Smoky, meaty, black fruit, DEEP blackberry, olive, tannins are still assertive, wonderful acidity. The alcohol is a surprising 14.8%, but this drinks cool and assertive with menthol and lifted acidity.
Wonderful showing!
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Amazing value on this wine. Holding up so well. Love the cooler climate notes just oozing: wild berries, slate, forest floor, violets. A beautiful wine from an underrated producer and region. With ample tannins and no signs of fading this wine should age effortlessly for another decade.
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Nov 21st 2015 "Getting the Band back Together" Tasting at Adam's (Phredd's Casa): 3rd wine courtesy of JohnR. A very funky Rhone blend- earth, barnyard, and pure campfire smoke that fades into smoked, cured meats like ham and bacon. I never got much fruit out of this throughout the night, oak and tannins are dominant on the nose and palate. Dense and full bodied, 14.8% abv. Overall Evaluation: B-.
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This was the last bottle and we took it camping, seems like the perfect wine for food cooked on the open campfire. Dark rich fruit but it seems the mineral aspect was significantly more forward which is really nice. Wonder if it's an age thing? Wish I had a case hiding in the cellar where I could drink one a year for the next decade. No question this will hold up. Great wine.
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Dark, musky, almost forboding savory flavor profile. Not vibrant. I found this delicious, complex, and thought provoking. Ridiculous value. I love this cool climate aged syrah stuff....
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Initial aromas of smoke and plum, lead to red fruits, charcoal, dusty earth, clean fresh blueberry develops with a couple hours of air. Super juicy red fruit that overwhelms, in a good way, then a savory, charred herb thing going on mid palate. Tannins are resolved and the bright acidity is such a defining characteristic, tart and crunchy, yet perfectly ripe. A wave of red fruit persists on the finish, then I get more of that blueberry that just hangs on forever. This is really good.
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Nice and dark and a bit of an almost prunish streak (but a sweeter and less tart version). The wine has some oak and comes across as very dark. It's not overly complex, but it's an easy drinking wine that has some character and depth and a great QPR.
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Very dark color. Earthy aroma dominates. Rich dark fruit and dark chocolate flavor. No heat. Very long lasting flavor. A real pleasure to drink on its own. Ready to drink right now.
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Absolutely delicious after a 3 hour decant, rich, clear delineated flavors of blueberry and cherry, a hint of bacon fat, terrific wine I wish I had more of. Went well with tri-tip, roasted root vegetables and plum chutney. The wine stood up to and complemented the meal. Excellent.
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Dark ruby, red berry nose. Bold fruit, red meat notes, not quite up to some of the other Syrahs, but sill a very good wine. It may need a little more air than it was given. Left at the host's to develop over night
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OK, this wine is like Christmas morning. you never know what you're going to get but you know you'll love it.
This time, blueberry and campfire on the open. Never seen that before... Yummy.
This really needs to decant for an hour or so to open up which reveals lots of coffee and dark fruit, and blueberry wow, first time with that combination and it is great.
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I figured it was time to bring out an old friend tonight. While some of the bacon fat aroma has gone away, this wine now highlights more florals and spice on the nose. It didn't pair terribly well with chili, so I will just enjoy it on its own, as I normally do!
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Smoky, peppery, and fatty, almost too extreme. Nice blackberry fruit, tapenade, good acidity. Unusual and distinct, my only criticism is the greenness and astringency of the tannins.
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14.8% ABV. Somewhat translucent dark garnet in the glass. Earthy mineral, slate-like nose with a suggestion of olive and iodine, but with some underlying ripe fruit. Medium full bodied with black fruit on the palate. Somewhat rustic, but round rather than angular, and far from austere with a suggestion of minerals or slate on the mid-palate as well.
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So after trying for the third time I'm getting a good feel for this wine. Like just about every wine, a good decant is rewarded. I did 3 hours and passed through the vinturi. The touch of heat dissipates that way but it never really bothered me anyway.
As with all the cabot's I've had, they are very alive and dynamic, morphing all the time which only adds to the entertainment value.
Lots of smoked meat, graphite, and dark fruit all wrestling with each other in a symphony of power and complexity. Awesome juice.
I only had one glass because I brought this to a party of cab lovers so I'd have something to drink ( I'm in my anti-cab phase) and after the first person asked for a taster the word was out, I found the bottle 30 minutes later lying on its side empty and kicked under a chair. Savages!
