Decanted. Deep purple-ruby color, opaque with just a little clearing at the edges. Black cherry & plum aromas, surprisingly fresh, with additional notes of iron, fresh violets, anise, tea, paprika and pink peppercorn. Broad and rich on the palate, with nicely high-toned black fruit draped with secondary savory spices, leather, tar and dark florals. Full bodied yet deft through the middle palate, showing finesse. Nice acid offsetting its heft, with broad round integrated tannins, adding a hint of roasted coffee on a full, rich finish. Early to mid-secondary phase, integrated and open, still plenty of life ahead.
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From a magnum. Fully mature with notes of red licorice, apple core, smoke and tapenade.Sweetens slightly with extended air time. Slight browning. Backside of peak, drink now.
Day 2, pretty close to day 1.
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Really enjoyed this, not just on night #1 but night 2 as well. Deep rich aromatic gamy meaty notes. Tannins fine with acid throughout. Hints ripe black olive. Texturally coating and lush. No heat despite 15.5% Etoh. Held up well night #2 in nalgene container with air removed. Ideal with lamb chops.
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Whoa. Had this a few months back from a magnum but this is showing better right now from a 750. It was spot on and ready to go. Purple in color. Gorgeous nose of black raspberries, black olives, leather, black pepper, slight grilled meats and violets. The kind of nose you just want to keep sniffing. On the palate, every bit as good. The texture is what hit me first. Lush yet inviting. Just felt so good. Great fruit; black raspberries with medium tannins. Depth and layers. Great balance. Long finish. The only down side is the bottle was drained very quickly. Slight sediment in the last glass so perhaps a decant would be good. If you have any of this, I would definitely check in on it now.
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Magnum night in the CLE (The Penthouse at IMG Headquarters in Downtown Cleveland): This started tight but after about ten minutes it really opened up in the glass. The nose is very nice with black raspberries, black olives, grilled meats and black pepper. On the palate, this is ripe but so well balanced. Plenty of tannins still. Lots of black raspberry fruit. Once it opens, there is a tight layering that continues to open. Long finish. Not as obvious as the Saxums, but its flashy in its own way nevertheless. Worked well with food. Great now but will improve.
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A bit of a fruit bomb. Reminiscent of an Aussie shiraz. High alcohol, drank a bit hot. Viscous with faint tannins, clearly time to drink up. Solid dark fruits; ideal with ribs. If you like 'em big and fruity, this is your drink.
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Great nose. Flavors start a little flat, but with air sweeten and deepen. May not be the best of the '08's from Jaffurs, that's reserved for the Bien Nacido and the Verna's, but really enjoyable
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Two hour decant through a Vinturi. Threw a lot of sediment. Opaque purple color. Black fruit, tar, iodine and herbs on the nose. Thick blackberry, chocolate and meat blood, followed by liquid stone with excellent balance across a lengthy finish. In its sweet spot at the moment. Agree with those who say this has another 5 years, but no reason to wait. Typical killer effort from Jaffurs.
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On the nose, earth, mushrooms, leather, and dark fruit. Additional earth on the palate, along with robust red fruits (cherry) and black pepper. Big tannins, full-bodied Syrah.
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Perfect example of letting wine sit for a few years. I watched this one go from flat, flabby and boring, to a great wine over a two year period. Time will probably enhance these even more, but drinking well now.
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Initially was a little loose, lots of flavors but did not flow. Heavy dark roasted coffee. Too many bass notes, not enough tension to make this interesting. Second night did detect a nice tart cherry streak. Much more enjoyable. This bottle reminds me of an Jaffurs ampelos I had a few yeas ago, and a Clarendon hills that was difficult to drink. Purchased from winery.
I've has stellar Jaffurs, and a few that we're not to my liking. This falls in between. Rated very good second night.
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I agree with the recent CT's and what Parker had to say.
Decanted and enjoyed over 3+ hours on night one and had a few glasses on day 2. This wine took at least an hour in the decanter to fully come together. When it did, it showed a Rhone-like nose of cassis, Asian spice and meat juices around a solid core of black slate which came through on the palate. This wine had some of the juicy Jaffurs fruit but seemed more like a Rhone than their other syrah wines. I really enjoyed it.
