Impressive, this bottle was well structured and very engaging. Purchased on release as part of a friend's mailing list order. Rewarded the cellar time as it was one of the best Paso Syrahs I've tried. Actually tasted ready to drink! Powerful, but not hot. Rich and textured but there's a lot going on. Black pepper, black plum, was just outstanding against our smoked brisket main dish. Paired with the '06 Saxum Booker Vineyard, great trying both with a bit of bottle age.
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Popped and poured. Opaque ruby color. Light candy on the nose. Heavy concentration of prune and sour cherry. The mid palate is slightly hollow, but the finish is strong and long. Still has a significant amount of tannin. Needs a couple of more years in the cellar.
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Decanted four hours before tasting. This is my 3rd tasting of this wine in the last 5 months, and rather than continuing on a downward trend, it was actually fresher and more appealing than the previous two. Huh. Perhaps my previous decants were too long for the wine.
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Decanted 24 hours, tasted, then let sit another 24 hours. The nose possesses aged fruit and a touch of heat. The immediate palate impression is aged fruit which disappears at mid-palate leaving a finish of solely tannins which is thankfully short. After another 24 hours, the fruit, much to my surprise, did broaden. Still, compared to other '07 Westside Paso syrahs I have tasted this week which have shown vibrantly, this wine seems much more tired than it should be.
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Decanted through a Vinturi and let sit for 10 hours. No tasting notes, but the nose was dark fruit just starting to show some age. The palate impression was quite tannic over the three hour tasting and the fruit again was losing its youthfullness. Oak is still apparent. I cannot quite figure Booker out. I was extremely impressed with the 2005 vintage, felt things slipped slightly in 2006, and I have not really enjoyed the 2007 vintage or 2008 as the oak mangement seems to have been altered. I can say that barrel samples of 2010 suggest a better future though.
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You can really smell the alcohol when served at cellar temperature. This diminished with temperature. Surprisingly there is absolutely no heat on the finish. After air time, the nose evolves to more mocha, oak, and Bing cherries. In the middle, it is super smooth cherries, vanilla and white pepper. From the notes I have seen it seems like this may be closing down and I will give it a year or two before I open the next bottle. The super smooth mid palate makes me think this has real potential but it did not show everything tonight. 90+?
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Placed fourth in a field of six syrahs in a blind tasting of Santa Ynez v. Paso Syrahs. Dark fruit but not a lot of oomph. It did have a nice mouthfeel,b ut that was not enough to make it memorable.
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Hmmm. Good but didn't quite enjoy as much as previous bottles. The night? My palate that day? Same black fruits, coffee/mocha flavors, but alcohol felt more pronounced, less integrated.
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Popped and poured. Drank over two nights. Day 1 - Berry, fig, pepper. Great structure from the tanins. Silkly, full bodied with good finish. Day 2 - Cherry, vanilla, spices. Same silkly, full bodied texture with tannins that have integrated. Wonderful wine. Only negative is the price which is on the high end of the Rhone Rangers.
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So good. Black fruits, coffee/mocha flavors on the mid palate, and a nice long finish. I liked that on first sip, there was a good brightness to the flavor to balance the powerful fruit. Drank over 3 days. Day 2 was my favorite.
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Stupendous. Decanted four hours, then poured back into bottle. Velvet smooth in the mouth. Big, dark fruit (all kinds of berries) with long finish. 15.9% alcohol. Just great.
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11/24/2023 - snaff wrote: 94 Points
Drinking perfectly. Cedar, dark blackberry, tobacco, smooth and focused.
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3/5/2022 - btock Likes this wine: 94 Points
Impressive, this bottle was well structured and very engaging. Purchased on release as part of a friend's mailing list order. Rewarded the cellar time as it was one of the best Paso Syrahs I've tried. Actually tasted ready to drink! Powerful, but not hot. Rich and textured but there's a lot going on. Black pepper, black plum, was just outstanding against our smoked brisket main dish. Paired with the '06 Saxum Booker Vineyard, great trying both with a bit of bottle age.
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7/13/2018 - ddrury002 Likes this wine: 95 Points
If you have this vintage, drink it now. Superb wine holding its fruit. Wish I had more.
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8/1/2017 - ELH wrote: 95 Points
Alas, the last one in the cellar.
