Rather odd wine - a very glycerine heavy mouthfeel for the first couple hours it's open. Cherries, plums, spices, and some wilder elements poked through here and there. Tannins picked up over a couple hours of air, as did more stick elements. Day 2 this was a more standard big burly Syrah with balance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Shocked at how much I enjoyed it. Much better than prior bottles. Probably gave it two hours of air. Inky purple. Pleasant nose. Full bodied bold but smooth and not overpowering fruit. Complex. Dark purple, deep blue and red. Nice finish. I may be generous with the rating as this was my last bottle, and I didn't think that I would miss it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Drinking well. Better than I remember. Just on the light side of being full bodied. Pleasant red and blue fruit. A slight hint of green at the end that I could do without.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Explosive fruit upon opening but seemed to fade after 30 minutes in glass. Saved 1/2 bottle for day 2 and will revisit. Probably has reached the tail end of its drinking window and might be heading downhill.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Very Northern Rhone in style with dark fruits with a certain restrained sweetness, lots of spices, and a port like palate. Good effort as always from Pax Mahle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP with Pax at the Windgap Tasting Room. At 10yrs, this wine is showing all of its greatness. Needed about 30mins and a decant to wake up and then it was all the essence of Sonoma Coast Syrah. Fruit, now burnt and a little alcoholic nose but retaining the tannins and the acid. Griffin's Lair when young is a phenomenal experience, glad to see an older example holding up so well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I remember this wine its youth and it was dark and inky and brooding and filled with coffee notes. A big bruiser. Wow has this changed. It has almost pure red fruits with a nice crunchy acidity. Tannins are there but not in way. Can drink now. Really love how this evolved.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
PnP. Not maturing as I hoped. OK, but the high alcohol is dominating more than hoped. Probably the last year that Pax made the wine in this style; maybe there are some decisions that make it less than what it could be. 14.6%
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
My tasting notes remain the same a before, but I have lowered the score because I tasted this wine side by side with a 96 rated Lewis Cellars Syrah and the difference warranted a 5 point differential. What is the difference? The lushness of fruit and the smoothness of the tannins. The Wind Gap is a fine wine and has improved with aging. An hour of decant allows it to open up and smooth out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
By no means bad but...a lot more of what I think of as Californian Syrah, and I don't like it. Compared to the (cheaper) 08 Sonoma Syrah - more cloying, sweeter, less acidity.
I suspect I would rate this higher if I hadn't just enjoyed its cheaper, better, younger brother.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I was worried after reading Tooches note but I thought this showed well. Served at around 60 degrees and popped and poured. Not quite as savory as I remembered but also not a simple fruit bomb. There is a good amount of fruit though, mostly darker in tone. Some smokey, cured meat, slight licorice. A little spice on the nose. Some charred, tarry notes. Good acid on the finish and just a little fine tannin remaining. We enjoyed it. This was my last bottle but I think it will drink well for a couple more years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Had this as a part of a Syrah tasting. Enjoyed it. Dark fruits and spicy with a lot of herbal notes on the finish. I found this to be more lean than many of the other cali syrahs. Couldn't help but think that this would be even better paired with food (lamb chops would be fantastic). Definitely stood out and would try again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Blind Dinner at Browntrout (Browntrout - Chicago, IL): Served blind. I had this off the list at a restaurant a couple months ago, and really loved the wine. Not sure why this bottle was so different, but it just didn't connect well with my palate. The flavors were a bit cloying and sticky with dark/dense black fruits, smokey notes, with a lot of creaminess. The bottle I had at the restaurant was a bit cooler and had been decanted for a bit, so maybe that played a role. I was certainly disappointed when the bottle was revealed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Blind Dinner at Browntrout (Chicago, IL): Served blind. Lots of dark fruit, with a bit of a vanilla-blueberry milkshake quality to it. That's always a big warning sign to me. New world Rhone varietal for sure. Big and flabby, with discernible alcohol on the palate. Really not my thing.