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Heavy sediment on the cork. Nearly opaque black/red color. Blackberry, smoked meat and raspberry nose. Very smooth, no heat, smoke, soy sauce, meat, earth, big juicy red and black fruits, cigar box, with a little bit of pepper. Tapenade kicks in a bit late in the bottle. Medium acidity and very rich. The flavors just jump from the glass. No hard edges. Has improved in the year+ since my last bottle. Drank as a pop and pour. Flavors pop about an hour in. Great place right now.
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This was really singing last night! Decanted for two hours. Cigar box, spring flowers, lilac, lavender, scorched earth, boysenberry, black pepper. So seamless and sappy with charred wood, soy sauce and hoisin. Iodine and grilled meat. Amazing how light on its feet, yet incredibly powerful it is. Fine grained tannins and acidity that brought everything back together.
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Complex nose, rich dark fruit, cedar, licorice. Very concentrated with a long finish. I wanted to rate this higher but I was distracted by a slight musty flavor (cork taint?). My wife also picked it up but she likened it to a Northern Rhone sort of earthiness, which she enjoyed. She's probably right....
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Much more old world in style than most Jaffurs Syrah. Earthy notes of mushroom, old leather anddark fruits with raw meat on the nose. A very food friendly wine.
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<sigh> I think I'm giving up on this winery. We had our last bottle of a case (same original source and handling on my end for entire batch) of this one over the last two nights and it as just flat out dreadful. (If scoring I'd put it an >80.) We dumped the bulk of it. Disjointed, rough and harsh.
We've had great bottles of Jaffurs Syrah (this and three other vintages/labelings) and awful bottles and there seems to be little rhyme or reason. Just too inconsistent to keep trying, hoping for the occasional good one. Unprecedented bottle variation for me, especially in a relatively small production wine. (And we just had a very similar terrible experience with Jaffur's Santa Barbara Syrah. Followed up by another bottle, stored literally next to the first in our cellar and purchased at same time/place as the bad one, that was awesome.)
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Popped and poured for a slow Friday evening after a hectic week. Good from the start and just kept improving over the evening. Dark berry, cedar, loam on the nose. Complex flavor profile with fruit well integrated with secondary notes. Currant, au jus, pepper, roasted herbs on the palate. Full bodied, long finish. An all around great wine.
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Splash decant ... This is, by far, the best bottle of this vintage of the Larner Vineyard I've experienced so far of our original case purchase. Rich, full, meaty and smokey. Slight floral, but not at all in-your-face; fruit there, but not cloying. Complex and delicious, this one just sung and reminded me why I've always had such a high opinion of Jaffurs Syrahs. Also makes me once again wonder if I had some off and/or heat-damaged bottles back there. Hmmm...
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Good, not great. Needs to decant for a min of an hour. Rich dark fruits but lacks finish and complexity compared to other Jaffurs wines of the same vintage.
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Decanted approx. 30 minutes ... This bottle was far better than the last. (We actually popped it so soon afterwards because we were worried we had a bad case.) The floral element was still there, but it wasn't so wildly overpowering. The other bottle definitely wasn't tainted, I guess just a pretty broad bottle variation? A bit odd from a single vineyard, small production bottling. Neither were as good as the first bottle we had that we based our case purchase on. (Hate when that happens.)
Anyway, this does still have a distinct floral nose and taste, which I found less than thrilling, even when it was just at tinge, in lieu of the overwhelming drinking-a-vase-of-flower-water the previous bottle had. There is good stuff here but I definitely prefer Jaffurs lower-end Sonoma County bottling from the same vintage. Go figure.
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Decanted approx. 30 min ... This is my first disappointment with any bottle of a Jaffurs. While it wasn't flat-out terrible, it had a very strong floral component, like drinking a bouquet of flowers, that really ruined this one for me. The underlying juice was still pretty good, but the floral whoomp and the a slight bitterness just overall ruined the experience for me. Interested to know if anyone else has experienced similiar with this bottling?
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Decanted approx. 2 hours ... This is my first single vineyard Jaffurs after loving their lower end offering, and while I found it very good, not sure it's better than Jaffurs' less expensive bottling, making it a less impressive QPR.
