Opened and enjoyed over a few days. Very solid, dusty core of cherry, red rock dust, wild brambles. Neutral and velvety and in a good place. Will udpate more.
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Had this immediately after a good Saint-Joseph, and it was a real eye-opener. Great nose. Black and blue fruits, with a ton of pepper and a hint of herbs. Very rich, but not too heavy, and it had a very good finish. Bright and vibrant, it's no imminent danger of heading downhill.
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Not Earth-shaking, but solid. Blueberries and mesquite. Medium body - light on its feet, not a ponderous, high octane fruitbomb. However, the nose, the flavors, and the finish were all somewhat reticent. A nice, old world-style wine, but one that would probably be overwhelmed by rich or grilled foods. Probably time to drink up.
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Took to a party, so no detailed notes. Blueberries, with a hint of citrus. Solid, but not mind-altering. May be in a dumb phase or may be headed downhill.
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Solid wine and outstanding price point. Drank after the Pax and it was more fruit focused with less intensity. Not near as complex, yet still a great wine.
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Citrus with black pepper. Dark fruit, blue berry, flowers, gun flint. Simply a beautiful California Syrah. Great QPR. Will continue to have this in my cellar.
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A dark, brooding wine. Full of roasted meat and fire. Beautiful dark fruit of blueberry and blackberry. Yet delicate at the same time, with hints of the floral aroma that make complex Syrah so captivating. It opens immediately, yet retains complexity throughout the drinking experience, and has tremendous length to the finish. I think this is drink pretty darn well, right now.
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About a year between bottles. My wife made some turkey chili so seemed fit to find a CA syrah from the cellar, settled on this one. Started off pretty much all mid palate with a lot of flowers, coffee and smoke in the aromatic, along with a whiff of new oak. After about 2 hours, it started to fill in and add some finish, a zestiness from the acidity that needed air to emerge. I intend to let the bottle sit and slow ox until tomorrow, to let everything unwrap........a day later the wine really drives a nice level of acidity and has good length. The fruit is also darker and richer, lots of black fruit with shadings of red, some chocolate too, but it doesn't get too over the top as the acid adds a tartness that pulls it back in, incuding some licorice and tar in the finish. This is a bottling that has amplitude, in the flavors and acidity, and some finishing tannin that leads me to think another year of rest would be a good approach, to drink 2013-2016.
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Smoky nose, then smoke and earth in the front. Fruit and oak at the finish. I found the fruit to be pretty restrained, certainly more so than I expected.
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Wood smoke and structure, allot of barrel, not much purity. Tastes like new barrel though. Maybe in time it will show through. But not for me, not today.
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Night 1, had a big meal that had lots of flavor and I ate too much and really just plowed through a big glass of this, only remembering a lot of oak. Sat the bottle, took from the cellar on Day 2 and it was still tight as a drum but after about 60 mins, with it warmng up, it finally started to let loose. I know this is a 2008 but next to the 08 Susan's Hill and Rosella's, this Garys' needed the most air to unwrap. When it did, it showed both more aromatics and palate definition. The fruit moves from red/black to blue black, with the black showing a juicy and vibrant expression. Even some olive and crushed rocks make their way into the aromatics. And finally on Day 3, I think I have the wine finally aerated. Certainly the most restrained as compared to the Susan's Hill and Rosella's bottlings, which I also drank within the last few weeks. This Garys' aromatics finish a little stalky, some french oak perfuming it, light underbrush. The palate is about juicy blackberry, some dark raspberry, even some olive, along with some menthol, creosote and distinctly tart red fruited acidity. The most sauvage and savory of the three single vineyard 2008s and will I think be the longest ager. Best in 2011-2014.
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An early preview, as this is a barreled up final blend for the wine, as it readies to be bottled soon. Was pulled from barrel on Thursday, arrived on Friday and drank today, which is Sunday. It's had about 2 hours of air and we'll finish it by dinner, which is shortly: pasta with red sauce, chicken sausage and sund dried tomato. The nose shows a sweet incense, a lavender note, too. The wine shows a black raspberry and juicier core, although it's not thin in weight but medium to medium +. There is the requisite bbq notes, a creamy edge to the red and black fruit, licorice and a zesty acidity, much like the 2008 Novy Susan's Hill that I finished a similar sample of on Friday. This one seems wired the same way, and it appears that Adam got the acidity to speak more on both these wines, which livens up the finish. As the wine closes, the zing of the acid and the red fruit and a bit of char carry it along. More zesty and pointed than the 2008 Lucia Garys', too. Very nice and will favor both food pairings and drinking solo, too. Well done.
2/26/2023 - Senso-beak wrote:
Opened and enjoyed over a few days. Very solid, dusty core of cherry, red rock dust, wild brambles. Neutral and velvety and in a good place. Will udpate more.
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11/12/2016 - Night Train Likes this wine: 90 Points
Had this immediately after a good Saint-Joseph, and it was a real eye-opener. Great nose. Black and blue fruits, with a ton of pepper and a hint of herbs. Very rich, but not too heavy, and it had a very good finish. Bright and vibrant, it's no imminent danger of heading downhill.
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7/2/2016 - Night Train Likes this wine: 89 Points
Not Earth-shaking, but solid. Blueberries and mesquite. Medium body - light on its feet, not a ponderous, high octane fruitbomb. However, the nose, the flavors, and the finish were all somewhat reticent. A nice, old world-style wine, but one that would probably be overwhelmed by rich or grilled foods. Probably time to drink up.
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7/4/2015 - Night Train Likes this wine: 88 Points
Took to a party, so no detailed notes. Blueberries, with a hint of citrus. Solid, but not mind-altering. May be in a dumb phase or may be headed downhill.
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11/6/2013 - emdub wrote: 90 Points
Solid wine and outstanding price point. Drank after the Pax and it was more fruit focused with less intensity. Not near as complex, yet still a great wine.
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6/17/2012 - emdub wrote: 92 Points
Citrus with black pepper. Dark fruit, blue berry, flowers, gun flint. Simply a beautiful California Syrah. Great QPR. Will continue to have this in my cellar.
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3/12/2012 - brianngibson wrote: 93 Points
A dark, brooding wine. Full of roasted meat and fire. Beautiful dark fruit of blueberry and blackberry. Yet delicate at the same time, with hints of the floral aroma that make complex Syrah so captivating. It opens immediately, yet retains complexity throughout the drinking experience, and has tremendous length to the finish. I think this is drink pretty darn well, right now.
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1/20/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
About a year between bottles. My wife made some turkey chili so seemed fit to find a CA syrah from the cellar, settled on this one. Started off pretty much all mid palate with a lot of flowers, coffee and smoke in the aromatic, along with a whiff of new oak. After about 2 hours, it started to fill in and add some finish, a zestiness from the acidity that needed air to emerge. I intend to let the bottle sit and slow ox until tomorrow, to let everything unwrap........a day later the wine really drives a nice level of acidity and has good length. The fruit is also darker and richer, lots of black fruit with shadings of red, some chocolate too, but it doesn't get too over the top as the acid adds a tartness that pulls it back in, incuding some licorice and tar in the finish. This is a bottling that has amplitude, in the flavors and acidity, and some finishing tannin that leads me to think another year of rest would be a good approach, to drink 2013-2016.
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12/30/2011 - seamudbug wrote: 91 Points
Deep ruby color. Opaque. Big berry fruit and soft tannins, but not flabby.
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1/24/2011 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Pop and pour, no decant. Smoky, cooked meat. Zesty. Medium weight with juicy blue and red fruits, finishes a bit tart at this stage.
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12/9/2010 - JoelZ wrote:
Smoky nose, then smoke and earth in the front. Fruit and oak at the finish. I found the fruit to be pretty restrained, certainly more so than I expected.
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12/3/2010 - IAMVLAD wrote: 91 Points
let decant for about 4 hours. jammy young wine taste. very nive but not in league with the 08 melville donna's and tensley 08 anniversary wine.
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12/1/2010 - cmr Likes this wine: 90 Points
Very nice medium to full bodied, earthy but fruit filled cali syrah.
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11/15/2010 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
Wood smoke and structure, allot of barrel, not much purity. Tastes like new barrel though. Maybe in time it will show through. But not for me, not today.
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8/14/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Night 1, had a big meal that had lots of flavor and I ate too much and really just plowed through a big glass of this, only remembering a lot of oak. Sat the bottle, took from the cellar on Day 2 and it was still tight as a drum but after about 60 mins, with it warmng up, it finally started to let loose. I know this is a 2008 but next to the 08 Susan's Hill and Rosella's, this Garys' needed the most air to unwrap. When it did, it showed both more aromatics and palate definition. The fruit moves from red/black to blue black, with the black showing a juicy and vibrant expression. Even some olive and crushed rocks make their way into the aromatics. And finally on Day 3, I think I have the wine finally aerated. Certainly the most restrained as compared to the Susan's Hill and Rosella's bottlings, which I also drank within the last few weeks. This Garys' aromatics finish a little stalky, some french oak perfuming it, light underbrush. The palate is about juicy blackberry, some dark raspberry, even some olive, along with some menthol, creosote and distinctly tart red fruited acidity. The most sauvage and savory of the three single vineyard 2008s and will I think be the longest ager. Best in 2011-2014.
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3/14/2010 - Frank Murray III wrote:
An early preview, as this is a barreled up final blend for the wine, as it readies to be bottled soon. Was pulled from barrel on Thursday, arrived on Friday and drank today, which is Sunday. It's had about 2 hours of air and we'll finish it by dinner, which is shortly: pasta with red sauce, chicken sausage and sund dried tomato. The nose shows a sweet incense, a lavender note, too. The wine shows a black raspberry and juicier core, although it's not thin in weight but medium to medium +. There is the requisite bbq notes, a creamy edge to the red and black fruit, licorice and a zesty acidity, much like the 2008 Novy Susan's Hill that I finished a similar sample of on Friday. This one seems wired the same way, and it appears that Adam got the acidity to speak more on both these wines, which livens up the finish. As the wine closes, the zing of the acid and the red fruit and a bit of char carry it along. More zesty and pointed than the 2008 Lucia Garys', too. Very nice and will favor both food pairings and drinking solo, too. Well done.
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