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Big aromas of blackberries, indian spice, meat. No doubt on whole cluster. Impressive depth of black fruits, but extreme spice and pepper on palate. A spice driven Cornas is my best description.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Off the list at RPM Steak. Splash decanted before dinner. Nose of cured meat, dark berries, and lilacs. The palate had a richness of flavor to it, but it had a nice lightness and balance to it. Was a very nice combination with our steaks.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Delicious dark berry, lavender, and spice on the nose and palate with chewy tannins on the long finish. Delicious whole cluster syrah. Drinking beautifully!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
BBQ #2 of season (Reno, NV): reddish blue rim, very deep color. aromatically lots of dark (mineral tinged) fruits, tar and olive, maybe a hint of new oak spice. on the palate the wine has high acidity, a very lush midpalate, loats of very coarse tannins that are ripe, moderate to high alcohol. wine is balanced, has good length, very good intensity and complexity. not really a wine of finesse, the texture is very rough from the tannins, good expression of place. the next day the wine’s texture had softened a bit but the flavors had muddled. good to very good wine... i would drink this up as i think the flavors will continue to muddle as the tannins resolve, which will take a long time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
wow. Niceness. It's like the southern rhone married the northern, had a baby and moved to california. Dark fruits, with some bramble. Not brett, but grit. Rough-like corduroy tannins, that make me think this could go another 5 years easy. Highly enjoyable way to pass a few hours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I find this wine currently weighed down by its structure. The nose gives off a nice syrah spectrum of savory blue fruits and olive tapanade, but wasn't as expressive or powerful as semi-recent bottles of a Pax 05 and WG 09 from Griffin's Lair. The palate shows the mineral streak in the vineyard, which remains a favorite for providing cool climate style while staying more fruity than ashy, but the palate didn't fully pop open until day 2 even after a couple hours in the decanter on day 1. I'll be holding my remainder 2+ years with some hope for improvement. This is more strictly a food wine than most iterations of this vineyard.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Identifiable as a Wind Gap if you've ever spent any time with their Sonoma Coast bottlings. Sonoma Coast with more of all the good stuff. Game, bacon, pepper and the florals are all there.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I agree with keelegl that this wine is singular in form, at least for the first four hours. It is simply "ripe red grape". Only later did the wine deliver some depth of flavour with a little smoke and darker fruit. Eleven more to go. I think I'll try decanting the next one a couple of hours in advance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Enjoyed this wine over several hours and glad I have one more bottle. Decanted and tasted right after. Tannins and acidity where high and fruit was a little reserved with heat, black fruit, tar and pepper on the nose. On the palate black berry, tobacco and smoke. It needed about 1.5 hours of decanting to start opening up and the tannins and acidity balancing out.. At the 2 hour mark it was quite balanced with cherry and vanilla on the nose, and cherry, vanilla and a little smoke on the palate. Very nice finish of vanilla and smoke on a medium finish. Drink now to 2015.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The whole package. A bit of tannic grip, indicating it could handle several more years, but drinking very well now. Well balanced fruit, earth and spice. Second half held up very well after a couple nights in the fridge.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Clear dark purple in colour. Clean Med+ nose of black fruit, smoked meat, and spice. Dry, med Acidity, med+ tannin, med body, black cherry, vanilla, and earth on palate. med finish. The nose on this blew me away. On the palate less exciting at first, lots of tart cherry and not allot of finish in beginning, but got better and better over the night. Should have decanted this longer. Great wine, I wish I had more in my cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Wow, this wine has really evolved in the 2 years since I last drank it. I pulled this bottle in error last night, wanting to pull the Castelli but grabbed this one. I decanted this last night before dinner and then after dinner put the last 1/4 of the bottle back and put the cork in for today. This