.
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12/2/2018 - mac-eye Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very nice indeed! Just now hitting its peak after 12 years. Deep, dark color with no signs of age. Intense dark fruit. Tannins quite evident and softened just enough to be a great match to the fruit, acid and slight sweetness. Pleasant and intriguing back of mouth sharpness. No rough edges nor any other objectionable properties. A real treat. I had another bottle several months ago and it was the same.
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4/21/2018 - MoreWinePlease Likes this wine: 91 Points
Bought on release, stored @55degrees. P&P'd. Dark, medium/heavy body. Well developed nose of ripe blackberries/blueberries, subtle barrel spice, and lite vanilla note. Tannins and acid fully integrated. A bit of alcohol heat but otherwise rich full-bodied midpalate. Downward from its peak. Drink up.
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4/1/2017 - Kropsterapeut Likes this wine: 93 Points
Mums lækker
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1/10/2017 - Tannic Monster Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful rose colored edges in the glass. On the nose: rum coffee cake, cherry licorice, tar, and butterscotch. On the palate: Bright acidity with gripping tannins shock the palate at first, making way for layers of dusted cocoa powder, red fruit, cream soda, and weathered leather notes finishing with a suggestion of a dark chocolate covered maraschino cherry. An interesting and complex Syrah.
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8/19/2016 - BGK810 wrote: 92 Points
Still delicious after 10 years. Blackberry, earth, roasted meat. Was great with burnt beef ends.
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7/28/2016 - goforsun wrote: 92 Points
Drank last night and this wine met all expectations. Reserved fruit with a dense flavor tobacco and earth.
The wine looks purple colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle.
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7/23/2016 - Dionysos 1920 wrote: 92 Points
Noté le lendemain matin - bu deux bouteilles en parallèle dont une entamée 7 mois plus tôt à l’aide du Coravin. Pas de différence sensible entre les deux bouteilles. Très foncé, puissant, fruité, encore un peu jeune et tannique. Très beau vin.
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6/12/2016 - cbforever1 wrote: 86 Points
Alcohol alcohol and alcohol. There's not much more than that... Disappointment!
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11/17/2015 - RPerro Likes this wine: 92 Points
P&P. Great nose of blackberry, spice, cracked pepper and garrigue. Flavors of spicy blackberry, pepper and earth, with some barrel notes. Finishes with a distinct oaky vanilla flavor, continuing for 30+ seconds. Acid is medium, tannins still apparent but light at this stage. Quite well-integrated and drinking well (peak?). This seems like it has some time yet, so the 2014 Wine Spectator drinking window closure is horribly pessimistic. Drink now through 2017 or 2018, potentially longer, as Duval is known for making the highly age-worthy Penfolds Grange (and this is his "Sequel" to Grange).
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11/1/2015 - EvanRose Likes this wine: 95 Points
I am a huge John Duval fan, and this wine is spectacular. Full bodied, rich, deep dark fruit and great mouth feel
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7/28/2015 - Trolson wrote: 93 Points
Another lovely pour of this vintage. Treat yourself to other vintages and other Long Shadows' wineries.
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6/15/2015 - SteveG wrote: 86 Points
From memory. Garnet to black. Ripe blackberry and smoke nose, similar palate with lots of body. The finish was very warm. This wine tasted properly as syrah, and was well balanced, just very ripe and I could still taste the alcohol. One hears how a wine can be overripe and high in alcohol but still be 'balanced', and such is this, however just as an elephant with great balance still cannot be expected to slalom, I only enjoyed this wine in context (it is likely a good representative of its style).
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6/11/2015 - norsktorsk wrote: 92 Points
Very nice.
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5/11/2015 - markandsusanw Likes this wine: 91 Points
Splash decant and strain for sediment (had a lot) .... This is drinking quite well now. The fruit has receded, but is still present, though I'd say it's more of a secondary note. The tannins are smooth, but still bracingly dry. There is a big acid pop and a decent amount of spice and earth. Altogether well made, not even slightly hot and in a very well-balanced place right now. Drier and more responded than most California Syrahs. Hard to imagine it improving much, as I think it would suffer from further lose of fruit. ... Mother's Day 2015
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3/1/2015 - BGK810 wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful wine. Black fruit flavors, a little game and a medium + length finish.
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12/26/2014 - sophiesmom Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is inky black syrah goodness. Had it for Christmas dinner with a brisket...perfection in a bottle. Beautifully balance wine with tons of blackberry and enough oak to balance the sweet fruit. Opened in advance, but should have decanted. Will be interesting to see how the leftovers are tomorrow.