This is my 500th tasting note, perfect timing!
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savory, smokey bacon on the nose. blackberries, earth & smoke on the palate. smooth, mineral finish. there's a freshness on the finish that i'm really enjoying. an outstanding bottle & a tremendous QPR at $20.
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My introduction to Cabot came after browsing through the overwhelmingly positive tasting notes posted to CellarTracker. I am happy to confirm that those glowing reviews are indeed the real deal after enjoying my first bottle of 2006 Cabot Vineyards Humboldt County Syrah with homemade pizza and a Philadelphia defeat of the Dallas Cowboys.
To be completely honest, I was less than convinced that I would experience the pronounced meatiness that others often mention in their notes. However, upon opening this first bottle I was absolutely floored by the power of this Syrah. Scents of dark, damp earth are bolstered by gentle floral notes.
That first taste and the frequent mention of bacon in others tasting notes made perfect sense. While some may not find the flavor of bacon as pronounced as I did, I was actually shocked by how powerful this flavor came across. Initially I wasn't sure if I would find this "meatiness" to be a positive attribute, but in retrospect, I think this is one of the most interesting wines I have ever had. Suffice to say that I am looking forward to tasting the other Cabot Syrah wines.
From my perspective this is a fantastic wine that you owe it to yourself to try.
I poured a glass from the freshly opened bottle and stepped out into a very rainy, dark evening. When I returned, it had spent 45 minutes @75F, enough to warm a bit from the 56F starting temp. Shows a clean, dark ruby color throughout. The bouquet is at first spicy like cinnamon or nutmeg on caramelized banana flambe, then floral as in dried aromatic flowers, following through with a red fruited tail with scents of an imaginary cherry-rhubarb pie concoction at the BBQ pit, a smoking pork cut sizzling in it's juices. On the palate, this drinks clean and broad with bright, red fruits strewn across a smokey background. Flourished with baking spices and finely ground white pepper, this dry wine presents a semisweet reduction of pure Northern CA Syrah juice that is kept fresh and lively by the well balanced acidity. The integrated, not so imposing tannins here suggest this is a wine to drink now or in the next 5-7 years, but I wouldn't push the boundary out too far and risk seeing the fresh, lifted character of this wine flattened with excessive aging; it's balanced enough to evolve but not necessarily with a sum positive movement. With smaller wineries like Cabot producing wines of such quality and character, and at such a price, I really don't understand eighty percent of my past five years of wine purchases. There's a better way, and CellarTracker has both helped and hurt that movement. Nonetheless, this was a fine introduction to Cabot Syrah.
From 10 year old, own-rooted, dry-farmed, vines at their estate Old Mill Vineyard. De-stemmed and fermented in small 1.5 ton fermenters (~20% stems included). Neutral French oak barrels (20% new Hungarian oak). Bottled after 18 months in barrel, unfined and unfiltered.
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Initially tasted single blind- Dark fruit prominent on the nose with violets, smoke,black pepper, a little heat, olives,bacon grease. The fruit gave this up as a new world Syrah but it brings a ton of complexity which I like. There is a spiciness which comes across like a melange of dried peppers along with graphite,lush raspberries,raw leather, and real savory( tapenadey) quality. The finish is persistent. There was a healthy glass left that was vacavined and 3 days later this wine had no heat on the nose and was really smooth as silk.Just seeing the price point now this is a out and out steal..91+
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Big thick legs. Alcohol on the nose with a touch of floral notes. Decent fruit and acidity, chewy palate. Getting much more oak this time. Medium plus finish.
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This bottle is opening up quickly, and is showing a stronger floral profile than I recall from other Cabot Humboldt County Syrahs. The grilled meats are ever present on the nose, and dark fruits with graphite and tanned leather. I'm picking up a bit of alcohol on the nose as well. Medium texture on the mouthfeel, palate dominated by blackberry, beef jerky, pepper, and some tar. Good acidity. The finish is full of dusty tannins, pepper, and a bit more of the alcohol from the nose shows up. This is a fairly low abv wine, and it is cellar temperature, so I'm surprised by the presence of alcohol, which is there, but not invasive.
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Still showing "well," but we noticed the oak is beginning to assert it's presence...friuit receding perhaps? Seemed hard to pick up the distinctive Syrah profile due to this...need to monitor over the next few bottles.