won't be mistaken for a light bodied or colored wine--simply pouring the wine really sets the tone--it's dark and opaque. Similarly, the texture after all this aeration has really silkened the wine up and it's beautifully textured. Full of bright blackberry, black raspberry and smooth as glass. Deceptively in the finish, there is still some dusty tannin, along with some dark chocolate, with some finishing acidity and light slate. It's listed at 14.6% alcohol, but I suspect it's a bit bigger, as some of the aromatic shows some of that signature but this is the only thing I can say about the wine on the other side of the ledger. This is really a stand out syrah, showing the purity of the 2007 vintage, a comment I have made many times about the 2007 Copain syrahs, as well. As for a drink window, I'd say now through 2014 as I agree with the aging comment made by jfk in his review. This is now on my 2012 WOTY list, no doubt.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Opaque dark purple, almost a black color, thick, very full bodied. PnP, but nose was initially closed, so I venturied it to see if it would open a bit more. After some time in the glass, it opened with hints of black pepper, smoke, cedar, spice, and some faint earthiness. Great concentrated blackberry and blueberry liqueur flavors, with an underlying peppery meatiness on the palate that translates into a long finish of mocha. Great structure. Paired well with grilled pork chops.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Rich with heavy smoky bacon, this wine has plenty of oomph to last a while. nose is not strong, but the wine is good. Not sure of the length of life as it is not structed for a long haul I feel. Good now and for a while longer. An early contender for Thanksgiving wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Falltacular 2011 (FMIII in the OC): Super dark, like motor oil. Nose is fairly muted. That's not the case with the palate, big, powerful flavours. Blackberry, black olive, pepper dominate with oak showing in the form of charcoal. There is a chewy meatiness. Tannins still quite present, lots of structure, a little drying on a long finish.
More cellaring will be rewarded.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted through an aeration device about an hour before serving. Color is like fresh-drawn blood. Slightly restrained nose of violets, smoked meats, green olive brine, and crushed rocks. Plums and blackberries are restrained on the palate by meaty, peppery notes, iron ore, and olive tapenade. Finish is intense and brutally tannic but continues for a long, long time, alternating between notes of bitter dark cacao and blood orange. Food helps cut the tannins but in general this was a fairly masochistic experience. This wine seems to have a huge upside, but I wouldn't touch my remaining bottles for 3-5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
I thought I'd open one of these after receiving the offer yesterday for the 08 vintage. Popped and poured and whoa what a nose! It leaps out of the glass and you can smell it while the glass sits on the table. Classic syrah blood, meaty, minerally notes with lots of pepper and spice. Black and quite a bit of red fruit. Big, but not thick, syrupy or heavy with a great freshness on the finish. The wine added texture as it opened with the tannins really becoming prominent as the night went on. This is clearly young and should improve as it all integrates. Very nice and I ordered some of the 08 this morning. I like what Pax is doing at Wind Gap. I'll try to wait a couple of years before opening another.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark color. Lush fruit. Full body. Firm drying tannin with moderate acidity. Long tannic dry finish. Very good stuff but seems a little tighter from last tasting.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Blackberry, camphor, briny black olive, pastille red cherry, mocha and dark crushed rock. Dense, textured, with depth. Tannins really build through the finish but are not oppressive. The final note is tart red fruit. Similar to a Pax but more lifted, lively. Closed now. Much upside.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This is a nice wine. Do NOT expect a wine that even remotely resembles past Pax Griffin's Lairs--but it is not supposed to, so get over it. HUGE stem inclusion characteristics, matched with the gorgeous aromatics of cool climate syrah. Think savory all the way, but still very bright. No blueberry pie here folks. No vanilla. No coffee. Lilacs, white flowers, asphalt, black raspberries (do those exist?). Fantastic flavors all the way.
My one knock on this wine is that, right now the tannins build and build to the point feeling short, aggressive and drying. This holds the wine back from being a classic. I need suaveness of tannin structure in my Syrah. Time may well take care of this, but that remains to be seen.