But that's a tiny quibble with this lovely purple pour that has blackberry and blueberry fruit just bursting on the tongue. Great mouthfeel and balance (not too sweet) and tannic backbone to give the whole thing structure. Just a phenomenal, well-made wine that drinks like a dream and paired perfectly with a hearty Irish lamb stew.
Jaffurs is one of the central California wineries that is doing absolutely amazing things with Syrah. I have been very impressed with each and every one of their labels I've sampled so far and they're amongst my favorite producers overall.
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Tested from a preservation machine. I think this needs some good air time, couldn't wait for it (tasting multiple wines). Attractive nose with deep red berry notes, distinct spice and menthol and hints of cedar. In the mouth attacks with warm and spicy deep ripe sour and thick red and dark fruit (dark berry-blueberry, blackberry, perhaps blk currant) accompanied by bittersweet orange peel taste. Finish lingers with a bittersweet taste of oak and fruit. Dry. Body medium, acid medium plus, tannin medium. Need to try well-aired per note below.
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1/7/2022 - MattMauldin Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted. Deep purple-ruby color, opaque with just a little clearing at the edges. Black cherry & plum aromas, surprisingly fresh, with additional notes of iron, fresh violets, anise, tea, paprika and pink peppercorn. Broad and rich on the palate, with nicely high-toned black fruit draped with secondary savory spices, leather, tar and dark florals. Full bodied yet deft through the middle palate, showing finesse. Nice acid offsetting its heft, with broad round integrated tannins, adding a hint of roasted coffee on a full, rich finish. Early to mid-secondary phase, integrated and open, still plenty of life ahead.
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12/15/2021 - Mootsie Likes this wine: 95 Points
From a magnum.
Fully mature with notes of red licorice, apple core, smoke and tapenade.Sweetens slightly with extended air time. Slight browning. Backside of peak, drink now.
Day 2, pretty close to day 1.
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6/13/2019 - Mootsie Likes this wine: 94 Points
Ever so slight drying, but drinking very nice now. Drink.
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5/25/2017 - texaswinelover wrote:
Really enjoyed this, not just on night #1 but night 2 as well. Deep rich aromatic gamy meaty notes. Tannins fine with acid throughout. Hints ripe black olive. Texturally coating and lush. No heat despite 15.5% Etoh. Held up well night #2 in nalgene container with air removed. Ideal with lamb chops.
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1/21/2017 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 95 Points
Whoa. Had this a few months back from a magnum but this is showing better right now from a 750. It was spot on and ready to go. Purple in color. Gorgeous nose of black raspberries, black olives, leather, black pepper, slight grilled meats and violets. The kind of nose you just want to keep sniffing. On the palate, every bit as good. The texture is what hit me first. Lush yet inviting. Just felt so good. Great fruit; black raspberries with medium tannins. Depth and layers. Great balance. Long finish. The only down side is the bottle was drained very quickly. Slight sediment in the last glass so perhaps a decant would be good. If you have any of this, I would definitely check in on it now.
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9/25/2016 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 94 Points
Magnum night in the CLE (The Penthouse at IMG Headquarters in Downtown Cleveland): This started tight but after about ten minutes it really opened up in the glass. The nose is very nice with black raspberries, black olives, grilled meats and black pepper. On the palate, this is ripe but so well balanced. Plenty of tannins still. Lots of black raspberry fruit. Once it opens, there is a tight layering that continues to open. Long finish. Not as obvious as the Saxums, but its flashy in its own way nevertheless. Worked well with food. Great now but will improve.
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3/2/2016 - CADomer Likes this wine: 91 Points
Big and sexy, just how I expect my Jaffurs Syrah. Supple fruit and warm spices with notes of florality.
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9/7/2015 - OCWino wrote: 88 Points
A bit of a fruit bomb. Reminiscent of an Aussie shiraz. High alcohol, drank a bit hot. Viscous with faint tannins, clearly time to drink up. Solid dark fruits; ideal with ribs. If you like 'em big and fruity, this is your drink.
