Decanted 4 hours prior to serving. Some significant sediment. Very dark color with a touch of red on the rim. Initial aromas of prunes and plums. The over-ripeness faded somewhat after four hours, revealing dark fruits, quite a bit of sweet blackberry fruit and fairly tame tannins. Definitely some black pepper through the ripe finish. Those holding this wine in hopes of tannins taking more of the background to the fruit will be pleased. On the other hand, there was nothing phenomenal here. Drink up now with a healthy decant.
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Popped and poured. Incredibly dark purple, almost black, color. A bit unbalanced, extremely overripe and astringent. A disappointment after holding it since release.
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Not sure what to make of this. Lots of structure but not much fruit. A bit astringent and harsh without much middle. Acquired on release and perfectly stored.
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Hard to rate this, at this point it has a harsh side and a sweet side, tasting like a very young wine with miles to go. There is still a lot of tannin left.
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Yeah, I probably should have waited another 10-20 years before drinking this wine. It was good, but it has the potential to be much better in years to come.
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Inky looking with pencil lead and dark berries on the nose. Leather and blue fruits on the palate supported by more lead and some Forrest notes. Loads of tannins and grit still. Drank this over three days and it would've softened for five.
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Really big and jammy out of the blocks. First impressions were - overripe balckberry jam at about 17%, but it is actually 14,5% and after about 1 hour it settlied down to a dull roar. Still big and fruity, but more of a back palette develops with time. More typical of Zin than Petite Syrah, it is bone dry on the finish. I enjoyed it more as it opened, and know that it is a quality wine. Just undecided as yet if it is a quality wine for me.
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This was very good. Perfect timing because it is drink now! Great dark color, beautiful dark and red berrie nose. On palate wonderful petite sirah. Had it with elk steaks potatoes and salad. Very good and stayed the same all night. This will not get better.
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Still tight and just not ready. Under a layer of tannin but some fruit is there, just fairly tame in comparison to it. Needs another 3-4 years or a long decant. Also, expected a bigger wine than I found, too. Medium weighted as compared to a Foley or Switchback.
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This wine was opened at an outdoor event involving a pig roast. The wine developed the more it was in the glass but there was a certain spiciness that was present throughout. We enjoyed this wine immensely and I wish I had another in the cellar.
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Pulled the cork on this assuming that I had grabbed a Rattlesnake Zin. (Maybe the fact that I couldn't see any light through the bottle should have tipped me off...) Inky purple/black and young, but much more forward than RP's comments had led me to expect. While this will likely benefit from 5-7 years of bottle age, I found this remarkably approachable, with some captivating espresso and spice notes on the nose and mid-palate. A very balanced wine - yes, there are some really dense tannins on the finish, but not mouth-searing by any means. (Unlike, e.g., a 1997 or 1999 Hayne PS.) A seriously dense, great wine that I now wish I could revisit in about 7 years, though this might have been my only bottle.
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12/2/2023 - BHRH Likes this wine: 90 Points
Decanted 4 hours prior to serving. Some significant sediment. Very dark color with a touch of red on the rim. Initial aromas of prunes and plums. The over-ripeness faded somewhat after four hours, revealing dark fruits, quite a bit of sweet blackberry fruit and fairly tame tannins. Definitely some black pepper through the ripe finish. Those holding this wine in hopes of tannins taking more of the background to the fruit will be pleased. On the other hand, there was nothing phenomenal here. Drink up now with a healthy decant.
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10/14/2023 - BernieMSY wrote: 88 Points
Popped and poured.
Incredibly dark purple, almost black, color.
A bit unbalanced, extremely overripe and astringent. A
disappointment after holding it since release.
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3/31/2020 - ocfriday Likes this wine: 91 Points
This beast is now a gentle lamb, mellow acids and fruit, but with a nice long dry finish. If you like fruit, drink this one now.
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8/22/2019 - mdefreitas wrote:
Not sure what to make of this. Lots of structure but not much fruit. A bit astringent and harsh without much middle. Acquired on release and perfectly stored.
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5/31/2018 - wynlvr Likes this wine:
Hard to rate this, at this point it has a harsh side and a sweet side, tasting like a very young wine with miles to go. There is still a lot of tannin left.
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10/19/2016 - bjwca Likes this wine: 90 Points
Yeah, I probably should have waited another 10-20 years before drinking this wine. It was good, but it has the potential to be much better in years to come.
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8/24/2016 - Dagman Likes this wine: 91 Points
Potent, biting, but very good. Definitely mellowed by the second day. What I would expect from a PS but maybe not one 13 years old!
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4/16/2015 - Uglypinga Likes this wine:
Inky looking with pencil lead and dark berries on the nose. Leather and blue fruits on the palate supported by more lead and some Forrest notes. Loads of tannins and grit still. Drank this over three days and it would've softened for five.
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6/10/2013 - pekingunther wrote: 90 Points
Really big and jammy out of the blocks. First impressions were - overripe balckberry jam at about 17%, but it is actually 14,5% and after about 1 hour it settlied down to a dull roar. Still big and fruity, but more of a back palette develops with time. More typical of Zin than Petite Syrah, it is bone dry on the finish. I enjoyed it more as it opened, and know that it is a quality wine. Just undecided as yet if it is a quality wine for me.
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6/6/2012 - wino121 wrote: flawed
Flawed...pisser!
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5/29/2011 - MichielV wrote: 90 Points
This was very good. Perfect timing because it is drink now! Great dark color, beautiful dark and red berrie nose. On palate wonderful petite sirah. Had it with elk steaks potatoes and salad. Very good and stayed the same all night. This will not get better.
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10/11/2009 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Still tight and just not ready. Under a layer of tannin but some fruit is there, just fairly tame in comparison to it. Needs another 3-4 years or a long decant. Also, expected a bigger wine than I found, too. Medium weighted as compared to a Foley or Switchback.
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9/7/2007 - brynmair wrote: 90 Points
This wine was opened at an outdoor event involving a pig roast. The wine developed the more it was in the glass but there was a certain spiciness that was present throughout. We enjoyed this wine immensely and I wish I had another in the cellar.
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5/13/2006 - BeavisCC wrote: 93 Points
Pulled the cork on this assuming that I had grabbed a Rattlesnake Zin. (Maybe the fact that I couldn't see any light through the bottle should have tipped me off...) Inky purple/black and young, but much more forward than RP's comments had led me to expect. While this will likely benefit from 5-7 years of bottle age, I found this remarkably approachable, with some captivating espresso and spice notes on the nose and mid-palate. A very balanced wine - yes, there are some really dense tannins on the finish, but not mouth-searing by any means. (Unlike, e.g., a 1997 or 1999 Hayne PS.) A seriously dense, great wine that I now wish I could revisit in about 7 years, though this might have been my only bottle.
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