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4/4/2016 - tmok2000 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Popped and poured. Opaque ruby color. Light candy on the nose. Heavy concentration of prune and sour cherry. The mid palate is slightly hollow, but the finish is strong and long. Still has a significant amount of tannin. Needs a couple of more years in the cellar.
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4/6/2013 - ELH wrote: 94 Points
Decanted two hours and funneled back into the bottle. Great depth and warmth. Black fruits, earth, with a whiff of cinnamon and spice.
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12/13/2012 - jeagle wrote: 90 Points
Decanted four hours before tasting. This is my 3rd tasting of this wine in the last 5 months, and rather than continuing on a downward trend, it was actually fresher and more appealing than the previous two. Huh. Perhaps my previous decants were too long for the wine.
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11/24/2012 - jeagle wrote: 86 Points
Decanted 24 hours, tasted, then let sit another 24 hours. The nose possesses aged fruit and a touch of heat. The immediate palate impression is aged fruit which disappears at mid-palate leaving a finish of solely tannins which is thankfully short. After another 24 hours, the fruit, much to my surprise, did broaden. Still, compared to other '07 Westside Paso syrahs I have tasted this week which have shown vibrantly, this wine seems much more tired than it should be.
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7/19/2012 - jeagle wrote: 89 Points
Decanted through a Vinturi and let sit for 10 hours. No tasting notes, but the nose was dark fruit just starting to show some age. The palate impression was quite tannic over the three hour tasting and the fruit again was losing its youthfullness. Oak is still apparent. I cannot quite figure Booker out. I was extremely impressed with the 2005 vintage, felt things slipped slightly in 2006, and I have not really enjoyed the 2007 vintage or 2008 as the oak mangement seems to have been altered. I can say that barrel samples of 2010 suggest a better future though.
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9/19/2011 - bambam wrote: 90 Points
You can really smell the alcohol when served at cellar temperature. This diminished with temperature. Surprisingly there is absolutely no heat on the finish. After air time, the nose evolves to more mocha, oak, and Bing cherries. In the middle, it is super smooth cherries, vanilla and white pepper. From the notes I have seen it seems like this may be closing down and I will give it a year or two before I open the next bottle. The super smooth mid palate makes me think this has real potential but it did not show everything tonight. 90+?
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5/29/2011 - bruce61 wrote: 89 Points
Placed fourth in a field of six syrahs in a blind tasting of Santa Ynez v. Paso Syrahs. Dark fruit but not a lot of oomph. It did have a nice mouthfeel,b ut that was not enough to make it memorable.
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10/2/2010 - sbreffle wrote: 90 Points
Hmmm. Good but didn't quite enjoy as much as previous bottles. The night? My palate that day? Same black fruits, coffee/mocha flavors, but alcohol felt more pronounced, less integrated.
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4/19/2010 - HOS wrote: 92 Points
Popped and poured. Drank over two nights. Day 1 - Berry, fig, pepper. Great structure from the tanins. Silkly, full bodied with good finish. Day 2 - Cherry, vanilla, spices. Same silkly, full bodied texture with tannins that have integrated. Wonderful wine. Only negative is the price which is on the high end of the Rhone Rangers.
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4/15/2010 - sbreffle wrote: 93 Points
So good. Black fruits, coffee/mocha flavors on the mid palate, and a nice long finish. I liked that on first sip, there was a good brightness to the flavor to balance the powerful fruit. Drank over 3 days. Day 2 was my favorite.
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12/31/2009 - ELH wrote: 94 Points
Stupendous. Decanted four hours, then poured back into bottle. Velvet smooth in the mouth. Big, dark fruit (all kinds of berries) with long finish. 15.9% alcohol. Just great.
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10/24/2009 - sbreffle wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful. All blackberries, cream, and toast. I got a floral hint on the nose after it sat in the glass an hour. Silky mouthfeel with a long finish.
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10/4/2009 - brigcampbell wrote: 92 Points
Big, dark, powerful fruit foward syrah with a strong finish. Berry fruits and small heat.
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7/20/2009 - kstoddard wrote: 90 Points
Dark purple color. Boysenberry aromas. Tastes of blueberry, blackberry and raspberry. Earthy mid palate and finish.
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