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12/6/2014 - mattlennert Likes this wine: 93 Points
A beautiful example of Washington Syrah from one of those glorious early 21st century vintages. The wine was a bit cold still coming out of a long slumber in my cellar and so the aromas were a bit closed. The mouthfeel was pure velvet and as the wine warmed in the mouth it bloomed and exploded with luscious blackberry fruit, some graphite, and a noticeable floral quality. I kept expecting a more viscous and heavy wine but it just delivered a taste profile usually associated with weight like that in a lighter acidic and pretty juice. Not a Cayuse-type of funky Syrah, but a sweet, smooth and velvety glide down the magic slide. Oh why oh why do I not have more of this wine!?
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11/16/2014 - guitarguy wrote: 90 Points
Inky purple, staining color extract. Not much going on in the nose but this note was written quickly after opening. Some high-toned berry in the nose. Ripe, smoky blueberry with slightly drying, finishing tannins. A bit bitter on the back end.
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10/10/2014 - wino121 wrote: 91 Points
It took 3 hours to finally reach the prime drinking window,
Dark extracted fruit, medium + alcohol, stinging new oak, with a med to long finish.
Nice wine.
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10/3/2014 - jrglm Likes this wine: 93 Points
This wine is really drinking well now. Rich and layered. Decanted for a couple hours and it really showed great fineness. I like this wine a lot.
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8/23/2014 - Rasmussenbrent Likes this wine: 92 Points
had it with spicy shrimp scampi was great
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6/18/2014 - Jwharnish wrote: 94 Points
I had a magnum and wish I had another bottle. Drinking extremely well. Soft on the palate with a great nose and an amazing finish. Not over powering which I like. Another win for the Long Shadows team!!!
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6/5/2014 - NavyVet6874 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Day 1: Decanted and aerated, but was still locked up. I was surprised that it wasn't more approachable after the D & A, being 8 yrs. past vintage. Also, drinking on its own. Day 2: Big improvement, with good nose that was missing the day before. It really came to life when paired with plank-grilled sockeye and grilled asparagus, totally expressing itself and complementing the meal. If it had been like this from the start I would have given it 2-3 point higher score.
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2/24/2014 - W2WineGuy Likes this wine: 91 Points
As soon as you opened it, you catch the bouquet and nose. Nicely integrated, deep, not overly syray pepper, decent mouth and medium finish. Good wine
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2/20/2014 - ccotton8 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fantastic stuff! Pnp'd, very floral pouring into the glass. The aromatics just engulfed the table at the restaurant, I couldn't pour the wine fast enough. At first the wine was a little one dimensional and high toned, but after 30 minutes the wine exploded to show depth, fruits darkened to blackberries with the perfect amount of toasty oak. The fruit and acid were center stage to the last drop. The pairing of the night was the mint chocolate ice cream. This in my perfect drinking window.
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1/19/2014 - walkerjfw wrote: 92 Points
At home with some leftovers, cold weather, nice spice with the meal. Haven't had this wine for a few years. Splash decanted for about 30 minutes, was open for business right away, added depth over two hours.
Bought this wine for the Grange connection - like most - no notes on my first tasting two years ago, don't remember it being memorable. Wine has put on weight and gained considerable complexity since last tasting.
Dark maroon to the rim, high ABV but no real heat on nose or palate. Dark fruit on the nose. Dark fruit, plums - Aussie style front palate - followed by oak, herbs, bacon, meat. Medium body, long finish.
Softer mouthfeel and tannins, slightly sweeter and softer style of Syrah than most from Washington I have experienced. Enjoyable and much improved from last bottle.
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1/12/2014 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Hmmm - interesting wine. I get a bit of the Washington funkiness on the aftertaste - almost like a second thought, but it's counterbalanced by an almost syrupy fruit characteristic. Left it to sit out for about 30 minutes before drinking. Opening up nicely. Was very popular with the crowd we were drinking with. Nice deep flavors.
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1/1/2014 - oropeza wrote: 90 Points
Black fruit nose. Black fruit in front, fading towards earthiness. Finishes somewhat flat. No complex but enjoyable, seems like it might be at an odd age.
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12/31/2013 - GEV Likes this wine: 93 Points
Very dark purple in color with dark fruits (plum) on the nose. The plum was consistent on the taste, joined by blackberry. The finish was strong and lingering.
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12/9/2013 - wondersofwine Likes this wine: 91 Points
Winemaker, John Duval, formerly with Penfold's Grange. 14.7% abv. Darkly colored. Dark fruits dominate the nose. Drinks smoothly with fine-grained "sandy" texture, probably from the tannins, and dark berry flavor. It also shows a bit of subtly leafy or herbal notes. Ripe fruit but not overblown and not presenting as "hot" despite the rather high alcoholic content. There is delicious, lip-smacking fruit in the midpalate and the finish is a bit drying but not off-putting. There is also some fine sediment in the glass. This is perhaps more Australian than French in style, but personally I like that the tannins are muted, not forbidding, and I am willing to forego some of the pepper and bacon or smoked meat (although I like those qualities in Syrah) in exchange for the attractive black fruits. This was my first wine from the Long Shadows Wineries project. I tried to order some of the Poet's Leap Riesling at the same time as I ordered this, but it was sold out.
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11/23/2013 - boogeyone Likes this wine: 92 Points
Perhaps the best Washington syrah I've tasted recently. Rich deep fruit flavor and sufficient tannins to wait another year for the next bottle.
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11/21/2013 - W2WineGuy Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice syrah. decanted about 2 hours, well integrated, dark fruits, some spice, medium finish. Don't think there is any reason to hold this longer
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11/21/2013 - stconner wrote: 88 Points
At first not a lot to the wine. No finish and not much of a nose. about 2-3 hours into drinking it, it finally opened up and was much better. Typical syrah with dark fruits and goes best with a big rich "beefy" meal. It had a good finish with the food. It was much better with the food than on its own.
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11/15/2013 - Empirate wrote:
Decanted x 2 hours, 3/4 consumed over 3 hours with braised beef. Modest on the nose. Moderately concentrated on the palate. Abundant dark fruit (plum, dark cherry, black berry). Integrated and balanced slightly toward tart. Excellent. 90-91.
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8/16/2013 - DuVinMD Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Caricatural. Arômes de pruneaux, de torréfaction et de d'épices comme la réglisse. Bouche est chaude, capiteuse et peu complexe. Un vin sur-mûri et chaud (14,7%) dont la finesse et l'équilibre laisse à désirer.
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8/2/2013 - George Lopez Likes this wine: 94 Points
Completely enjoyable. Popped and poured. Not sure where the lukewarm comments came from in some of the other reviews, but everyone is entitled to their opinion on CT. I had the '05 the other night and I was amazed at how consistent this winery is. This is a softer and slightly sweeter style of Syrah. Those looking for a mouthful of leather and barnyard should look elsewhere. I preferred the soft tannins and the long finish of this Syrah.
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7/14/2013 - Brownvino wrote: 90 Points
Decanted for an hour. this nose and body do not offer anything extraordinary or different to empress.
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4/5/2013 - gmbdds wrote: 90 Points
This was full of dark fruit and black pepper. Still seems young and vibrant. The finish was cut short by some alcohol burn.
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3/20/2013 - Mywife69 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Upon opening closed and tight. Decanted over 2 hours before tasting.
Color: Dark purple color
Nose: Closed nose at first. After four hours opened showing leather, dark cherry, green pepper, lead, light oak
Taste: Hot alcohol at first taste. After four hours predominant taste of black berries, cherries, chocolate, lead, leather, hint of vanilla
Medium to long finish, balanced tannins. Needs more cellar time.
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3/3/2013 - skifree wrote: 91 Points
Deep fruit with more balance and elegance than I expected. Drank this over 4 (!) days, and the wine retained its freshness and balance. No hurry on this, I think.
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2/9/2013 - GA_Seattle Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tons of dark fruit, with hints of leather and smoke on the finish. Decanted for 1 hr - could've used more, but showing nicely now. Probably nearing peak as acidity is fading...
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1/21/2013 - W2WineGuy Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wine, needs a solid decant. Much better second day over first as it has really smoothed out and is silky and not as "biting". Deep and dark, smooth, integrated, medium to long finish. Great stuff!
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12/25/2012 - Ewhite30 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Gave this a long 3 hour decant and drank over the following few hours - I really think it benefits from a few hours to wake up. Appears very dark in the glass, with deep purple hues. Brambly dark fruits, caramelized meats and herb notes on the nose, and equally rich on the palate - more purple fruits and white pepper. The heavier alcohol content is nicely integrated - no real heat to detract though the tannins grip nicely through the finish. It start to drop off after 6 hours... really not a criticism, just thought I'd mention it. Very solid wine overall.
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12/21/2012 - team-blackburn Likes this wine: 90 Points
Needs lots of air/time to come to life, very enjoyable.