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This wine seems to be entering a new stage - developing in an interesting way. The meatiness and rustic nature are still there in the nose, but a bit more muted, hiding behind a clear peppery spice with a bit of purfumed florals. I like it! On the palate, it seems to have lost a bit of its weight, and feels crisper and lighter - I prefer how it was it previous tastings, with greater substance on the midpalate in particular. On the finish, more of the acidity comes through, and a long sample of the pepper you first smelled on the nose.
Definitely a different wine - still great as a QPR, but definitely changing.
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Meaty, savory, earthy nose, with a touch of blood and iodine - oh, and a little fruit under there, too. Even with some time in the decanter, this stays away from the well-fruited side of syrah. Cool climate, nice peppery notes, great structure and body. Day two with the other half of the bottle brings more of the pure, dark red and blue fruits to the front, buoyed by the all the earthiness and savory. I'll wait some time before I crack another bottle.
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I'm a generally tough grader. An 88 means an excellent wine of character that provides great pleasure without sending me into religious revelry. :-) I loved the dark earthy, nearly elegant fruit. I didn't get any bacon and while I got forest leaves, smoke and earth it did not veer into barnyard to me. Excellent weight and balance and I'd love to try this over the next 4-5 years to see how it develops. It certainly makes me terrifically excited to try the KimB and Aria's!
Add in the QPR and it gets two thumbs up for sure.
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Confirming the other recent CT comments-a fine rendition of cold-climate Syrah - the Hungarian oak (perhaps) an intriguing element...or was it the cold climate??? Hard to tell, but this was a refreshing and different Syrah from the CA Syrahs we normally drink...a bit modest on the follow-through (compared to the higher end stuff, of course), but fine for what it was and what it cost ($20). Wonderful QPR.
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Dark garnet purple throughout. Dark, floral, and pungent on the nose with currant, blackberry, olive, slate, stems, cinnamon, and pine resin. The palate has fresh spicy red fruits such as raspberry, currant, spices, olives, and meat juice along with an intriguing stemy quality. This is full bodied with firm tannins and a nice dry edge to the texture that you don't often find in New World Syrah. You also have to love the acidity here which gives the ripe fruit beautiful lift and backbone. Offering glorious uniqueness, this wine surprised me, it was a little heavier than I expected so I would give it another five years to resolve.
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Opened at Legend Cellars party. Quite nice, with restrained and balanced fruit. Not your goopy CA Syrah at all. Bottle finished quickly. Great value too.
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Attractive dark purple. Initially the nose comes across as juicy and a little candied but really fleshes out with time and begins to show peppery dark fruit, smoke, floral notes, baking spice, meat. A beautiful expression of the variety; doesn't even flirt with the juicy artificiality that Cali Syrah can acquire. Savory, deep, almost brothy on the palate. This is a wine with a sense of place. Nice spicy berry fruit and a touch of oak. Pleasant acidity and good structure, this is a medium term drinker I'll seek more of. 89-90 points, an outstanding CA cool-climate Syrah.
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Decanted and drank over two days. Completely opaque black purple in color. Nose of smoke, bacon fat, black and blue berries and some pine. Lively black fruits, earth, pine and light bacon grease and smoke out of the finish. So vibrant and fun to drink with all of the interesting layers of flavors. I love John's take on Syrah in that it has an interesting old world charm balanced with wonderful, rich fruits.
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OC Poker for Wine V (Wine Cellar Club, Irvine, CA): Impression only. Pretty straightforward meaty syrah here, but there certainly are lovely layers of floral and dark fruit flavors going on here. For $20 you aren't going to find a better syrah, especially out of the new world that so well embodies the characteristics of the varietal. Really nice.
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OCP4W V (WCC in Irvine, CA): Red fruits and underbrush on the nose; medium bodied; raspberry with some smokiness on the palate; none of the bacon that I get on the Kimberly’s and Aria’s. A very solid entry-level Syrah.
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The classic Cabot cured meat/bacon coming through on the nose prominently, with a good dose of violets, which is an aspect I do not recall from other bottles - very rich, meaty nose, with just a touch of heat, barely perceptible. Good substantive mouthfeel - dark fruits, blueberries, smoked meat, soil and rocks - good earthy flavor profile overall, and well balanced. The finish is perhaps most impressive, actually, since it seamlessly flows from the palate to the finish, with just a hint of fine ripe tannic structure, fading to a nice dark fruit profile. A tremendous value.
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I've been wanting to try a Cabot for a while and found some at K&L this weekend. This says loud and clear unique and high quality syrah is being made in Humbolt County. I liked this more on night #1 than night #2. Needed about an hour to open up. Walks the like between the cooler climate and warm climate syrahs. Reddish dark fruit with an edge of menthol. Medium bodied and more graceful in texture. I wanted it to have a little more fruit in the middle, but enjoyable none the less. A producer I'll keep looking to explore more.
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Jeff’s: Very dark; very low intense nose; soft round entry, but big, lerathery, earthy mth, not a lot of frt here either, not much class; “bacon fat”; baby fat in mth. No one impressed much.
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I pulled the cork yesterday afternoon, gave it a quick sniff, and decided to let it breathe slowly overnight in the bottle. Our previous '06 Cabot Syrahs (Aria's, Kimberly's, and "One Barrel") needed a solid 24-36 hours in a decanter to open up, but this one seemed more accessible.
In the glass, this is inky purple and viscous. The first smell is chalk... chalk and rocks, followed by raspberry, pie spice, and pepper. The first sip was pure bacon-- meaty, smoky, and mouth-filling, yet never heavy or ponderous. With a little more air, the bright, brambly fruit from the nose became far more noticeable on the palate. Even with a full day of air, this is very youthful. There's enough acid and tannin here to last several years. I
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Nice cool climate funk. Stayed stinky for two days. Not bad stinky … well I guess its all relative. The palate is somewhat rich. Seems like there is some whole cluster. Nice ripeness level on the fruit. Ripe but nowhere near prunes. On the second day, I found the wine richer, smoother and lusher as the tannin seemed to back down. A very tasty wine with a few edges but very easy to drink.
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Even though there is still a good dose of alcohol on the nose, bacon really comes through, so it trumps all. A nice dark floral aspect as well as some rocky terroir also comes through on the nose - remove that alcohol, and it's a killer. The deep color hints at what the palate delivers - a nice earthy and rocky terroir, dark berries, smoked meat, and it even seems to have a bit of granulation to it, but not actual sediment, more like finely crushed chalk. On the finish, more dark berries, a smoky meat flavor, and, best of all, here comes the bacon again! The finish is actually quite long, and gets better at the very end, but the bacon and the chalky, rocky aspect holds through to the end.
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2009 Family Winemakers of California San Diego Tasting (Del Mar Fairgrounds): The nose on this wine has aromas I rarely if ever experience from California Syrah. I know the term is overused, but this offers gobs of terroir with notes of crushed stones, earth, peat smoke, and underlying berries. The tremendous expression carries over to the palate which has flavors of earth, truffle, smoked meat, and ripe purple fruit. I love this for its overwhelming uniqueness.
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OC Offline With John and Kimberly Cabot (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): A bit of new oak peeking through...it accents. Crushed rocks, nose hints of raspberry cream with a bit of a rougher edged finish. Has good potential, let it rest and age some to soften the finish.
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1/1/2023 - Eric wrote: 94 Points
Simply unreal....
Smoky, meaty, black fruit, DEEP blackberry, olive, tannins are still assertive, wonderful acidity. The alcohol is a surprising 14.8%, but this drinks cool and assertive with menthol and lifted acidity.
Wonderful showing!
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6/25/2018 - Badfish Likes this wine:
Amazing value on this wine. Holding up so well. Love the cooler climate notes just oozing: wild berries, slate, forest floor, violets. A beautiful wine from an underrated producer and region. With ample tannins and no signs of fading this wine should age effortlessly for another decade.
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11/21/2015 - WineKnurd wrote: 83 Points
Nov 21st 2015 "Getting the Band back Together" Tasting at Adam's (Phredd's Casa): 3rd wine courtesy of JohnR. A very funky Rhone blend- earth, barnyard, and pure campfire smoke that fades into smoked, cured meats like ham and bacon. I never got much fruit out of this throughout the night, oak and tannins are dominant on the nose and palate. Dense and full bodied, 14.8% abv. Overall Evaluation: B-.
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8/23/2015 - brigcampbell wrote:
This was the last bottle and we took it camping, seems like the perfect wine for food cooked on the open campfire. Dark rich fruit but it seems the mineral aspect was significantly more forward which is really nice. Wonder if it's an age thing? Wish I had a case hiding in the cellar where I could drink one a year for the next decade. No question this will hold up. Great wine.