Clearly there is a desire to compare this wine to past Pax Wines offerings, so if need be, think the Majik Vineyard or Keltie more than Castelli for a stylistic touchpoint.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Notes from Wind Gap open house: Dark, dense, deeply flavored with a higher toned blueberry aspect, great earthiness, a savory roasted mushroom note, great structure, needs time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
The OC Blind Crew (Kimera--Irvine, CA): This wine was quite savory and closed when first opened and then decanted, served a few hours later. Light pepper, bit of stalkiness (whole cluster), blackberry hard candy with a mocha note on the finish. Seemed tight with a nice dose of acidity and will need time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Tasted very briefly at the end of a large tasting, so no notes kept. I do note that the wine tasted very much like the '05 Pax Griffin's Lair I had last year, so that should be good news for fans of Pax Mahle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Decanted about an hour. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of roasted meat, coffee, currants and some added floral notes. Flavors of berries and cherries. Light to medium acidity, medium tannins and body. Drink or hold.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
This wine was decanted about 1 hour. The nose had one of the strongest aromas of roasted meat that I have ever smelled. In fact, the smell was so strong, it over-powered almost everything else. I did get a little tar and black currant. The palate was rich and thick, and much more fruity. It had lots of dark fruit and meat juice, some tar and smoke, and very peppery finish. I like this style of Syrah.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
Dark, opaque purple, near black. Spicy nose with dark fruit. This is a big meaty spicy syrah. Firm tannin, soft to moderate acidity. Some oak on the finish but overall well balanced. Long tannic dry finish. Excellent stuff.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No
/ Comment
7/2/2021 - klezman wrote:
Initially it's all olive and dark fruit. Continued to open up over a couple hours. Excellent.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/22/2020 - rama wrote:
Holy green olives, Batman! Olives on the nose, through saline on the finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/30/2020 - klezman wrote:
Rather odd wine - a very glycerine heavy mouthfeel for the first couple hours it's open. Cherries, plums, spices, and some wilder elements poked through here and there. Tannins picked up over a couple hours of air, as did more stick elements.
Day 2 this was a more standard big burly Syrah with balance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/12/2019 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Shocked at how much I enjoyed it. Much better than prior bottles. Probably gave it two hours of air. Inky purple. Pleasant nose. Full bodied bold but smooth and not overpowering fruit. Complex. Dark purple, deep blue and red. Nice finish. I may be generous with the rating as this was my last bottle, and I didn't think that I would miss it.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/18/2019 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drinking well. Better than I remember. Just on the light side of being full bodied. Pleasant red and blue fruit. A slight hint of green at the end that I could do without.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/11/2019 - connel20 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Explosive fruit upon opening but seemed to fade after 30 minutes in glass. Saved 1/2 bottle for day 2 and will revisit. Probably has reached the tail end of its drinking window and might be heading downhill.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/24/2018 - ravikalaga Likes this wine: 92 Points
Consistent with previous note. Old Syrah with a young clock on. Delicious.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/13/2017 - farinas Likes this wine: 92 Points
Very Northern Rhone in style with dark fruits with a certain restrained sweetness, lots of spices, and a port like palate. Good effort as always from Pax Mahle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/1/2017 - ravikalaga Likes this wine: 92 Points
PnP with Pax at the Windgap Tasting Room. At 10yrs, this wine is showing all of its greatness. Needed about 30mins and a decant to wake up and then it was all the essence of Sonoma Coast Syrah. Fruit, now burnt and a little alcoholic nose but retaining the tannins and the acid. Griffin's Lair when young is a phenomenal experience, glad to see an older example holding up so well.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/16/2016 - lolo66 wrote: 93 Points
I remember this wine its youth and it was dark and inky and brooding and filled with coffee notes. A big bruiser. Wow has this changed. It has almost pure red fruits with a nice crunchy acidity. Tannins are there but not in way. Can drink now. Really love how this evolved.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/27/2016 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Nothing remarkable about the wine. Was hoping for more. A medium bodied red and blue fruit wine. Not overly complex or mouth watering. Average finish.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/1/2016 - 560 B&W Likes this wine: 91 Points