The wine looks Inky colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Stoniness, Black Pepper, Espresso, Flint, and Alcohol/Hot. It tastes like Red Currant, Fig, Light toast, Smokey Bacon, Bark, and Alcohol/Hot. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Satin-like texture. The wine finishes Long.
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11/14/2012 - dpolivy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Gorgeous, silky wine with great balance. Fine tannins on the finish that linger and trail off ever so softly. To me, this is more earthy and dark. The fruit is subtle, but pulling its weight and balancing out the oak very nicely. Delicious! Drank from 375ml bottle.
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9/22/2012 - fredman wrote: 91 Points
Drank from a mag...probably should have waited another 3-5+ years. Oh well... .
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7/28/2012 - AllRed wrote: 90 Points
4th Saturday Group brown bagger (Rich & Dana's): Opaque inky crimson color. Notes of black fruit, incense, blue fruit and roasted herbs. Full-bodied with flavors of roasted meat and dark fruit. Shut down quite hard as it sat in the glass, dominated by vanilla qualities and really nothing else. Guessed Syrah.
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7/8/2012 - Ewhite30 wrote: 92 Points
Drank alongside 08 Evening Land Pinot Noir Seven Springs for something heavier and this delivered nicely. Looks dark and almost intimidating in the glass, but the nose is a great mix of fruit and spice and the taste enhance that further - blackberries, currants, black pepper.... enjoyable all the way around.
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5/29/2012 - W2WineGuy Likes this wine: 92 Points
wow, powerful syrah. Deep, dark, wonderful nose. Still a lot of fruit, tannins and acid, can still go more years in the cellar. Very impressive...
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4/13/2012 - Chuck Miller wrote:
Very similar to my note from 3 years ago, this wine doesn't seem to have evolved much. Soft, ripe, round, low acid, lot's of fruit that hides the considerble alcohol (14.7%) nicely, this is inoffensive but unremarkable. Its biggest offense is the unneccesarily heavy and oversized bottle.
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3/3/2012 - dinwiddie wrote: 93 Points
In a word, excellent. Dark purple with dark fruits, plums, currants and spices. Nice body with a great mouthfeel. Medium to long finish. Definitely a very good example of a Washington Syrah.
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3/1/2012 - SommelierSargent wrote: 90 Points
Maybe it was all the hype that was placed upon this wine from people at my work, or the decent reviews of this wine that caused it to not meet up to my expectations. This was a good syrah but, not what I had hoped for from the infamous penfolds grange producer.
The wine is deep purple in color with aromas of sweet black fruit, black pepper and allspice. On the palate, this wine came across medium/full bodied with grippy tannins and smooth, soft texture. For me, lots of plum, blackberry, black currant and subtle American oak notes. Not a very extensive finish but 20-30 seconds, not to shabby at all. Half-way through the tasting, I changed my rating from 87pts to 89pts. The wine does have a sort of allure that the more you drink it the more it seems to adapt to a wine that you enjoy more and not because I'm getting drunker. ( a buddy and I split a .375ml)
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12/24/2011 - JonnyDS wrote: 92 Points
A little expensive however this was excellent.
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12/21/2011 - Acohen wrote: 90 Points
Interesting mix of blackberry and floral notes with a nice finish
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12/19/2011 - G_H Likes this wine: 91 Points
Rounder than my first note, nicely opened up, cherries and blackberries, quite sweet. Nicely concentrated and rounded finish. I like this style of wine!
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10/29/2011 - jeff nowak wrote: 87 Points
speaking of washington...this project occasionally surprises with an interesting wine. not this time.
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8/18/2011 - popasq wrote: 93 Points
Sophisticated syrah, long finish, dried cranberry and chocolate. Is better today than 12 months ago.
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8/14/2011 - The Wine Write wrote: 91 Points
Popped & decanted at local restaurant. Very tight initially, with a lot of smoke on the nose. Opened up nicely. Big red fruit, good mouthfeel and a smooth finish. Really nice bottle.
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8/5/2011 - gbm wrote: 91 Points
Forgot how good this wine is. Read the note by wineismylife. He is right on, but I don't get the roasted meats and I do get some coffee and vanilla. Good for dinner or sipping by itself. (4+13+17+7)
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5/24/2011 - milesskorpen wrote: 81 Points
Very tart, slow start.
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4/9/2011 - pete s. wrote:
Tasted blind at monthly wine night. Quick decant and needed longer. Initially, lots of heat on both nose and palate. Ripe red fruit and spice flavors dominate with heat spiking on the finish. Really don't know how to score this because it had definitely settled down after tasting later in the night but still had an overripe Aussie feel to it. Not what I was expecting. I'll pop another one soon.