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1/14/2015 - arthrovine wrote: 92 Points
Dark, musky, almost forboding savory flavor profile. Not vibrant. I found this delicious, complex, and thought provoking. Ridiculous value. I love this cool climate aged syrah stuff....
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11/14/2014 - paydon9 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Initial aromas of smoke and plum, lead to red fruits, charcoal, dusty earth, clean fresh blueberry develops with a couple hours of air. Super juicy red fruit that overwhelms, in a good way, then a savory, charred herb thing going on mid palate. Tannins are resolved and the bright acidity is such a defining characteristic, tart and crunchy, yet perfectly ripe. A wave of red fruit persists on the finish, then I get more of that blueberry that just hangs on forever. This is really good.
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4/5/2014 - MC2 Wines wrote:
Nice and dark and a bit of an almost prunish streak (but a sweeter and less tart version). The wine has some oak and comes across as very dark. It's not overly complex, but it's an easy drinking wine that has some character and depth and a great QPR.
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3/7/2014 - RobertB321 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Very dark color. Earthy aroma dominates. Rich dark fruit and dark chocolate flavor. No heat. Very long lasting flavor. A real pleasure to drink on its own. Ready to drink right now.
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9/27/2013 - JimVan wrote: 92 Points
Absolutely delicious after a 3 hour decant, rich, clear delineated flavors of blueberry and cherry, a hint of bacon fat, terrific wine I wish I had more of. Went well with tri-tip, roasted root vegetables and plum chutney. The wine stood up to and complemented the meal. Excellent.
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3/17/2012 - dsgris Likes this wine: 88 Points
Dark ruby, red berry nose. Bold fruit, red meat notes, not quite up to some of the other Syrahs, but sill a very good wine. It may need a little more air than it was given. Left at the host's to develop over night
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1/27/2012 - brigcampbell wrote:
OK, this wine is like Christmas morning. you never know what you're going to get but you know you'll love it.
This time, blueberry and campfire on the open. Never seen that before... Yummy.
This really needs to decant for an hour or so to open up which reveals lots of coffee and dark fruit, and blueberry
wow, first time with that combination and it is great.
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11/17/2011 - Todd French wrote:
I figured it was time to bring out an old friend tonight. While some of the bacon fat aroma has gone away, this wine now highlights more florals and spice on the nose. It didn't pair terribly well with chili, so I will just enjoy it on its own, as I normally do!
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7/15/2011 - brigcampbell wrote:
As previous notes with the smoked meat/Italian sausage nose. The fruit in this bottle was much less prevalent that others. Great paring with bbq ribs.
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4/24/2011 - andtheodor wrote: 89 Points
Smoky, peppery, and fatty, almost too extreme. Nice blackberry fruit, tapenade, good acidity. Unusual and distinct, my only criticism is the greenness and astringency of the tannins.
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2/13/2011 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
14.8% ABV. Somewhat translucent dark garnet in the glass. Earthy mineral, slate-like nose with a suggestion of olive and iodine, but with some underlying ripe fruit. Medium full bodied with black fruit on the palate. Somewhat rustic, but round rather than angular, and far from austere with a suggestion of minerals or slate on the mid-palate as well.
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12/19/2010 - brigcampbell wrote: 92 Points
So after trying for the third time I'm getting a good feel for this wine. Like just about every wine, a good decant is rewarded. I did 3 hours and passed through the vinturi. The touch of heat dissipates that way but it never really bothered me anyway.
As with all the cabot's I've had, they are very alive and dynamic, morphing all the time which only adds to the entertainment value.
Lots of smoked meat, graphite, and dark fruit all wrestling with each other in a symphony of power and complexity. Awesome juice.
I only had one glass because I brought this to a party of cab lovers so I'd have something to drink ( I'm in my anti-cab phase) and after the first person asked for a taster the word was out, I found the bottle 30 minutes later lying on its side empty and kicked under a chair. Savages!
This is my 500th tasting note, perfect timing!
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12/16/2010 - celtic67 wrote:
savory, smokey bacon on the nose. blackberries, earth & smoke on the palate. smooth, mineral finish. there's a freshness on the finish that i'm really enjoying. an outstanding bottle & a tremendous QPR at $20.