PnP. Not maturing as I hoped. OK, but the high alcohol is dominating more than hoped. Probably the last year that Pax made the wine in this style; maybe there are some decisions that make it less than what it could be. 14.6%
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/18/2016 - jeginmt Likes this wine: 91 Points
My tasting notes remain the same a before, but I have lowered the score because I tasted this wine side by side with a 96 rated Lewis Cellars Syrah and the difference warranted a 5 point differential. What is the difference? The lushness of fruit and the smoothness of the tannins. The Wind Gap is a fine wine and has improved with aging. An hour of decant allows it to open up and smooth out.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/8/2016 - jeginmt wrote: 92 Points
As per my note from 2014. Holding up very nicely as it ages.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/7/2016 - FLI Likes this wine: 93 Points
Wine of the weekend. Great fruit, no harsh heat, some earthy depth on the nose and palate. Very very good.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/27/2015 - ksmith wrote: flawed
Tainted, possibly corked
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/14/2015 - lozatron Likes this wine: 88 Points
By no means bad but...a lot more of what I think of as Californian Syrah, and I don't like it. Compared to the (cheaper) 08 Sonoma Syrah - more cloying, sweeter, less acidity.
I suspect I would rate this higher if I hadn't just enjoyed its cheaper, better, younger brother.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/25/2015 - Outplaying wrote: 90 Points
I was worried after reading Tooches note but I thought this showed well. Served at around 60 degrees and popped and poured. Not quite as savory as I remembered but also not a simple fruit bomb. There is a good amount of fruit though, mostly darker in tone. Some smokey, cured meat, slight licorice. A little spice on the nose. Some charred, tarry notes. Good acid on the finish and just a little fine tannin remaining. We enjoyed it. This was my last bottle but I think it will drink well for a couple more years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/16/2015 - DaButtah Likes this wine: 91 Points
Had this as a part of a Syrah tasting. Enjoyed it. Dark fruits and spicy with a lot of herbal notes on the finish. I found this to be more lean than many of the other cali syrahs. Couldn't help but think that this would be even better paired with food (lamb chops would be fantastic). Definitely stood out and would try again.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/18/2014 - tooch wrote: 79 Points
Blind Dinner at Browntrout (Browntrout - Chicago, IL): Served blind. I had this off the list at a restaurant a couple months ago, and really loved the wine. Not sure why this bottle was so different, but it just didn't connect well with my palate. The flavors were a bit cloying and sticky with dark/dense black fruits, smokey notes, with a lot of creaminess. The bottle I had at the restaurant was a bit cooler and had been decanted for a bit, so maybe that played a role. I was certainly disappointed when the bottle was revealed.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/18/2014 - acyso wrote: 70 Points
Blind Dinner at Browntrout (Chicago, IL): Served blind. Lots of dark fruit, with a bit of a vanilla-blueberry milkshake quality to it. That's always a big warning sign to me. New world Rhone varietal for sure. Big and flabby, with discernible alcohol on the palate. Really not my thing.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/21/2014 - DanielJ Likes this wine: 88 Points
A lot of sediment in the bottle. Sharp dusty flavor. Interesting wine with a lot of acidity but I'd like a bit more roundness.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/6/2014 - macker100 wrote: 92 Points
Big aromas of blackberries, indian spice, meat. No doubt on whole cluster. Impressive depth of black fruits, but extreme spice and pepper on palate. A spice driven Cornas is my best description.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/22/2014 - tooch wrote: 91 Points
Off the list at RPM Steak. Splash decanted before dinner. Nose of cured meat, dark berries, and lilacs. The palate had a richness of flavor to it, but it had a nice lightness and balance to it. Was a very nice combination with our steaks.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/7/2014 - jeginmt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Full bodied, dark burgundy color, excellent dark berry, dark cherry flavors, very nice balance of acidity and fruit, soft tannin structure-just right.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/7/2014 - pjhr Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious dark berry, lavender, and spice on the nose and palate with chewy tannins on the long finish. Delicious whole cluster syrah. Drinking beautifully!