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3/26/2011 - mmurry Likes this wine: 92 Points
Bargains vs. Big Boys (Farpointe Cellar): Loads of game, bacon, and smoke on the nose, with small amounts of flowers and blackberry. A wonderful mix of flavors on the palate. It moves from grilled meat to blackberry to cedar and then to tar. The tannins are soft and and the finish is slightly spicy.
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3/26/2011 - wineismylife wrote: 91 Points
Saturdays at One - Volume 43: WIML91
Tasted non blind.
Purple color in the glass, clear looking throughout. Nose of violets, roasted meat, cinnamon and mixed dark fruits. Flavors of black cherries, black raspberries, plums and black berries. Medium acidity, medium tannins, medium to full bodied. Drink now with some air and over the next 5-7 years.
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2/15/2011 - sophiesmom wrote: 93 Points
Absolutely wonderful. Tight on the opening, but after a bit of time, opened up and smoothed out. Nicely balanced, lots of big ripe red berries. Allow it the time to open.
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1/1/2011 - Nbkat8 wrote: 92 Points
Still Fantastic.
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12/13/2010 - Kaizah wrote: 91 Points
A bit tight right after pulling cork, but opened nicely after an hour decanted.
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11/21/2010 - Nbkat8 wrote: 93 Points
Smooth , silky and long finish, acidity is present to give it a slight edge. This Syrah is just awesome,
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10/17/2010 - garambler wrote: 92 Points
We drank this with friends on 10/17/10 (a great pairing with Venison Stew). It was very big & ripe with a terrific bouquet of smoked meat, licorice, blackberry, black cherry, spice, pepper and toast aromas. The palate was also big and ripe with very liqueur like concentration of flavors…blackberry, plum, black cherry, spice, licorice and pepper.
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10/15/2010 - G_H wrote: 89 Points
Cherries, spices, very distinct acidity, kind of disappointing. Smells tight, let's wait for 30 minutes (85 points at that stage)...
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6/24/2010 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
This is obviously good wine. But...
Compare to others that I have had from WA this falls short of its $60 price tag. It doesn't feel like it is taking risks, if feels really straight ahead and commercial. Maybe it will evolve in a couple of years, it is very good stuff, but really why buy this when I can buy his Aussie projects for $30 less? And at that price those are rockin.
I am not being fair. A bit backward right now, we will see where it goes.
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6/20/2010 - Nbkat8 wrote: 93 Points
Popped an poured and is drinking very well right now. Can't recall all the exact details since it was 1 bottle in many I had for dinner with friends, I am lucky to have a couple more bottles and will probably add to that.
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11/5/2009 - Overton wrote: 90 Points
Long shadows wine tasting - very nice give it time to open up
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10/14/2009 - ikkaariainen wrote: 92 Points
Amazingly good wine from the Long Shadows co-op winery in Walla Walla WA made by a true master of this grape varietal. Highly recommend this, will be looking to collect and build a vertical of this, too expensive though to be a really good QPR even as good as the wine is. Enjoyed last night at a wine tasting at our house following an Asian dinner with CT wine buddy neighborbill and spouses. 100% Washington fruit, well structured, very dark wine, big mouth feel with long delicious aftertaste, very little sediment, intense yet balanced wine with a lot of cellar time left but opened up nicely - very drinkable with a four hour decant. Big yet balanced nose with dark stone fruit, black pepper and allspice. Very rich and balanced flavors included terroir, iron, black pepper, red fruit and balanced oak.
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9/14/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Washington Wine Commision tasting (Rooftop Terrace, Millenium Park, Chicago IL): nose: big and rich nose of black cherries, black berries, spice tones along with good tones of pepper. Nice and balanced with a good richness to it. Fairly forward, but not overt and holds the style very well
taste: well polished, and smooth full bodied feel with silky tannins and tones of black cherries, black berries, spice tones and some real tasty tones of red and black currants that lurk underneath. Good tannins, but not overbearing
overall: has a stylish and sexy quality to it. Forward without being over ripe or over blown. This comes off as one that should drink well very early, though it may need a short amount of time to polish itself off a bit more
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4/28/2009 - Chuck Miller wrote: 89 Points
Big & ripe with tons of fruit, firm tannins, but a better effort than the 2004. Alcohol (14.7) seems in balance. While good, this could get tiring to drink more than a glass or two.
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3/7/2009 - team-blackburn wrote: 93 Points
Fantastic!!!!!
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