Very nice. After a couple hours of bottle air, it leads with nice dark & blue fruit and a touch of black pepper. Med+ body, a nice balance of fruit & structure with a good acid backbone. Probably to drink up soon, but has handled the '07 vintage well for its age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
A nice restrained Syrah that brings cooler climate flavors with black fruit, herbs, pepper, smoked meat. Good concentration and low-to-medium intensity. Smooth, well balanced and very easy to drink. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
New World Blind Tasting Group $25+ (Bin 75): Black opaque core with thin dark purple rim; black olive, new French oak, violets, black pepper, tar; bigger wine, leather, menthol, dark berry, some astringency from the tannin, plush in the middle, very Northern Rhone-ish, powerful, served a little chilled which I think helped along with a 1-2 hour decant; could go many more years; really good stuff and WOTN.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Muted in the beginning, but after 30 minutes of decanting I get blueberry, red raspberry, violet, mocha, and a hint of vanilla. In the mouth, virtually no heat and tons of fruit....blueberry, blackberry, more raspberry and some coffee notes. The nose is outstanding and has some brightness to it. Give this wine at least 30 minutes to open up. Guessing there could be small amount of Viognier because it is so bright. This is a great wine for a Syrah, I like this just as much as a high point Cab.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
- Violet color and aromas of cut green grass, blackberry, black pepper and mushroom and has flavours of blackberry and black pepper - Too young. Mouth-drying tannins. Good balance considering its youth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is IMHO in a really good place right now. I am on day three of this bottle and by gosh it is holding up well. Great blue/black fruit with pepper overtones, although the pepper has slightly scaled back as each day goes by. Solid tannins, but the balance is what does it for me. It just melds together on the finish with some sublte old school metal shavings in there. I can't decide if it was better on day one or day three. I thnk day three might have an edge. Dare I say, as the finish lingers, I am even getting some dry mocha. Just a lot going on over three days with this. Great wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
My last bottle, just over a year since the last one. Open 24 hours, no decant just sat in the bottle overnight. Dark color, which is standard for Shane. Still some stem signature on the aromatics, garrigue, iron. THe fruit retains some residual chalk but not nearly as much as the last bottles, as the wine has seemed to soften as it has aged. Predominantly black fruit, olive and some leather in the palate, then more chalk on the finish. I think the wine will age further, as there is some structure remaining here but the generous fruit laid on top of it makes the two work for me now. Drink now through 2013.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Like others have noticed, this has softened since my last bottle but continues with the intense black fruit, spice and gritty tannins. Excellent structure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
14.2% alcohol. This has softened up tremendously over the past 18 months. Deep purple color still, with an aromatic, complex nose of blueberry, meat, and pepper. In the mouth, powerful but rather refined and balanced, with a terrific sense of purity. The blue and black fruit packs a punch, but it is bolstered by terrific meaty, peppery, and earthy notes. Soft, caressing mouth feel that explodes in a tannic finish. A big boy for sure, but it has real refinement underneath that. Needs another couple years. A-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very dark, muted nose, sl pepper with dark berry undertones. Fruit dominant with little residual tannins. Vegetal sl. acidic finish that improved a bit with decanting. Good but not great
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark stuff on nose (violet and dark berries) - wonderful. Quite structured especially considering price point. Ready to drink now but probably has at least 5 years more in it. Relatively large wine. Espresso and chocolate on palate. Lingering finish. Wish I had more then one left,
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Served after about a 2 hour decant. Enjoyed casually with some charcuterie and cheeses before a night out with bro and sis-in-law. Brooding dark purple color. Iron, pepper, olive with plum and raspberry fruit that was nicely integrated with the other elements. I most enjoyed the structure of the wine - very plush and smooth and easy. Definitely benefited from the decant, as others have eluded to. This was my first Shane wine and I am very impressed - glad to have more Shane juice in the cellar and some '08s on order.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Shane Finley Visits The OC (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): We also had with the 2008 Unknown this 2007, which was served direct from bottle. Has a similar nose to the 2008 Jemrose, what my notes say again as bloody/marrow. Seems to have a decent amount of what I thought was wood tannin, like barrel tannin on the tongue, but given the whole cluster in this wine, I may have missed the mark on this point. Smooth palate, olive and my main impression, this wine has softened up a lot since it first was released with the other 2007s. Drinking much smoother now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drank my last of The 07 Unknown. Dark purple color (Deep Purple); nice inky, smoky nose (Smoke on the water to match up with the Deep Purple color). Black fruit; blueberries and some tar/charcoal element. Hint of cloves and chocolate. Retasted after a day using a vacu-vin and refrigeration to help preserve the wine. Rough edges smoothed out a bit; lost some of its vibrancy but still a tasty glass of juice. The graphite/ink/tar elements are still there along with some leather and beef notes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
OC KB and Shane Dinner--With Michael Browne and Shane Finley (The Murray Casa): Ok, so this followed the 2006 Unknown so there was so context to compare. Clearly for me, the wines are different and while vintage age can be offered as part of the difference, stylistically, the 2007 is just denser. Tannin, earth and berry, dark and tarry with more dark chocolate. As I have said before about the 2007 Shane wines, let them age or decant well.......and as a circle back TN, with the wine open 24 hours and still enough I think to drink for at least 1-2 more days (!!), and in comparing this wine to the 2006 Unknown, the 2007 is just more of eveything--more stem notes, more color, more chalk and extract. Perhaps a bit less peppercorn but the sweet saddle/leather and tarry notes far exceed that of the 2006. In general, I like the 2006 for now but see the potential (with patience) of the 2007. Needs time......and, since I was fortunate to have a good amount left, still enjoying the wine after being open 3 and a half days, it's still cruising along. Dense,medium to full weight, earthy black fruit with red, iron/ferrous edges, along with crushed rocks, minerals and light chalk and black olive and bitter chocolate with a long finish. This will evolve into a very nice wine so let it age some, be sure to decant if you enjoy before late 2010. With nearly being open 4 days resting in the bottle, I bet this wine is still fresh tomorrow when I finally finish it off.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark black color but upon closer inspection, this has the color of grape juice. The purple tone has a vibrancy to it like fresh concord grape juice. Great blueberries and chocolate. A tad on the sweet side but this really comes together in a way that keeps you going back to it. Very well made. Has some multiple layers of depth. A very good wine. I like what Shane has been producing. The 2007 is much better than his inaugural 2006.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Nearly black color, like all of Shane's Syrahs in 2007. Tightly wrapped bouquet of blueberry, meat, earth, and minerals. In the mouth, it isn't as fat and rich as the nose might lead you to believe. It's tight and focused, with a pretty array of blue and black fruits. The earthy complexity creates a strong undertone with the powerful acidity. On the finish, tannins just flex their considerable muscle. This is such a baby. It needs a load of time in bottle. A-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Shane Finley Visits The OC (The Murray's): Added to CT database, to be released next month. Last night, was dark, tight with blue and black fruit. Retasted again this morning and as opposed to the forward and fruit centric 2006, this is more earthy in nature, wrapped around a boysen and blue fruit. Lots more structure than the 2006, and so in the end, I think the 2007 will be a better version of the wine with more complexity. Nice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
3/30/2020 - cobbpa Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very nice. After a couple hours of bottle air, it leads with nice dark & blue fruit and a touch of black pepper. Med+ body, a nice balance of fruit & structure with a good acid backbone. Probably to drink up soon, but has handled the '07 vintage well for its age.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/3/2018 - redz wrote: 88 Points
It was late in the night, pnp, so not quite fair review. Inoffensive, but I wasn't especially proud of pouring in on New Year's Eve.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/4/2016 - Nanda wrote: 88 Points
A nice restrained Syrah that brings cooler climate flavors with black fruit, herbs, pepper, smoked meat. Good concentration and low-to-medium intensity. Smooth, well balanced and very easy to drink. Very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/16/2016 - TwoSmoochies wrote: 91 Points
Definitely worth the wait
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/10/2014 - Rezy13 Likes this wine: 91 Points
New World Blind Tasting Group $25+ (Bin 75): Black opaque core with thin dark purple rim; black olive, new French oak, violets, black pepper, tar; bigger wine, leather, menthol, dark berry, some astringency from the tannin, plush in the middle, very Northern Rhone-ish, powerful, served a little chilled which I think helped along with a 1-2 hour decant; could go many more years; really good stuff and WOTN.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/22/2013 - TwoSmoochies wrote: 90 Points
Decant for at least an hour
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/31/2012 - Foodievines Likes this wine: 92 Points
Muted in the beginning, but after 30 minutes of decanting I get blueberry, red raspberry, violet, mocha, and a hint of vanilla. In the mouth, virtually no heat and tons of fruit....blueberry, blackberry, more raspberry and some coffee notes. The nose is outstanding and has some brightness to it. Give this wine at least 30 minutes to open up. Guessing there could be small amount of Viognier because it is so bright. This is a great wine for a Syrah, I like this just as much as a high point Cab.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/2/2012 - marka wrote: 88 Points
- Violet color and aromas of cut green grass, blackberry, black pepper and mushroom and has flavours of blackberry and black pepper - Too young. Mouth-drying tannins. Good balance considering its youth.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/18/2011 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
Blind Wines and football (Phil's place, Chicago IL): nose: forward and rich nose filled with tones of red licorice, berries, dark red cherries, blueberry pie and some red+black currants
taste: full bodied with a very plush feel and silky tones of red licorice, berries, dark red cherries, red currants and some spice tones
overall: This was certainly on the forward side, but it held together very well. Upfront but with a real plush quality on both the nose and palate
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/15/2011 - budman wrote: 90 Points
Finish is just a little chalky, but the fruit prevails. Very nice. Probably needs more time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/6/2011 - SPK wrote:
This is IMHO in a really good place right now. I am on day three of this bottle and by gosh it is holding up well. Great blue/black fruit with pepper overtones, although the pepper has slightly scaled back as each day goes by. Solid tannins, but the balance is what does it for me. It just melds together on the finish with some sublte old school metal shavings in there. I can't decide if it was better on day one or day three. I thnk day three might have an edge. Dare I say, as the finish lingers, I am even getting some dry mocha. Just a lot going on over three days with this. Great wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/5/2011 - Frank Murray III wrote:
My last bottle, just over a year since the last one. Open 24 hours, no decant just sat in the bottle overnight. Dark color, which is standard for Shane. Still some stem signature on the aromatics, garrigue, iron. THe fruit retains some residual chalk but not nearly as much as the last bottles, as the wine has seemed to soften as it has aged. Predominantly black fruit, olive and some leather in the palate, then more chalk on the finish. I think the wine will age further, as there is some structure remaining here but the generous fruit laid on top of it makes the two work for me now. Drink now through 2013.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/28/2010 - aavello wrote: 91 Points
Berry, cherry with a hint of molasses. Yummy to the taste, a crowd pleaser. Shane is always good across the board.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/9/2010 - kanab ram wrote:
Like others have noticed, this has softened since my last bottle but continues with the intense black fruit, spice and gritty tannins. Excellent structure.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/15/2010 - gutt22 wrote:
14.2% alcohol. This has softened up tremendously over the past 18 months. Deep purple color still, with an aromatic, complex nose of blueberry, meat, and pepper. In the mouth, powerful but rather refined and balanced, with a terrific sense of purity. The blue and black fruit packs a punch, but it is bolstered by terrific meaty, peppery, and earthy notes. Soft, caressing mouth feel that explodes in a tannic finish. A big boy for sure, but it has real refinement underneath that. Needs another couple years. A-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/31/2010 - kennyg wrote: 85 Points
Very dark, muted nose, sl pepper with dark berry undertones. Fruit dominant with little residual tannins. Vegetal sl. acidic finish that improved a bit with decanting. Good but not great
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/3/2010 - spineguy wrote: 92 Points
Dark stuff on nose (violet and dark berries) - wonderful. Quite structured especially considering price point. Ready to drink now but probably has at least 5 years more in it. Relatively large wine. Espresso and chocolate on palate. Lingering finish. Wish I had more then one left,
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/8/2010 - Wine'in Brian wrote: 91 Points
Served after about a 2 hour decant. Enjoyed casually with some charcuterie and cheeses before a night out with bro and sis-in-law. Brooding dark purple color. Iron, pepper, olive with plum and raspberry fruit that was nicely integrated with the other elements. I most enjoyed the structure of the wine - very plush and smooth and easy. Definitely benefited from the decant, as others have eluded to. This was my first Shane wine and I am very impressed - glad to have more Shane juice in the cellar and some '08s on order.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/3/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Shane Finley Visits The OC (Fratello's Laguna Niguel): We also had with the 2008 Unknown this 2007, which was served direct from bottle. Has a similar nose to the 2008 Jemrose, what my notes say again as bloody/marrow. Seems to have a decent amount of what I thought was wood tannin, like barrel tannin on the tongue, but given the whole cluster in this wine, I may have missed the mark on this point. Smooth palate, olive and my main impression, this wine has softened up a lot since it first was released with the other 2007s. Drinking much smoother now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/21/2009 - jerhardt wrote: 90 Points
Big and concentrated. A bit heavy handed on the oak, but fun to drink.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/8/2009 - t_moderne wrote: 90 Points
Drank my last of The 07 Unknown. Dark purple color (Deep Purple); nice inky, smoky nose (Smoke on the water to match up with the Deep Purple color). Black fruit; blueberries and some tar/charcoal element. Hint of cloves and chocolate.
Retasted after a day using a vacu-vin and refrigeration to help preserve the wine. Rough edges smoothed out a bit; lost some of its vibrancy but still a tasty glass of juice. The graphite/ink/tar elements are still there along with some leather and beef notes.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/15/2009 - Frank Murray III wrote:
OC KB and Shane Dinner--With Michael Browne and Shane Finley (The Murray Casa): Ok, so this followed the 2006 Unknown so there was so context to compare. Clearly for me, the wines are different and while vintage age can be offered as part of the difference, stylistically, the 2007 is just denser. Tannin, earth and berry, dark and tarry with more dark chocolate. As I have said before about the 2007 Shane wines, let them age or decant well.......and as a circle back TN, with the wine open 24 hours and still enough I think to drink for at least 1-2 more days (!!), and in comparing this wine to the 2006 Unknown, the 2007 is just more of eveything--more stem notes, more color, more chalk and extract. Perhaps a bit less peppercorn but the sweet saddle/leather and tarry notes far exceed that of the 2006. In general, I like the 2006 for now but see the potential (with patience) of the 2007. Needs time......and, since I was fortunate to have a good amount left, still enjoying the wine after being open 3 and a half days, it's still cruising along. Dense,medium to full weight, earthy black fruit with red, iron/ferrous edges, along with crushed rocks, minerals and light chalk and black olive and bitter chocolate with a long finish. This will evolve into a very nice wine so let it age some, be sure to decant if you enjoy before late 2010. With nearly being open 4 days resting in the bottle, I bet this wine is still fresh tomorrow when I finally finish it off.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/26/2009 - t_moderne wrote: 90 Points
Dark black color but upon closer inspection, this has the color of grape juice. The purple tone has a vibrancy to it like fresh concord grape juice. Great blueberries and chocolate. A tad on the sweet side but this really comes together in a way that keeps you going back to it. Very well made. Has some multiple layers of depth. A very good wine. I like what Shane has been producing. The 2007 is much better than his inaugural 2006.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/23/2009 - jerhardt wrote: 91 Points
Glass staining midnight purple. I like this, though; although it is a monster, it is deeply flavored, complex and pretty well balanced. Good stuff.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/17/2009 - gutt22 wrote:
Nearly black color, like all of Shane's Syrahs in 2007. Tightly wrapped bouquet of blueberry, meat, earth, and minerals. In the mouth, it isn't as fat and rich as the nose might lead you to believe. It's tight and focused, with a pretty array of blue and black fruits. The earthy complexity creates a strong undertone with the powerful acidity. On the finish, tannins just flex their considerable muscle. This is such a baby. It needs a load of time in bottle. A-
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/13/2008 - Paul Lin wrote: 88 Points
Shane Finley Comes to the OC (Casa Murray - San Juan Capistrano, CA): Notes of blackberries, violets, dark chocolate, and pomegranate with some white pepper on the finish. Bright in texture with a racy acidity. Slightly astringent on the finish. 88+ points.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/13/2008 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Shane Finley Visits The OC (The Murray's): Added to CT database, to be released next month. Last night, was dark, tight with blue and black fruit. Retasted again this morning and as opposed to the forward and fruit centric 2006, this is more earthy in nature, wrapped around a boysen and blue fruit. Lots more structure than the 2006, and so in the end, I think the 2007 will be a better version of the wine with more complexity. Nice.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment