PnP, with waves of black raspberry, beef, and blood on the nose. Satiny mouthfeel, with modest flavors of dark berry commingling with a sanguine note. A bit of heat shows on the finish, otherwise it holds the 16.5% well. Probably a year or two past its peak, but still fun to drink.
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Ruby center with brick red rim. Complex, expressive nose of plums, lavender, olive, and black pepper. Tart plum, lavender, olive, smoked meat, and pepper on he palate. Medium-bodied, moderate acidity and some tannic presence on the finish. Overall, this is a wine that reflects a northern Rhône profile, think aged Cornas, with its plum, heavy pepper, and lavender notes as well as its masculine structure.
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Still dark purple color. The nose explodes from the glass with blackberry, herbs, meaty notes, and a floral component. The palate is still youthful with rich blackberry, violets, meat, and spicy pepper notes on the finish. There is great vibrancy in this medium-bodied wine, and the acidity balances the fruit while the integrated tannins provide follow through. Overall, this was quite a lovely wine that paired beautifully with homemade split pea soup, various cheeses, and biscuits. Glad I have one more left.
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P n P. Nose opened as night wore on very pretty petite floral, smokey n earthy. Min sed. Soft red fruits up front. Some spice and smoke on palate. No flaws. Resolved tannins still gave structure on back end. Held up wel to Burg Tri Tip and grilled Asian marinated sockeye salmon. Yummy night! Thanks Jeff for another tasty wine.
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Big but ok. Took as an after dinner "cocktail wine". Holds the big alcohol pretty well...black cherry & blackberry tones with a tinge of rusticity to it. Great texture, notable oak/chocolate. Still rich enough on the finish to mostly hold alcohol in check but drink in the next couple years
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Popped, filter decanted with significant sediment. Well crafted and ready to drink NOW. Deep, dense dark color with a tinge of brickish halo. Heavy bodied, fruit forward wine with light tannins. Nice complexity, very interesting wine.... the only flaw here is a less then impressive backbone.
Decanted it over a 6-7 hour time period. The color was very dark. At the beginning it had a very big "meaty" taste on the mid-palate, but over time that diminished and it just became a decent typical syrah tasting wine. It had a little finish, but overall kind of a boring wine.
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Decanted half the bottle for about an hour and consumed over 3 hours. Finished the rest of the bottle on days 2 and 3.
The nose is a wonderful combination of smoke, meat, olive, dark fruit, tar, earth and a little mint. There's more in the background of the nose, and it changes with each sniff.
Unfortunately, the palate is mostly alcohol and medicinal flavor. A tiny bit of darkish fruit, but the midpalate is completely hollow and the finish sails on with floor cleaner and alcohol. Yuck. It's amazing that the nose is very complex and a real treat, yet the palate is completely out of whack.
If the nose was not so amazing, I would think it might be flawed.
Day 2 and 3, the wine just faded away. On day 2, the nose was not as complex or intriguing, and the palate was less flavorful/offensive. Day 3 it had faded to a very simple wine.
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Popped and poured...inviting nose of burnt meat and red fruit...pleasant mouthfeel...fully integrated with no noticeable tannins...finish on the short side, but tough to find any complaints as it paired well with the spicy salad...got better over the course of perhaps an hour.
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this has always been such a special wine, and this wine showed probably the best yet. meaty, earthy, yet balanced juicy black and red fruits without being overly ripe. I think this could go another 5 years, no problem. beautifully nuanced, beautifully textured. a home run. if scoring, 94.
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Dark purple color seems younger than 7 years old. Hugely impressive nose of olives and smoked meat to pair with plums and ash. The palate is classic cool climate syrah with olives, smoke, smoked meat, ash, pepper, plums, and blueberry. The acidity is high in this medium-bodied wine, and that creates an energy that carries to the palate. The finish is long and stacked with smoke and dark fruit. Overall, this was a wine I really enjoyed because it is packed with my favorite syrah characteristics - smoke, roasted meat, and ash. Great wine.
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Probably drinking at peak. Smooth, nearly fully integrated tannins. Black olive and bacon notes. Pretty light bodied for a Cali Syrah- definitely not a fruit bomb. Decent QPR
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Beef and bacon fat on the nose with suspiciously little fruit. The palate confirms that the fruit is either hiding or gone. Pleasant light berry taste but definitely weak in the mid palate for such a brawny nose. Will wait on my remaining bottle and see what happens.
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Decanted for an hour before having with grilled flank stank. Aroma of medium red to dark fruit - plum comes to mind, but also has some spice and a hint of greeness. The taste has the plum flavor in a lighter sense, along with some earthiness. This is in no means an big in your face Syrah, and it really comes together well.
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No formal notes. 2 hour decant. Deep flavors of dark fruit, smoked spices, and raspberry. Sweet tannins balanced well by the acidic structure. Nice long length with a leathery, blackberry note. Well balanced and complete.
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Decanted a couple of bottles 1.5 hrs for Christmas Dinner -- as such my notes are brief. Heady aromas of bright fruit with a little spice and earth, good body with flavors consistent with the nose. Nice finish. Paired very well with goose but particularly with roasted butternut squash and goat cheese which had a little cayenne in there -- go figure. The last glass 3 hrs after starting the meal hadn't faded in the slightest, but I also wouldn't say it had undergone an incredible positive transformation, either. Bottom line is that I don't know how much better this will get, its delicious now.
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pop and pour. went against everything jeff says to do with this wine (stand it up a day in advance, pour off a glass in the morning and let it breathe all day, etc). a little tight and unforgiving for the first 10 minutes or so, but this rapidly evolved into a gorgeous mix of russian river valley terroir and cote-rotie stylings. the purest red cherry fruit underpinned by beef blood, bbq spice, chocolate-covered oranges, and some dirt aromas. the texture was spell-binding, silky and elegant yet lively and energetic. the finish was long and full of pure juicy red fruit and subtle orange zest nuances. one of the best showings of this wine for me, and an absolute amazing qpr at $35. if scoring, 93-96. should continue to evolve well in the bottle for another 7-10 years.
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Big boned with tons happening. Blue-black fruits of blackberries, blueberry and raspberries. Bulls blood, black pepper and steamed meat. A bit high on the alcohol this one. Tannins are huge and angular. There is some tartness in the middle to end that's somewhat distracting. This quality dissipated about 45 minutes in but then returned with a vengeance for the last glass. I have another that will get the big sleep for a bunch of years.
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The nose is fruity and the the taste is very well developed. There is a touch more oak than I would like, but it may integrate further in a couple years. This was very enjoyable to me and price appropriate.
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Very dark purple with roasted meat aromatics. Blackberry, chewy herbs, charcoal and olive are framed by a rich mouthfeel with medium tannins, and a touch of alcohol on the finish.
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Dark color. Initially very sweet and fruit. Mostly raspberry and dark fruit on the palate, but it lacked structure and complexity. A nip of heat. Good finish, though.
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very fruity -- almost juicebox like, with lots of raspberry and black fruits. some powdery dark chocolate notes. a pleasant drink, but doesn't show significant complexity. nice medium finish. a little bit of heat on the midpalate.
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4 Days in Las Vegas; 6/1/2011-6/4/2011 (Las Vegas, NV): Very meaty nose. Lots of bacon and sausage. Summer thought it was incredibly savory and I agreed. Palate had almost a cornas meatiness, yet had a dense blueberry, cherry pie and mocha that give it the unmistakable trademark of California syrah. Despite the density of the wine, thought this showed a hair better than my other bottles.
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Decanted for a couple hours while having with filet mignon. Aroma of dark chocolate, leaves, and a bit of mint. Taste is blackberry, plum and dark chocolate, with a bit of a tart finish. Developed more into the leafy, forest floor type of characteristics as the night went on. Not too bad for the $35 price tag from the winery. I will let the other bottle hang around for a couple years to see where it goes.
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Wow! Ripe dark fruits and raw meat mixed with hints of violets and perfume on the nose. More black fruits dominate the palate, with tobacco and spice on the finish. Great mouthfeel - the tannins are present, but the wine is still silky smooth. It hides its 16.5% alcohol content well. This is downright hedonistic!
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The nose on this claims there is a huge syrah in the bottle and it doesnt lie. Beef, coffee, chocolate, and ripe dark fruits. The palate is full, with black berries, bacon fat, a little heat, a little oak and a grainy texture. Some serious black pepper on this one. Needs a year or two more but a very good drink.
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Drinking very well right now with a ton of upside down the road as well. On the nose it was bursting with bacon fat, meat dark blackberries, this has that old world feel to it but wrapped up with some new world fruit. In the mouth you could definately tell that this was whole cluster as it just bursted with that earthy, stemmy tannin mouthfeel. Loved it. Still a bit tight and not giving all that I sense is there in the mouth so glad I have more to track. Day 2 this gained a little more complexity on the nose albeit different; some nice florall and spice components starting to show.
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Pretty good stuff, especially the nose which has almost northern rhone characteristics of bacon fat, floral and spice to go with the black fruit and olive. Good nose did not quite follow through on the palate, but I think it was perhaps a bit young.
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Napa Offline and a whole bunch of wine, mostly Syrah (Napa Valley Wine & Cigar): Another Syrah I have never tasted, but really loved. Ruby/purple in color. The nose had a great earthiness about it. Also raspberries. Medium tannins and delicious. This is in the same style and the Campesino but a bit more heavy and full bodied. Just as good though. More about red fruits. This has slight tannins. A couple of years have fleshed out the complexity and made this fuller bodied, yet still cool climate in style. Really good. Another wine to seek out for my cellar.
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Nose has blueberry pie, raspberries and plums. Very rich wine that has pure red and black fruits, with sour cherries. Wasn't as complex as I had hoped, but definitely is a nice wine.
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Lovely nose with a great syrah profile with sweet red fruits, pepper, grilled meat, and cedar. Palate is highly polished with fine tannins. Dense and concentrated currants and raspberry, with a fantastic pepper and spice element that carries on through a lengthy finish. More complete than a year ago and on a great evolutionary track--too bad this is my last bottle. This wine has a big alcohol footprint,with a perceived sweetness to the fruit, but not overdone and carries its alcohol well when slightly below room temp.
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Sits in a nice place between Old World and Aussie syrah. Rich, dark fruit with some bacon and game notes. Plenty of tannins and a whiff of heat on finish.
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Black wine. Full of ripe blackberry, black cherry, and mocha. Tones of coffee and chocolate come through on the mid-weight palate. Not as big and dense as some syrah (that's a good thing) these days. Good QPR.
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Outstanding. Popped one to get a baseline for the rest. Obviously young, but quite nice. Nice dark fruits, smoke and some bacon fat on the nose. Very nice mouthfeel. Hint of heat on the backend. Looking forward to trying the others in a few years.
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BBQ spice and charcoal on the nose, almost to the point of irritating. This wine seemed way out of balance, and the nose was almost obnoxious - also too much acid and the wine seemed thin in the mouth. There is something wrong here. Hope the next bottle is better.
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Very tannic and definitely young. Thick, dark wine. Black and blue fruits. Viscous on the tongue. A superb effort at this price point. 91-92, but I will give em the benefit of the doubt.
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Bright fruit and alcohol is apparent (16.5% on the label!). A tasty wine in which fruit turned darker with time in the glass. I preferred it in the first hour. For fans of this style only.
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Poured and let sit in glass for about an hour while burgers were prepared and cooked. A massively thick dark wine out of the bottle. Nose of smoke, bacon fat, pepper, and ripe plum with no hint of booziness. The nose carried to the palate, but in a deeper, more earthy (albeit interesting) way. Very pleasant wine to drink now, but I think at least 1-2 years of sleep will do it some good.
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9L party (Woodinville, WA): The nose of this wine had aromas of dense, dark fruits, spice and an olive note. The palate was much more reserved than the nose led me to believe it would be, and also not as complex. The palate had plum and berry flavors with a little earth and spice. Medium bodied with excellent balance and a medium-long finish. The balance was really the star of the show here. The label said 15.4%, but this didn't seem like it was anywhere near that at all. Once I tasted it, I remembered reading on eBob about one barrel that Jeff left out of the final blend that had a huge alcohol content. I think that brought the final alcohol level down significantly under what the label said.
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Dark in color with aromas of meat, bacon fat, granite, dark fruit and maybe some olive. Soft and polished with wonderful layering/complexity. Supple finish. Really reminded me of a Cayuse.
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Opened for 45minutes. A great bottle of syrah with more air and time the nose really opened up. Black fruit. pepper, with a soild dark body in the glass. Really impressed.
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The nose was great but the palate didn't quite match up. Core of dark fruits with delicious background flavors radiating from the core, including smoke, bacon, and a hint of blueberries. The problem was that these additional flavors were too much in the background so that you really had to pay attention to get them. Maybe as time goes on the complexity will increase.
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Great bottle of syrah, opened and decanted 30 min. Generous nose of fruit and pepper, nice body of black fruits. Opened nicely with air and held up well over 2 hours
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My first Rudius Syrah. Opened, poured, and smelled for 15 minutes. Smoke, blood, tar, oak spice and a little fruit. I love it already. Slightly one dimensional in the mouth, with a nice tannic backbone that makes me think I opened this bottle a bit too early. The finish is long and without heat. I thought that I was going to like the Rudius grenache better, but now I'm not so sure. Really enjoyed this bottle.
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Popped and poured with Moutondoc. Purple in color with aromas of mixed black berries and spice. One dimensional flavors of rich velvety black fruits that drank more like a meritage than a syrah. Subtle spice and pepper flavors. Enjoyable to drink.
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Clear, dark purple. Clean aromas of earth, coal, black fruits, pepper, smoke. Medium tannin, medium acid. Flavors match aromas with herbs, meats, shoe polish on the medium to long finish. Hold remaining bottles until 2011-2012.
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Notes of smoky earth (reminds me of a campfire) wild berry and spice - the nose is very interesting and complex. In the mouth, good structure and acidity, noticeable tannins and a subtle richness on the palate. This should improve with time in the bottle. Very enjoyable.
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Definitely of a different ilk than the '05s. Less intense and lighter in weight, though certainly not delicate by any means. A bit of time in bottle should do it some good; will be interesting to see how it does with the alcohol over time.
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Spicy nose of candied wild berry, hint of citrus, and smoke. Smooth round palate, with some fine grip on the backend, with sweet tannins. Fruit forward palate with wild berries, boysenberry, and plum, with plenty of spice notes and a little tobacco. Lengthy spicy finish, with a little thyme and pepper, a little stone, and racy acidity. Very nice effort, quite tasty. Great value. Didn't get the heat others commented on, but drank at cellar to just below room temp.
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No need to wait on this beautiful syrah it's ready to drink now. It's a delicious syrah that is an incredible value. So happy I have a bunch more. It's so good now it's hard to believe it's going to get better but it might. Kudos Jeff.
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Fascinatingly unique in its aromatics and flavor profile. Jeff has crafted something very interesting here! On the nose, plums and blackberries, with a heavy dose of what Jeff called pine but what I'm calling Newport menthol cigarette, heavy on the menthol but lighter on the smoke. In the mouth, surprisingly feminine and silky, with a tangy acidity as it warmed. On the finish, big and sweet sanguine flavors of beef blood with some very noticeable heat. This bad boy has some alcohol, but its overall appeal still feels more feminine than masculine. This should settle down with age, but it's hard not to drink it now. Great job Jeff!!
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Very nice smokey dark sugar plum nose. Rich smooth creamy taste, hot stones, a little bit of blueberry compote, and a little hotness (15.6% alcohol). Overall very nice, tasty, and fairly balanced, but a bit overbearing on its own. Needs a good steak or some quality cheese to complement the power coming from this wine.
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Decanted 3 hours, enjoyed over the following 3. Inky black color. Wonderfully balanced wine, showing baked plums, salinity, iron, stone. As with all of Jeff's wines, the mouthfeel is extraordinary, rich and opulent, sublime and complex. Not a hint of alcohol shows through. One of those wines that keeps me excited about this passion we share.
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delivered on wednesday, and a friend who shared my allocation came over to pick up his bottles tonight. he insisted on opening one, and who am i to argue? not decanted, but i did have the serving temp at about 60 degrees. 16.5% alcohol, and it showed...too well, in fact. it rather smothered the mid palate, and there was some mild heat on the finish + a chunk of oak. medium body, seemed like the fruit was stretched pretty thin. some disappointment here, so i recommend more restraint than we showed in order to allow the wine to flesh out. BTW, i'm not sympathetic to bottle shock being a factor in the performance tonight. codicil: my friend private preserved this bottle (there was quite a bit left), and tried it again 24 hours later. he said it was worse, and flushed the rest. an interesting email from the winemaker to the mailing list arrived since we tried this, basically saying that everything we did doomed the wine to a poor showing. maybe. i guess time will tell. he also mentioned that the true alcohol level is 15.6% and not 16.5%. still, ETOH overwhelmed the fruit. ok...i can sit on the rest.
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One hour decant. Dark and opaque in the glass, with smoke, black fruit and stones on the nose. Medium bodied on the palate, with ripe red and black fruit, coffee and bitter chocolate. This finishes with tongue-coating saline/mineral notes. Nothing overdone, all in balance. A touch, just a hint, of thin on the mid, but it is hardly noticeable. Excellent (and a decent price to boot at $35 on release).
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4/4/2018 - ziavino wrote: 90 Points
PnP, with waves of black raspberry, beef, and blood on the nose. Satiny mouthfeel, with modest flavors of dark berry commingling with a sanguine note. A bit of heat shows on the finish, otherwise it holds the 16.5% well. Probably a year or two past its peak, but still fun to drink.
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12/3/2017 - Meerlust wrote: 89 Points
Ruby center with brick red rim. Complex, expressive nose of plums, lavender, olive, and black pepper. Tart plum, lavender, olive, smoked meat, and pepper on he palate. Medium-bodied, moderate acidity and some tannic presence on the finish. Overall, this is a wine that reflects a northern Rhône profile, think aged Cornas, with its plum, heavy pepper, and lavender notes as well as its masculine structure.
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4/22/2017 - iamandyc Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nice again. Took about 2-3 hours to come together. Some secondary flavors developing.
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2/22/2017 - JuliannaDHS wrote: 85 Points
This did have some nice exotica aromas of meat/blood, dark fruit, and spices but the alcohol was so high I just could not enjoy this.
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1/9/2016 - Meerlust wrote: 91 Points
Still dark purple color. The nose explodes from the glass with blackberry, herbs, meaty notes, and a floral component. The palate is still youthful with rich blackberry, violets, meat, and spicy pepper notes on the finish. There is great vibrancy in this medium-bodied wine, and the acidity balances the fruit while the integrated tannins provide follow through. Overall, this was quite a lovely wine that paired beautifully with homemade split pea soup, various cheeses, and biscuits. Glad I have one more left.
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9/19/2015 - Whine-oh Likes this wine: 92 Points
P n P. Nose opened as night wore on very pretty petite floral, smokey n earthy. Min sed. Soft red fruits up front. Some spice and smoke on palate. No flaws. Resolved tannins still gave structure on back end. Held up wel to Burg Tri Tip and grilled Asian marinated sockeye salmon. Yummy night! Thanks Jeff for another tasty wine.
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9/4/2015 - cobbpa wrote: 89 Points
Big but ok. Took as an after dinner "cocktail wine". Holds the big alcohol pretty well...black cherry & blackberry tones with a tinge of rusticity to it. Great texture, notable oak/chocolate. Still rich enough on the finish to mostly hold alcohol in check but drink in the next couple years
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6/6/2015 - DTWOB Likes this wine: 91 Points
Popped, filter decanted with significant sediment. Well crafted and ready to drink NOW. Deep, dense dark color with a tinge of brickish halo. Heavy bodied, fruit forward wine with light tannins. Nice complexity, very interesting wine.... the only flaw here is a less then impressive backbone.
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5/13/2015 - jhemming Likes this wine: 90 Points
Tons of smoke and savory notes upon opening, that give way to dark red fruits, olive and cracked pepper. Minimal tannins. Smooth finish.
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3/7/2015 - stconner wrote: 90 Points
Decanted it over a 6-7 hour time period. The color was very dark. At the beginning it had a very big "meaty" taste on the mid-palate, but over time that diminished and it just became a decent typical syrah tasting wine. It had a little finish, but overall kind of a boring wine.
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2/16/2015 - galewskj wrote: 86 Points
Decanted half the bottle for about an hour and consumed over 3 hours. Finished the rest of the bottle on days 2 and 3.
The nose is a wonderful combination of smoke, meat, olive, dark fruit, tar, earth and a little mint. There's more in the background of the nose, and it changes with each sniff.
Unfortunately, the palate is mostly alcohol and medicinal flavor. A tiny bit of darkish fruit, but the midpalate is completely hollow and the finish sails on with floor cleaner and alcohol. Yuck. It's amazing that the nose is very complex and a real treat, yet the palate is completely out of whack.
If the nose was not so amazing, I would think it might be flawed.
Day 2 and 3, the wine just faded away. On day 2, the nose was not as complex or intriguing, and the palate was less flavorful/offensive. Day 3 it had faded to a very simple wine.
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11/22/2014 - hanasowner wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured...inviting nose of burnt meat and red fruit...pleasant mouthfeel...fully integrated with no noticeable tannins...finish on the short side, but tough to find any complaints as it paired well with the spicy salad...got better over the course of perhaps an hour.
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3/17/2014 - ljl203 wrote: 92 Points
Really impressed. Consistent with last notes. Black olives, bacon cherry notes with a lingering finish, slight tar and mint. Seamless!
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1/18/2014 - caeleric Likes this wine:
this has always been such a special wine, and this wine showed probably the best yet. meaty, earthy, yet balanced juicy black and red fruits without being overly ripe. I think this could go another 5 years, no problem. beautifully nuanced, beautifully textured. a home run. if scoring, 94.
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12/25/2013 - Meerlust wrote: 92 Points
Dark purple color seems younger than 7 years old. Hugely impressive nose of olives and smoked meat to pair with plums and ash. The palate is classic cool climate syrah with olives, smoke, smoked meat, ash, pepper, plums, and blueberry. The acidity is high in this medium-bodied wine, and that creates an energy that carries to the palate. The finish is long and stacked with smoke and dark fruit. Overall, this was a wine I really enjoyed because it is packed with my favorite syrah characteristics - smoke, roasted meat, and ash. Great wine.
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12/1/2013 - ljl203 wrote:
Beautifully integrated. Will echo mjfaulkner: Olive, bacon notes on dried cherries.
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11/12/2013 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 89 Points
Probably drinking at peak. Smooth, nearly fully integrated tannins. Black olive and bacon notes. Pretty light bodied for a Cali Syrah- definitely not a fruit bomb. Decent QPR
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11/24/2012 - Uglypinga wrote:
Beef and bacon fat on the nose with suspiciously little fruit. The palate confirms that the fruit is either hiding or gone. Pleasant light berry taste but definitely weak in the mid palate for such a brawny nose. Will wait on my remaining bottle and see what happens.
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3/23/2012 - Wine Sparty wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for an hour before having with grilled flank stank. Aroma of medium red to dark fruit - plum comes to mind, but also has some spice and a hint of greeness. The taste has the plum flavor in a lighter sense, along with some earthiness. This is in no means an big in your face Syrah, and it really comes together well.
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1/13/2012 - Grape Stuff wrote: 91 Points
No formal notes. 2 hour decant. Deep flavors of dark fruit, smoked spices, and raspberry. Sweet tannins balanced well by the acidic structure. Nice long length with a leathery, blackberry note. Well balanced and complete.
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12/25/2011 - MLD70 wrote: 91 Points
Decanted a couple of bottles 1.5 hrs for Christmas Dinner -- as such my notes are brief. Heady aromas of bright fruit with a little spice and earth, good body with flavors consistent with the nose. Nice finish. Paired very well with goose but particularly with roasted butternut squash and goat cheese which had a little cayenne in there -- go figure. The last glass 3 hrs after starting the meal hadn't faded in the slightest, but I also wouldn't say it had undergone an incredible positive transformation, either. Bottom line is that I don't know how much better this will get, its delicious now.
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12/13/2011 - caeleric Likes this wine:
pop and pour. went against everything jeff says to do with this wine (stand it up a day in advance, pour off a glass in the morning and let it breathe all day, etc). a little tight and unforgiving for the first 10 minutes or so, but this rapidly evolved into a gorgeous mix of russian river valley terroir and cote-rotie stylings. the purest red cherry fruit underpinned by beef blood, bbq spice, chocolate-covered oranges, and some dirt aromas. the texture was spell-binding, silky and elegant yet lively and energetic. the finish was long and full of pure juicy red fruit and subtle orange zest nuances. one of the best showings of this wine for me, and an absolute amazing qpr at $35. if scoring, 93-96. should continue to evolve well in the bottle for another 7-10 years.
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12/5/2011 - King Cab wrote: 88 Points
Big boned with tons happening. Blue-black fruits of blackberries, blueberry and raspberries. Bulls blood, black pepper and steamed meat. A bit high on the alcohol this one. Tannins are huge and angular. There is some tartness in the middle to end that's somewhat distracting. This quality dissipated about 45 minutes in but then returned with a vengeance for the last glass. I have another that will get the big sleep for a bunch of years.
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11/27/2011 - galewskj wrote: 91 Points
The nose is fruity and the the taste is very well developed. There is a touch more oak than I would like, but it may integrate further in a couple years. This was very enjoyable to me and price appropriate.
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9/5/2011 - fabwine wrote: 91 Points
Lots of fruit all around. Starts out with some acid but that balances out after it opens up. Solid all around.
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8/29/2011 - rmodak wrote: 89 Points
Very dark purple with roasted meat aromatics. Blackberry, chewy herbs, charcoal and olive are framed by a rich mouthfeel with medium tannins, and a touch of alcohol on the finish.
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7/15/2011 - bubbachumps wrote: 92 Points
Notes of iron ore, earth and BBQ spice. Very complex nose! In the mouth nice balance with acidity and fruit. Really nice showing here.
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7/3/2011 - jrobs7777 wrote: 87 Points
Dark color. Initially very sweet and fruit. Mostly raspberry and dark fruit on the palate, but it lacked structure and complexity. A nip of heat. Good finish, though.
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7/3/2011 - ews3 wrote: 89 Points
very fruity -- almost juicebox like, with lots of raspberry and black fruits. some powdery dark chocolate notes. a pleasant drink, but doesn't show significant complexity. nice medium finish. a little bit of heat on the midpalate.
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6/4/2011 - tooch wrote: 89 Points
4 Days in Las Vegas; 6/1/2011-6/4/2011 (Las Vegas, NV): Very meaty nose. Lots of bacon and sausage. Summer thought it was incredibly savory and I agreed. Palate had almost a cornas meatiness, yet had a dense blueberry, cherry pie and mocha that give it the unmistakable trademark of California syrah. Despite the density of the wine, thought this showed a hair better than my other bottles.
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5/23/2011 - Wine Sparty wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for a couple hours while having with filet mignon. Aroma of dark chocolate, leaves, and a bit of mint. Taste is blackberry, plum and dark chocolate, with a bit of a tart finish. Developed more into the leafy, forest floor type of characteristics as the night went on. Not too bad for the $35 price tag from the winery. I will let the other bottle hang around for a couple years to see where it goes.
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4/23/2011 - B&T wrote: 93 Points
Wow! Ripe dark fruits and raw meat mixed with hints of violets and perfume on the nose. More black fruits dominate the palate, with tobacco and spice on the finish. Great mouthfeel - the tannins are present, but the wine is still silky smooth. It hides its 16.5% alcohol content well. This is downright hedonistic!
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4/1/2011 - Uglypinga wrote:
The nose on this claims there is a huge syrah in the bottle and it doesnt lie. Beef, coffee, chocolate, and ripe dark fruits. The palate is full, with black berries, bacon fat, a little heat, a little oak and a grainy texture. Some serious black pepper on this one. Needs a year or two more but a very good drink.
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3/7/2011 - twelch wrote: 92 Points
Drinking very well right now with a ton of upside down the road as well. On the nose it was bursting with bacon fat, meat dark blackberries, this has that old world feel to it but wrapped up with some new world fruit. In the mouth you could definately tell that this was whole cluster as it just bursted with that earthy, stemmy tannin mouthfeel. Loved it. Still a bit tight and not giving all that I sense is there in the mouth so glad I have more to track. Day 2 this gained a little more complexity on the nose albeit different; some nice florall and spice components starting to show.
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3/6/2011 - cadamson wrote: 90 Points
Pretty good stuff, especially the nose which has almost northern rhone characteristics of bacon fat, floral and spice to go with the black fruit and olive. Good nose did not quite follow through on the palate, but I think it was perhaps a bit young.
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3/6/2011 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 93 Points
Napa Offline and a whole bunch of wine, mostly Syrah (Napa Valley Wine & Cigar): Another Syrah I have never tasted, but really loved. Ruby/purple in color. The nose had a great earthiness about it. Also raspberries. Medium tannins and delicious. This is in the same style and the Campesino but a bit more heavy and full bodied. Just as good though. More about red fruits. This has slight tannins. A couple of years have fleshed out the complexity and made this fuller bodied, yet still cool climate in style. Really good. Another wine to seek out for my cellar.
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1/16/2011 - iamandyc wrote: 91 Points
Very nice refined syrah. Balanced with a smokey, earthy quality to the dark black fruits. Similar nose.
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12/12/2010 - tooch wrote: 88 Points
Nose has blueberry pie, raspberries and plums. Very rich wine that has pure red and black fruits, with sour cherries. Wasn't as complex as I had hoped, but definitely is a nice wine.
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12/4/2010 - Nutty08 wrote: 91 Points
Lovely nose with a great syrah profile with sweet red fruits, pepper, grilled meat, and cedar. Palate is highly polished with fine tannins. Dense and concentrated currants and raspberry, with a fantastic pepper and spice element that carries on through a lengthy finish. More complete than a year ago and on a great evolutionary track--too bad this is my last bottle. This wine has a big alcohol footprint,with a perceived sweetness to the fruit, but not overdone and carries its alcohol well when slightly below room temp.
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11/2/2010 - mjf@ulkner wrote: 88 Points
Sits in a nice place between Old World and Aussie syrah. Rich, dark fruit with some bacon and game notes. Plenty of tannins and a whiff of heat on finish.
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10/18/2010 - tooch wrote: 88 Points
Black wine. Full of ripe blackberry, black cherry, and mocha. Tones of coffee and chocolate come through on the mid-weight palate. Not as big and dense as some syrah (that's a good thing) these days. Good QPR.
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10/4/2010 - skisdeeppow wrote:
Outstanding. Popped one to get a baseline for the rest. Obviously young, but quite nice. Nice dark fruits, smoke and some bacon fat on the nose. Very nice mouthfeel. Hint of heat on the backend. Looking forward to trying the others in a few years.
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10/2/2010 - bubbachumps wrote: 87 Points
BBQ spice and charcoal on the nose, almost to the point of irritating. This wine seemed way out of balance, and the nose was almost obnoxious - also too much acid and the wine seemed thin in the mouth. There is something wrong here. Hope the next bottle is better.
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9/21/2010 - Screameagle wrote: 90 Points
Needs at least an hour of decanting to allow it to open. A very nice wine but this bottle was not as good as the previous bottle.
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8/20/2010 - sossher Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted for 30 minutes. Was looking forward to trying this. Enjoyed, but did taste a hint of heat. Not suprising given the 16.5% alcohol content.
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7/21/2010 - jaylew1 wrote: 92 Points
Very tannic and definitely young. Thick, dark wine. Black and blue fruits. Viscous on the tongue. A superb effort at this price point. 91-92, but I will give em the benefit of the doubt.
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6/22/2010 - rwstorer wrote: 89 Points
Similar nte to before. Maybe a bit sweet?
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6/7/2010 - bweimer wrote: 88 Points
Bright fruit and alcohol is apparent (16.5% on the label!). A tasty wine in which fruit turned darker with time in the glass. I preferred it in the first hour. For fans of this style only.
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6/1/2010 - Wine'in Brian wrote: 91 Points
Poured and let sit in glass for about an hour while burgers were prepared and cooked. A massively thick dark wine out of the bottle. Nose of smoke, bacon fat, pepper, and ripe plum with no hint of booziness. The nose carried to the palate, but in a deeper, more earthy (albeit interesting) way. Very pleasant wine to drink now, but I think at least 1-2 years of sleep will do it some good.
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5/30/2010 - deltacop wrote: 91 Points
Just opened for the day.Wonderful little syrah. Mild heat, nice flavors. Enjoy!
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5/15/2010 - last chance wrote: 92 Points
9L party (Woodinville, WA): The nose of this wine had aromas of dense, dark fruits, spice and an olive note. The palate was much more reserved than the nose led me to believe it would be, and also not as complex. The palate had plum and berry flavors with a little earth and spice. Medium bodied with excellent balance and a medium-long finish. The balance was really the star of the show here. The label said 15.4%, but this didn't seem like it was anywhere near that at all. Once I tasted it, I remembered reading on eBob about one barrel that Jeff left out of the final blend that had a huge alcohol content. I think that brought the final alcohol level down significantly under what the label said.
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4/9/2010 - J-Sho Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark in color with aromas of meat, bacon fat, granite, dark fruit and maybe some olive. Soft and polished with wonderful layering/complexity. Supple finish. Really reminded me of a Cayuse.
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4/3/2010 - Bracamonte Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened for 45minutes. A great bottle of syrah with more air and time the nose really opened up. Black fruit. pepper, with a soild dark body in the glass. Really impressed.
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3/27/2010 - mreinitz Likes this wine: 90 Points
The nose was great but the palate didn't quite match up. Core of dark fruits with delicious background flavors radiating from the core, including smoke, bacon, and a hint of blueberries. The problem was that these additional flavors were too much in the background so that you really had to pay attention to get them. Maybe as time goes on the complexity will increase.
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2/28/2010 - MLD70 wrote: 90 Points
Great bottle of syrah, opened and decanted 30 min. Generous nose of fruit and pepper, nice body of black fruits. Opened nicely with air and held up well over 2 hours
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2/13/2010 - CTuttle wrote: 92 Points
My first Rudius Syrah. Opened, poured, and smelled for 15 minutes. Smoke, blood, tar, oak spice and a little fruit. I love it already. Slightly one dimensional in the mouth, with a nice tannic backbone that makes me think I opened this bottle a bit too early. The finish is long and without heat. I thought that I was going to like the Rudius grenache better, but now I'm not so sure. Really enjoyed this bottle.
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2/5/2010 - rwstorer wrote: 89 Points
Popped and poured with Moutondoc. Purple in color with aromas of mixed black berries and spice. One dimensional flavors of rich velvety black fruits that drank more like a meritage than a syrah. Subtle spice and pepper flavors. Enjoyable to drink.
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1/21/2010 - incident wrote: 90 Points
Clear, dark purple. Clean aromas of earth, coal, black fruits, pepper, smoke. Medium tannin, medium acid. Flavors match aromas with herbs, meats, shoe polish on the medium to long finish. Hold remaining bottles until 2011-2012.
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1/14/2010 - bubbachumps wrote: 92 Points
Notes of smoky earth (reminds me of a campfire) wild berry and spice - the nose is very interesting and complex. In the mouth, good structure and acidity, noticeable tannins and a subtle richness on the palate. This should improve with time in the bottle. Very enjoyable.
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12/24/2009 - jerhardt wrote:
Definitely of a different ilk than the '05s. Less intense and lighter in weight, though certainly not delicate by any means. A bit of time in bottle should do it some good; will be interesting to see how it does with the alcohol over time.
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12/10/2009 - Nutty08 wrote: 91 Points
Spicy nose of candied wild berry, hint of citrus, and smoke. Smooth round palate, with some fine grip on the backend, with sweet tannins. Fruit forward palate with wild berries, boysenberry, and plum, with plenty of spice notes and a little tobacco. Lengthy spicy finish, with a little thyme and pepper, a little stone, and racy acidity. Very nice effort, quite tasty. Great value. Didn't get the heat others commented on, but drank at cellar to just below room temp.
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12/4/2009 - Screameagle wrote: 92 Points
No need to wait on this beautiful syrah it's ready to drink now. It's a delicious syrah that is an incredible value. So happy I have a bunch more. It's so good now it's hard to believe it's going to get better but it might. Kudos Jeff.
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12/3/2009 - caeleric wrote: 93 Points
Fascinatingly unique in its aromatics and flavor profile. Jeff has crafted something very interesting here! On the nose, plums and blackberries, with a heavy dose of what Jeff called pine but what I'm calling Newport menthol cigarette, heavy on the menthol but lighter on the smoke. In the mouth, surprisingly feminine and silky, with a tangy acidity as it warmed. On the finish, big and sweet sanguine flavors of beef blood with some very noticeable heat. This bad boy has some alcohol, but its overall appeal still feels more feminine than masculine. This should settle down with age, but it's hard not to drink it now. Great job Jeff!!
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10/31/2009 - Justin B wrote: 92 Points
Very nice smokey dark sugar plum nose. Rich smooth creamy taste, hot stones, a little bit of blueberry compote, and a little hotness (15.6% alcohol). Overall very nice, tasty, and fairly balanced, but a bit overbearing on its own. Needs a good steak or some quality cheese to complement the power coming from this wine.
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10/31/2009 - blondon wrote:
Decanted 3 hours, enjoyed over the following 3. Inky black color. Wonderfully balanced wine, showing baked plums, salinity, iron, stone. As with all of Jeff's wines, the mouthfeel is extraordinary, rich and opulent, sublime and complex. Not a hint of alcohol shows through. One of those wines that keeps me excited about this passion we share.
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10/30/2009 - jeff nowak wrote:
delivered on wednesday, and a friend who shared my allocation came over to pick up his bottles tonight. he insisted on opening one, and who am i to argue? not decanted, but i did have the serving temp at about 60 degrees. 16.5% alcohol, and it showed...too well, in fact. it rather smothered the mid palate, and there was some mild heat on the finish + a chunk of oak. medium body, seemed like the fruit was stretched pretty thin. some disappointment here, so i recommend more restraint than we showed in order to allow the wine to flesh out. BTW, i'm not sympathetic to bottle shock being a factor in the performance tonight. codicil: my friend private preserved this bottle (there was quite a bit left), and tried it again 24 hours later. he said it was worse, and flushed the rest. an interesting email from the winemaker to the mailing list arrived since we tried this, basically saying that everything we did doomed the wine to a poor showing. maybe. i guess time will tell. he also mentioned that the true alcohol level is 15.6% and not 16.5%. still, ETOH overwhelmed the fruit. ok...i can sit on the rest.
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10/28/2009 - Grinder wrote: 91 Points
One hour decant. Dark and opaque in the glass, with smoke, black fruit and stones on the nose. Medium bodied on the palate, with ripe red and black fruit, coffee and bitter chocolate. This finishes with tongue-coating saline/mineral notes. Nothing overdone, all in balance. A touch, just a hint, of thin on the mid, but it is hardly noticeable. Excellent (and a decent price to boot at $35 on release).
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