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/11/2014 - markjanes Likes this wine: 87 Points
BBQ #2 of season (Reno, NV): reddish blue rim, very deep color. aromatically lots of dark (mineral tinged) fruits, tar and olive, maybe a hint of new oak spice. on the palate the wine has high acidity, a very lush midpalate, loats of very coarse tannins that are ripe, moderate to high alcohol. wine is balanced, has good length, very good intensity and complexity. not really a wine of finesse, the texture is very rough from the tannins, good expression of place. the next day the wine’s texture had softened a bit but the flavors had muddled. good to very good wine... i would drink this up as i think the flavors will continue to muddle as the tannins resolve, which will take a long time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/1/2014 - Lessthanzero wrote: 92 Points
wow. Niceness. It's like the southern rhone married the northern, had a baby and moved to california. Dark fruits, with some bramble. Not brett, but grit. Rough-like corduroy tannins, that make me think this could go another 5 years easy. Highly enjoyable way to pass a few hours.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/8/2013 - silton Likes this wine: 90 Points
I find this wine currently weighed down by its structure. The nose gives off a nice syrah spectrum of savory blue fruits and olive tapanade, but wasn't as expressive or powerful as semi-recent bottles of a Pax 05 and WG 09 from Griffin's Lair. The palate shows the mineral streak in the vineyard, which remains a favorite for providing cool climate style while staying more fruity than ashy, but the palate didn't fully pop open until day 2 even after a couple hours in the decanter on day 1. I'll be holding my remainder 2+ years with some hope for improvement. This is more strictly a food wine than most iterations of this vineyard.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/14/2013 - ToddS Likes this wine:
Identifiable as a Wind Gap if you've ever spent any time with their Sonoma Coast bottlings. Sonoma Coast with more of all the good stuff. Game, bacon, pepper and the florals are all there.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/12/2012 - Mike Dildine wrote: 91 Points
Rich red and black fruit with black olive overtones. Very enjoyable.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/20/2012 - Canoehead wrote: 84 Points
I agree with keelegl that this wine is singular in form, at least for the first four hours. It is simply "ripe red grape". Only later did the wine deliver some depth of flavour with a little smoke and darker fruit. Eleven more to go. I think I'll try decanting the next one a couple of hours in advance.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/17/2012 - keelegl wrote: 88 Points
This very one note with just clean “grapey” ripe fruit. Well made, but boring and generic overall.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
9/3/2012 - Clrv Likes this wine: 90 Points
Enjoyed this wine over several hours and glad I have one more bottle. Decanted and tasted right after. Tannins and acidity where high and fruit was a little reserved with heat, black fruit, tar and pepper on the nose. On the palate black berry, tobacco and smoke. It needed about 1.5 hours of decanting to start opening up and the tannins and acidity balancing out.. At the 2 hour mark it was quite balanced with cherry and vanilla on the nose, and cherry, vanilla and a little smoke on the palate. Very nice finish of vanilla and smoke on a medium finish. Drink now to 2015.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/17/2012 - FLI Likes this wine: 92 Points
The whole package. A bit of tannic grip, indicating it could handle several more years, but drinking very well now. Well balanced fruit, earth and spice. Second half held up very well after a couple nights in the fridge.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/8/2012 - rexmerlot wrote: 90 Points
Clear dark purple in colour. Clean Med+ nose of black fruit, smoked meat, and spice. Dry, med Acidity, med+ tannin, med body, black cherry, vanilla, and earth on palate. med finish. The nose on this blew me away. On the palate less exciting at first, lots of tart cherry and not allot of finish in beginning, but got better and better over the night. Should have decanted this longer. Great wine, I wish I had more in my cellar.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/3/2012 - petitblanc wrote: 82 Points
Generic, hot, tiresome, despite some slightly interesting mature elements. Drink now.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/30/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Wow, this wine has really evolved in the 2 years since I last drank it. I pulled this bottle in error last night, wanting to pull the Castelli but grabbed this one. I decanted this last night before dinner and then after dinner put the last 1/4 of the bottle back and put the cork in for today. This won't be mistaken for a light bodied or colored wine--simply pouring the wine really sets the tone--it's dark and opaque. Similarly, the texture after all this aeration has really silkened the wine up and it's beautifully textured. Full of bright blackberry, black raspberry and smooth as glass. Deceptively in the finish, there is still some dusty tannin, along with some dark chocolate, with some finishing acidity and light slate. It's listed at 14.6% alcohol, but I suspect it's a bit bigger, as some of the aromatic shows some of that signature but this is the only thing I can say about the wine on the other side of the ledger. This is really a stand out syrah, showing the purity of the 2007 vintage, a comment I have made many times about the 2007 Copain syrahs, as well. As for a drink window, I'd say now through 2014 as I agree with the aging comment made by jfk in his review. This is now on my 2012 WOTY list, no doubt.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/31/2011 - Mike Dildine wrote: 92 Points
Nice balance and structure. Well done.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/27/2011 - wmccone54 wrote: 91 Points
Opaque dark purple, almost a black color, thick, very full bodied. PnP, but nose was initially closed, so I venturied it to see if it would open a bit more. After some time in the glass, it opened with hints of black pepper, smoke, cedar, spice, and some faint earthiness. Great concentrated blackberry and blueberry liqueur flavors, with an underlying peppery meatiness on the palate that translates into a long finish of mocha. Great structure. Paired well with grilled pork chops.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/1/2011 - Lessthanzero wrote:
Dark in the glass wit a tight, ungiving nose. Crushed berries and earth. Big on palate with coarse tannins. This can go a while.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/8/2011 - jfkwines wrote: 90 Points
Rich with heavy smoky bacon, this wine has plenty of oomph to last a while. nose is not strong, but the wine is good. Not sure of the length of life as it is not structed for a long haul I feel. Good now and for a while longer. An early contender for Thanksgiving wine.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/6/2011 - silton wrote:
Nice pepper, smoked meat, and saline elements complement the dark berry fruit but it's all wrapped up tight on the palate. Hold. 90+?
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
6/5/2011 - silton wrote: flawed
Corked.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/22/2011 - brigcampbell wrote:
Falltacular 2011 (FMIII in the OC): Super dark, like motor oil. Nose is fairly muted. That's not the case with the palate, big, powerful flavours. Blackberry, black olive, pepper dominate with oak showing in the form of charcoal. There is a chewy meatiness. Tannins still quite present, lots of structure, a little drying on a long finish.