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12/12/2010 - smokeshowing Likes this wine: 92 Points
My introduction to Cabot came after browsing through the overwhelmingly positive tasting notes posted to CellarTracker. I am happy to confirm that those glowing reviews are indeed the real deal after enjoying my first bottle of 2006 Cabot Vineyards Humboldt County Syrah with homemade pizza and a Philadelphia defeat of the Dallas Cowboys.
To be completely honest, I was less than convinced that I would experience the pronounced meatiness that others often mention in their notes. However, upon opening this first bottle I was absolutely floored by the power of this Syrah. Scents of dark, damp earth are bolstered by gentle floral notes.
That first taste and the frequent mention of bacon in others tasting notes made perfect sense. While some may not find the flavor of bacon as pronounced as I did, I was actually shocked by how powerful this flavor came across. Initially I wasn't sure if I would find this "meatiness" to be a positive attribute, but in retrospect, I think this is one of the most interesting wines I have ever had. Suffice to say that I am looking forward to tasting the other Cabot Syrah wines.
From my perspective this is a fantastic wine that you owe it to yourself to try.
http://fearnowine.com/
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12/5/2010 - z_willus_d wrote: 91 Points
I poured a glass from the freshly opened bottle and stepped out into a very rainy, dark evening. When I returned, it had spent 45 minutes @75F, enough to warm a bit from the 56F starting temp. Shows a clean, dark ruby color throughout. The bouquet is at first spicy like cinnamon or nutmeg on caramelized banana flambe, then floral as in dried aromatic flowers, following through with a red fruited tail with scents of an imaginary cherry-rhubarb pie concoction at the BBQ pit, a smoking pork cut sizzling in it's juices. On the palate, this drinks clean and broad with bright, red fruits strewn across a smokey background. Flourished with baking spices and finely ground white pepper, this dry wine presents a semisweet reduction of pure Northern CA Syrah juice that is kept fresh and lively by the well balanced acidity. The integrated, not so imposing tannins here suggest this is a wine to drink now or in the next 5-7 years, but I wouldn't push the boundary out too far and risk seeing the fresh, lifted character of this wine flattened with excessive aging; it's balanced enough to evolve but not necessarily with a sum positive movement. With smaller wineries like Cabot producing wines of such quality and character, and at such a price, I really don't understand eighty percent of my past five years of wine purchases. There's a better way, and CellarTracker has both helped and hurt that movement. Nonetheless, this was a fine introduction to Cabot Syrah.
From 10 year old, own-rooted, dry-farmed, vines at their estate Old Mill Vineyard. De-stemmed and fermented in small 1.5 ton fermenters (~20% stems included). Neutral French oak barrels (20% new Hungarian oak). Bottled after 18 months in barrel, unfined and unfiltered.
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11/22/2010 - LeatherPalate wrote: 91 Points
Initially tasted single blind- Dark fruit prominent on the nose with violets, smoke,black pepper, a little heat, olives,bacon grease. The fruit gave this up
as a new world Syrah but it brings a ton of complexity which I like. There is a spiciness which comes across like a melange of dried peppers along with graphite,lush raspberries,raw leather, and real savory( tapenadey) quality. The finish is persistent. There was a healthy glass left that was vacavined and 3 days later this wine had no heat on the nose and was really smooth as silk.Just seeing the price point now this is a out and out steal..91+
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9/11/2010 - brigcampbell wrote: 90 Points
Big thick legs. Alcohol on the nose with a touch of floral notes. Decent fruit and acidity, chewy palate. Getting much more oak this time. Medium plus finish.
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6/17/2010 - Todd French Likes this wine: 90 Points
This bottle is opening up quickly, and is showing a stronger floral profile than I recall from other Cabot Humboldt County Syrahs. The grilled meats are ever present on the nose, and dark fruits with graphite and tanned leather. I'm picking up a bit of alcohol on the nose as well. Medium texture on the mouthfeel, palate dominated by blackberry, beef jerky, pepper, and some tar. Good acidity. The finish is full of dusty tannins, pepper, and a bit more of the alcohol from the nose shows up. This is a fairly low abv wine, and it is cellar temperature, so I'm surprised by the presence of alcohol, which is there, but not invasive.
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5/23/2010 - stufis wrote: 87 Points
Still showing "well," but we noticed the oak is beginning to assert it's presence...friuit receding perhaps? Seemed hard to pick up the distinctive Syrah profile due to this...need to monitor over the next few bottles.
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4/12/2010 - Todd French Likes this wine: 90 Points
This wine seems to be entering a new stage - developing in an interesting way. The meatiness and rustic nature are still there in the nose, but a bit more muted, hiding behind a clear peppery spice with a bit of purfumed florals. I like it! On the palate, it seems to have lost a bit of its weight, and feels crisper and lighter - I prefer how it was it previous tastings, with greater substance on the midpalate in particular. On the finish, more of the acidity comes through, and a long sample of the pepper you first smelled on the nose.
Definitely a different wine - still great as a QPR, but definitely changing.
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3/7/2010 - stubbie999 wrote:
Meaty, savory, earthy nose, with a touch of blood and iodine - oh, and a little fruit under there, too. Even with some time in the decanter, this stays away from the well-fruited side of syrah. Cool climate, nice peppery notes, great structure and body. Day two with the other half of the bottle brings more of the pure, dark red and blue fruits to the front, buoyed by the all the earthiness and savory. I'll wait some time before I crack another bottle.
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3/6/2010 - ChrisBeacham wrote: 88 Points
I'm a generally tough grader. An 88 means an excellent wine of character that provides great pleasure without sending me into religious revelry. :-) I loved the dark earthy, nearly elegant fruit. I didn't get any bacon and while I got forest leaves, smoke and earth it did not veer into barnyard to me. Excellent weight and balance and I'd love to try this over the next 4-5 years to see how it develops. It certainly makes me terrifically excited to try the KimB and Aria's!
Add in the QPR and it gets two thumbs up for sure.
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3/4/2010 - stufis wrote: 90 Points
Confirming the other recent CT comments-a fine rendition of cold-climate Syrah - the Hungarian oak (perhaps) an intriguing element...or was it the cold climate??? Hard to tell, but this was a refreshing and different Syrah from the CA Syrahs we normally drink...a bit modest on the follow-through (compared to the higher end stuff, of course), but fine for what it was and what it cost ($20). Wonderful QPR.
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2/27/2010 - Badfish wrote: 92 Points
Dark garnet purple throughout. Dark, floral, and pungent on the nose with currant, blackberry, olive, slate, stems, cinnamon, and pine resin. The palate has fresh spicy red fruits such as raspberry, currant, spices, olives, and meat juice along with an intriguing stemy quality. This is full bodied with firm tannins and a nice dry edge to the texture that you don't often find in New World Syrah. You also have to love the acidity here which gives the ripe fruit beautiful lift and backbone. Offering glorious uniqueness, this wine surprised me, it was a little heavier than I expected so I would give it another five years to resolve.
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2/27/2010 - Colima74 wrote: 90 Points
Opened at Legend Cellars party. Quite nice, with restrained and balanced fruit. Not your goopy CA Syrah at all. Bottle finished quickly. Great value too.
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2/27/2010 - andtheodor wrote: 90 Points
Attractive dark purple. Initially the nose comes across as juicy and a little candied but really fleshes out with time and begins to show peppery dark fruit, smoke, floral notes, baking spice, meat. A beautiful expression of the variety; doesn't even flirt with the juicy artificiality that Cali Syrah can acquire. Savory, deep, almost brothy on the palate. This is a wine with a sense of place. Nice spicy berry fruit and a touch of oak. Pleasant acidity and good structure, this is a medium term drinker I'll seek more of. 89-90 points, an outstanding CA cool-climate Syrah.
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2/26/2010 - jhannah27 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Decanted and drank over two days. Completely opaque black purple in color. Nose of smoke, bacon fat, black and blue berries and some pine. Lively black fruits, earth, pine and light bacon grease and smoke out of the finish. So vibrant and fun to drink with all of the interesting layers of flavors. I love John's take on Syrah in that it has an interesting old world charm balanced with wonderful, rich fruits.
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1/31/2010 - brigcampbell wrote: 93 Points
This is a pork lovers favorite. Fantastic wine, the previous notes hit it on the head
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1/30/2010 - jhannah27 wrote:
OC Poker for Wine V (Wine Cellar Club, Irvine, CA): Impression only. Pretty straightforward meaty syrah here, but there certainly are lovely layers of floral and dark fruit flavors going on here. For $20 you aren't going to find a better syrah, especially out of the new world that so well embodies the characteristics of the varietal. Really nice.
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1/30/2010 - grafstrb wrote:
OCP4W V (WCC in Irvine, CA): Red fruits and underbrush on the nose; medium bodied; raspberry with some smokiness on the palate; none of the bacon that I get on the Kimberly’s and Aria’s. A very solid entry-level Syrah.
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12/9/2009 - Todd French wrote: 92 Points
The classic Cabot cured meat/bacon coming through on the nose prominently, with a good dose of violets, which is an aspect I do not recall from other bottles - very rich, meaty nose, with just a touch of heat, barely perceptible. Good substantive mouthfeel - dark fruits, blueberries, smoked meat, soil and rocks - good earthy flavor profile overall, and well balanced. The finish is perhaps most impressive, actually, since it seamlessly flows from the palate to the finish, with just a hint of fine ripe tannic structure, fading to a nice dark fruit profile. A tremendous value.
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10/19/2009 - tim_c wrote: 88 Points
I've been wanting to try a Cabot for a while and found some at K&L this weekend. This says loud and clear unique and high quality syrah is being made in Humbolt County. I liked this more on night #1 than night #2. Needed about an hour to open up. Walks the like between the cooler climate and warm climate syrahs. Reddish dark fruit with an edge of menthol. Medium bodied and more graceful in texture. I wanted it to have a little more fruit in the middle, but enjoyable none the less. A producer I'll keep looking to explore more.
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9/13/2009 - peternelson wrote: 86 Points
Jeff’s: Very dark; very low intense nose; soft round entry, but big, lerathery, earthy mth, not a lot of frt here either, not much class; “bacon fat”; baby fat in mth. No one impressed much.
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6/1/2009 - Brix wrote:
I pulled the cork yesterday afternoon, gave it a quick sniff, and decided to let it breathe slowly overnight in the bottle. Our previous '06 Cabot Syrahs (Aria's, Kimberly's, and "One Barrel") needed a solid 24-36 hours in a decanter to open up, but this one seemed more accessible.
In the glass, this is inky purple and viscous. The first smell is chalk... chalk and rocks, followed by raspberry, pie spice, and pepper. The first sip was pure bacon-- meaty, smoky, and mouth-filling, yet never heavy or ponderous. With a little more air, the bright, brambly fruit from the nose became far more noticeable on the palate. Even with a full day of air, this is very youthful. There's enough acid and tannin here to last several years. I
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5/20/2009 - jasonh wrote: 89 Points
Nice cool climate funk. Stayed stinky for two days. Not bad stinky … well I guess its all relative. The palate is somewhat rich. Seems like there is some whole cluster. Nice ripeness level on the fruit. Ripe but nowhere near prunes. On the second day, I found the wine richer, smoother and lusher as the tannin seemed to back down. A very tasty wine with a few edges but very easy to drink.
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4/1/2009 - Todd French wrote: 92 Points
Even though there is still a good dose of alcohol on the nose, bacon really comes through, so it trumps all. A nice dark floral aspect as well as some rocky terroir also comes through on the nose - remove that alcohol, and it's a killer. The deep color hints at what the palate delivers - a nice earthy and rocky terroir, dark berries, smoked meat, and it even seems to have a bit of granulation to it, but not actual sediment, more like finely crushed chalk. On the finish, more dark berries, a smoky meat flavor, and, best of all, here comes the bacon again! The finish is actually quite long, and gets better at the very end, but the bacon and the chalky, rocky aspect holds through to the end.
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3/15/2009 - Badfish wrote: 93 Points
2009 Family Winemakers of California San Diego Tasting (Del Mar Fairgrounds): The nose on this wine has aromas I rarely if ever experience from California Syrah. I know the term is overused, but this offers gobs of terroir with notes of crushed stones, earth, peat smoke, and underlying berries. The tremendous expression carries over to the palate which has flavors of earth, truffle, smoked meat, and ripe purple fruit. I love this for its overwhelming uniqueness.
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1/9/2009 - Frank Murray III wrote:
OC Offline With John and Kimberly Cabot (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): A bit of new oak peeking through...it accents. Crushed rocks, nose hints of raspberry cream with a bit of a rougher edged finish. Has good potential, let it rest and age some to soften the finish.
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11/23/2008 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Medium dark in color. Nose shows some notes stalkiness, perfume. Charred cherry.
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