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12/26/2014 - Mootsie Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great nose. Flavors start a little flat, but with air sweeten and deepen. May not be the best of the '08's from Jaffurs, that's reserved for the Bien Nacido and the Verna's, but really enjoyable
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10/25/2014 - J2K wrote:
Lovely syrah, balanced pure fruit and clean. Have never been disappointed from this producer
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3/23/2014 - BBencz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Two hour decant through a Vinturi. Threw a lot of sediment. Opaque purple color. Black fruit, tar, iodine and herbs on the nose. Thick blackberry, chocolate and meat blood, followed by liquid stone with excellent balance across a lengthy finish. In its sweet spot at the moment. Agree with those who say this has another 5 years, but no reason to wait. Typical killer effort from Jaffurs.
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12/11/2013 - behm0027 Likes this wine: 90 Points
On the nose, earth, mushrooms, leather, and dark fruit. Additional earth on the palate, along with robust red fruits (cherry) and black pepper. Big tannins, full-bodied Syrah.
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11/17/2013 - Mootsie Likes this wine: 94 Points
Perfect example of letting wine sit for a few years. I watched this one go from flat, flabby and boring, to a great wine over a two year period. Time will probably enhance these even more, but drinking well now.
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9/21/2013 - pilot360 wrote:
Initially was a little loose, lots of flavors but did not flow. Heavy dark roasted coffee. Too many bass notes, not enough tension to make this interesting. Second night did detect a nice tart cherry streak. Much more enjoyable.
This bottle reminds me of an Jaffurs ampelos I had a few yeas ago, and a Clarendon hills that was difficult to drink. Purchased from winery.
I've has stellar Jaffurs, and a few that we're not to my liking. This falls in between. Rated very good second night.
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7/29/2013 - CRAUBER4242 Likes this wine: 93 Points
I agree with the recent CT's and what Parker had to say.
Decanted and enjoyed over 3+ hours on night one and had a few glasses on day 2. This wine took at least an hour in the decanter to fully come together. When it did, it showed a Rhone-like nose of cassis, Asian spice and meat juices around a solid core of black slate which came through on the palate. This wine had some of the juicy Jaffurs fruit but seemed more like a Rhone than their other syrah wines. I really enjoyed it.
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5/12/2013 - Mootsie Likes this wine: 94 Points
Heavy sediment on the cork. Nearly opaque black/red color. Blackberry, smoked meat and raspberry nose. Very smooth, no heat, smoke, soy sauce, meat, earth, big juicy red and black fruits, cigar box, with a little bit of pepper. Tapenade kicks in a bit late in the bottle. Medium acidity and very rich. The flavors just jump from the glass. No hard edges. Has improved in the year+ since my last bottle. Drank as a pop and pour. Flavors pop about an hour in. Great place right now.
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3/24/2013 - STM82 wrote: 94 Points
This was really singing last night! Decanted for two hours. Cigar box, spring flowers, lilac, lavender, scorched earth, boysenberry, black pepper. So seamless and sappy with charred wood, soy sauce and hoisin. Iodine and grilled meat. Amazing how light on its feet, yet incredibly powerful it is. Fine grained tannins and acidity that brought everything back together.
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3/6/2013 - jwalker1140 wrote: 91 Points
Complex nose, rich dark fruit, cedar, licorice. Very concentrated with a long finish. I wanted to rate this higher but I was distracted by a slight musty flavor (cork taint?). My wife also picked it up but she likened it to a Northern Rhone sort of earthiness, which she enjoyed. She's probably right....
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1/4/2013 - Spookey wrote:
After an hour decant, this was ready to go. Complex and smooth. Wish I had more.
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12/31/2012 - suburbanfrog Likes this wine: 90 Points
Much more old world in style than most Jaffurs Syrah. Earthy notes of mushroom, old leather anddark fruits with raw meat on the nose. A very food friendly wine.
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4/8/2012 - markandsusanw wrote:
<sigh> I think I'm giving up on this winery. We had our last bottle of a case (same original source and handling on my end for entire batch) of this one over the last two nights and it as just flat out dreadful. (If scoring I'd put it an >80.) We dumped the bulk of it. Disjointed, rough and harsh.
We've had great bottles of Jaffurs Syrah (this and three other vintages/labelings) and awful bottles and there seems to be little rhyme or reason. Just too inconsistent to keep trying, hoping for the occasional good one. Unprecedented bottle variation for me, especially in a relatively small production wine. (And we just had a very similar terrible experience with Jaffur's Santa Barbara Syrah. Followed up by another bottle, stored literally next to the first in our cellar and purchased at same time/place as the bad one, that was awesome.)
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3/31/2012 - HOS Likes this wine: 93 Points
Popped and poured for a slow Friday evening after a hectic week. Good from the start and just kept improving over the evening. Dark berry, cedar, loam on the nose. Complex flavor profile with fruit well integrated with secondary notes. Currant, au jus, pepper, roasted herbs on the palate. Full bodied, long finish. An all around great wine.
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3/6/2012 - markandsusanw wrote: 92 Points
Splash decant ... This is, by far, the best bottle of this vintage of the Larner Vineyard I've experienced so far of our original case purchase. Rich, full, meaty and smokey. Slight floral, but not at all in-your-face; fruit there, but not cloying. Complex and delicious, this one just sung and reminded me why I've always had such a high opinion of Jaffurs Syrahs. Also makes me once again wonder if I had some off and/or heat-damaged bottles back there. Hmmm...
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12/12/2011 - rb415 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Good, not great. Needs to decant for a min of an hour. Rich dark fruits but lacks finish and complexity compared to other Jaffurs wines of the same vintage.
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6/20/2011 - markandsusanw wrote: 89 Points
Decanted approx. 30 minutes ... This bottle was far better than the last. (We actually popped it so soon afterwards because we were worried we had a bad case.) The floral element was still there, but it wasn't so wildly overpowering. The other bottle definitely wasn't tainted, I guess just a pretty broad bottle variation? A bit odd from a single vineyard, small production bottling. Neither were as good as the first bottle we had that we based our case purchase on. (Hate when that happens.)
Anyway, this does still have a distinct floral nose and taste, which I found less than thrilling, even when it was just at tinge, in lieu of the overwhelming drinking-a-vase-of-flower-water the previous bottle had. There is good stuff here but I definitely prefer Jaffurs lower-end Sonoma County bottling from the same vintage. Go figure.
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6/18/2011 - markandsusanw wrote: 84 Points
Decanted approx. 30 min ... This is my first disappointment with any bottle of a Jaffurs. While it wasn't flat-out terrible, it had a very strong floral component, like drinking a bouquet of flowers, that really ruined this one for me. The underlying juice was still pretty good, but the floral whoomp and the a slight bitterness just overall ruined the experience for me. Interested to know if anyone else has experienced similiar with this bottling?
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5/13/2011 - waragi wrote:
Delicious. Powerful but refined.
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5/2/2011 - xtian wrote: 91 Points
Rich and layered; a bit hot.
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2/22/2011 - ELH wrote: 91 Points
Popped and poured at BYO. Opened up after about ten minutes. Lovely deep purple in the glass. Heart warming fruit. Round and smooth in the mouth.
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1/9/2011 - markandsusanw Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decanted approx. 2 hours ... This is my first single vineyard Jaffurs after loving their lower end offering, and while I found it very good, not sure it's better than Jaffurs' less expensive bottling, making it a less impressive QPR.
But that's a tiny quibble with this lovely purple pour that has blackberry and blueberry fruit just bursting on the tongue. Great mouthfeel and balance (not too sweet) and tannic backbone to give the whole thing structure. Just a phenomenal, well-made wine that drinks like a dream and paired perfectly with a hearty Irish lamb stew.
Jaffurs is one of the central California wineries that is doing absolutely amazing things with Syrah. I have been very impressed with each and every one of their labels I've sampled so far and they're amongst my favorite producers overall.
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10/24/2010 - dynowine wrote: 87 Points
Tested from a preservation machine. I think this needs some good air time, couldn't wait for it (tasting multiple wines). Attractive nose with deep red berry notes, distinct spice and menthol and hints of cedar. In the mouth attacks with warm and spicy deep ripe sour and thick red and dark fruit (dark berry-blueberry, blackberry, perhaps blk currant) accompanied by bittersweet orange peel taste. Finish lingers with a bittersweet taste of oak and fruit. Dry. Body medium, acid medium plus, tannin medium. Need to try well-aired per note below.
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2/26/2010 - doctoroflaws wrote: 92 Points
A little disjointed for the first hour but then it came together and drank beautifully.
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