More cellaring will be rewarded.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
1/9/2011 - MotoMannequin wrote: 92 Points
Decanted through an aeration device about an hour before serving. Color is like fresh-drawn blood. Slightly restrained nose of violets, smoked meats, green olive brine, and crushed rocks. Plums and blackberries are restrained on the palate by meaty, peppery notes, iron ore, and olive tapenade. Finish is intense and brutally tannic but continues for a long, long time, alternating between notes of bitter dark cacao and blood orange. Food helps cut the tannins but in general this was a fairly masochistic experience. This wine seems to have a huge upside, but I wouldn't touch my remaining bottles for 3-5 years.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
12/3/2010 - Outplaying wrote:
I thought I'd open one of these after receiving the offer yesterday for the 08 vintage. Popped and poured and whoa what a nose! It leaps out of the glass and you can smell it while the glass sits on the table. Classic syrah blood, meaty, minerally notes with lots of pepper and spice. Black and quite a bit of red fruit. Big, but not thick, syrupy or heavy with a great freshness on the finish. The wine added texture as it opened with the tannins really becoming prominent as the night went on. This is clearly young and should improve as it all integrates. Very nice and I ordered some of the 08 this morning. I like what Pax is doing at Wind Gap. I'll try to wait a couple of years before opening another.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
8/12/2010 - kris.h wrote: 91 Points
Dark color. Lush fruit. Full body. Firm drying tannin with moderate acidity. Long tannic dry finish. Very good stuff but seems a little tighter from last tasting.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/29/2010 - pgordon62 wrote: 90 Points
Blackberry, camphor, briny black olive, pastille red cherry, mocha and dark crushed rock. Dense, textured, with depth. Tannins really build through the finish but are not oppressive. The final note is tart red fruit. Similar to a Pax but more lifted, lively. Closed now. Much upside.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
7/14/2010 - Why Yes wrote: 91 Points
This is a nice wine. Do NOT expect a wine that even remotely resembles past Pax Griffin's Lairs--but it is not supposed to, so get over it. HUGE stem inclusion characteristics, matched with the gorgeous aromatics of cool climate syrah. Think savory all the way, but still very bright. No blueberry pie here folks. No vanilla. No coffee. Lilacs, white flowers, asphalt, black raspberries (do those exist?). Fantastic flavors all the way.
My one knock on this wine is that, right now the tannins build and build to the point feeling short, aggressive and drying. This holds the wine back from being a classic. I need suaveness of tannin structure in my Syrah. Time may well take care of this, but that remains to be seen.
Clearly there is a desire to compare this wine to past Pax Wines offerings, so if need be, think the Majik Vineyard or Keltie more than Castelli for a stylistic touchpoint.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
5/22/2010 - grubmanda wrote: 88 Points
Decanted for several hours. Was disappointed compared to prior Pax offerings.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
4/18/2010 - alanr Likes this wine: 92 Points
Notes from Wind Gap open house: Dark, dense, deeply flavored with a higher toned blueberry aspect, great earthiness, a savory roasted mushroom note, great structure, needs time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/19/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
The OC Blind Crew (Kimera--Irvine, CA): This wine was quite savory and closed when first opened and then decanted, served a few hours later. Light pepper, bit of stalkiness (whole cluster), blackberry hard candy with a mocha note on the finish. Seemed tight with a nice dose of acidity and will need time.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/16/2010 - amateurwino wrote:
Tasted very briefly at the end of a large tasting, so no notes kept. I do note that the wine tasted very much like the '05 Pax Griffin's Lair I had last year, so that should be good news for fans of Pax Mahle.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/13/2010 - wineismylife wrote: 90 Points
Saturdays at One - Volume 11: WIML89-90
Decanted about an hour. Dark garnet color in the glass, clear hue throughout. Nose of roasted meat, coffee, currants and some added floral notes. Flavors of berries and cherries. Light to medium acidity, medium tannins and body. Drink or hold.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
3/6/2010 - mmurry Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine was decanted about 1 hour. The nose had one of the strongest aromas of roasted meat that I have ever smelled. In fact, the smell was so strong, it over-powered almost everything else. I did get a little tar and black currant. The palate was rich and thick, and much more fruity. It had lots of dark fruit and meat juice, some tar and smoke, and very peppery finish. I like this style of Syrah.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
2/8/2010 - pgruber wrote: 89 Points
Not as good as Pax's Pax offering
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment
11/19/2009 - kris.h wrote: 93 Points
Dark, opaque purple, near black. Spicy nose with dark fruit. This is a big meaty spicy syrah. Firm tannin, soft to moderate acidity. Some oak on the finish but overall well balanced. Long tannic dry finish. Excellent stuff.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment