Paso Wine Country Trip; 9/1/2011-9/4/2011: Tasted from half bottle @ the winery. Nice fading to light brick color from aging. Spearmint initially on the nose with peppery dark syrah fruit, delicious overall but lacks some complexity that I like in my Syrahs. Very good effort.
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Drinking right now. Background jam and soft. Not a big fan of straight Syrahs usually, but this one has the right balance between jammy and quench. I have one more and might wait another year to see what happens. Would be perfect with a pulled pork sandwich.
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Good dark berry nose. Long finish with lots of tannins left. Great drinking with salami and an aged Parmesan cheese drizzles with balsamic. Dark fruit.
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nice ruby red color. some hints of fruit, maybe some earth and a dash of white pepper. a little more dry than the 2002 but also a little more fruity. able to compare them both at the same time and enjoy this just a little bit more. a little spice and pepper on the back and this one has more of a finish than the 02. overall though, i appreciated them both and the age definitely took some of the bite off from their earlier youth
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Almost starting to turn a brownish hue. Typical Paso, big red jammy fruits on the nose that only opened more as the evening progressed. Seemed to still have a significant amount of tannins hanging on. A bit disjointed upon opening, but seemed to integrate better after a half hour or so. Weird short finish that did not seem to change for the better after an hour of being open. Lots to like even though it does not compare to the reserve 02 I had last year. Still a nice qpr from winebid.
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Extremely tannic for a syrah, which tended to hide the usual fruit forward efforts of Paso Robles entries. Underlying fruit seems substantial. This one needs a few more years in the bottle before trying it again. Went fairly well with barbecued ribs and coleslaw.
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Blueberry, mineral, cocoa, pepper and a floral quality on the palate with a gamy and leathery nose. Give it a little time and the palate becomes a little dry and leathery with blueberry and other elements still there but integrating.
This wine went strange places. Started out with California fruit + Old World detail and then I noticed the nose had that rotting fruit; almost Grenache smell. The palate became a little sweeter (candied red fruit) but it seemed to get acidic and warm. I liked it better at first, but regardless this was a pleasure to drink no matter what.
After being open a while it became tannic and closed. The fruit subdued by tannin and now resembles plum. That is why I don’t decant; look at all I would have missed.
I would like to try again in 2-3 years.
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Only had one glass tonight and vacuvin'd. Opened after drinking 2003 Caymus CabSav. Dried prune, blueberry and beef jerky nose. Tasted very tanic for a Syrah. It had a very odd aftertaste on the finish.
On the second night it had mellowed a lot but the backend was still very odd. It almost seemed like there was a pure Alum streak that clung to your pallete and wouldn't let go.
I hope the other bottles are better.
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California Coastal Wineries! (Farpointe Cellar): This one was very disappointing. It tasted more like a Cab than a Syrah. The nose had lots of raspberry and plums, along with a bit of cherry and vanilla. The palate was way out of balance. Too much oak, with just a little bit of raspberry and spice. It did have solid tannins, and a long finish.
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Nice raspberry nose with good spice - cinnamon and white pepper. Big and fruit-driven, with a small amount of silky tannins and a bit of a spice component.
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An extremely concentrated fruit bomb. A big, luscious wine with a lot of creamy vanilla and candied cherry flavors. Light wood, spices, cloves, and some citrus. Creamy mouthfeel with extremely soft tannins. Might've gone a little overboard with the malolactic fermentation, but nonetheless an enjoyable mid-week wine.
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Solid wine. Decanted for about three hours before it really came alive. Dark reddish brown with a slight purple tone, kind of cloudy, kind of weighty. Not a whole lot on the aroma, real slight meat and perfume. Palate feels more plummy than anything else, but spice doesn't take long to kick in and intensify, then the tannins grab hold and lead to a decent blackberry finish. Not a lot to it, but nice. Could use a year or two.
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Typical Justin wine with great depth. The wine starts out with loads of fruit, but has enough tannins in it to give it a big mouth feel. Finishes soft. It got better as it opened. This is a big syrah with a lot goin on it.
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11/4/2011 - Winecat wrote: 89 Points
Delightful. Brick amber hue. Berries with complexity
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9/1/2011 - drrobvino wrote: 92 Points
Paso Wine Country Trip; 9/1/2011-9/4/2011: Tasted from half bottle @ the winery. Nice fading to light brick color from aging. Spearmint initially on the nose with peppery dark syrah fruit, delicious overall but lacks some complexity that I like in my Syrahs. Very good effort.
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5/18/2011 - Fugu Me wrote:
Decent, but has definitely peaked.
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6/16/2010 - McArthur wrote: 89 Points
Drinking right now. Background jam and soft. Not a big fan of straight Syrahs usually, but this one has the right balance between jammy and quench. I have one more and might wait another year to see what happens. Would be perfect with a pulled pork sandwich.
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2/26/2010 - BATWine wrote: 91 Points
Good dark berry nose. Long finish with lots of tannins left. Great drinking with salami and an aged Parmesan cheese drizzles with balsamic. Dark fruit.
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1/30/2010 - pepeelvis wrote:
medium to full straight forward syrah. plenty of fruit left but not sure it will improve
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1/10/2010 - dmaharaj wrote: 89 Points
nice ruby red color. some hints of fruit, maybe some earth and a dash of white pepper. a little more dry than the 2002 but also a little more fruity. able to compare them both at the same time and enjoy this just a little bit more. a little spice and pepper on the back and this one has more of a finish than the 02. overall though, i appreciated them both and the age definitely took some of the bite off from their earlier youth
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10/30/2009 - Whine-oh wrote: 84 Points
Almost starting to turn a brownish hue. Typical Paso, big red jammy fruits on the nose that only opened more as the evening progressed. Seemed to still have a significant amount of tannins hanging on. A bit disjointed upon opening, but seemed to integrate better after a half hour or so. Weird short finish that did not seem to change for the better after an hour of being open. Lots to like even though it does not compare to the reserve 02 I had last year. Still a nice qpr from winebid.
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6/5/2009 - up4wine wrote: 87 Points
Extremely tannic for a syrah, which tended to hide the usual fruit forward efforts of Paso Robles entries. Underlying fruit seems substantial. This one needs a few more years in the bottle before trying it again. Went fairly well with barbecued ribs and coleslaw.
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12/24/2008 - spo wrote: 91 Points
Blueberry, mineral, cocoa, pepper and a floral quality on the palate with a gamy and leathery nose. Give it a little time and the palate becomes a little dry and leathery with blueberry and other elements still there but integrating.
This wine went strange places. Started out with California fruit + Old World detail and then I noticed the nose had that rotting fruit; almost Grenache smell. The palate became a little sweeter (candied red fruit) but it seemed to get acidic and warm. I liked it better at first, but regardless this was a pleasure to drink no matter what.
After being open a while it became tannic and closed. The fruit subdued by tannin and now resembles plum. That is why I don’t decant; look at all I would have missed.
I would like to try again in 2-3 years.
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9/2/2007 - RedWineReviews wrote: 86 Points
Very good but not exceptional. Tight tannins overwhelmed the fruit. Did a vertical with the 2004.
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7/2/2007 - winelovr2001 wrote: 86 Points
Decent, not great. Overripe fruit and spice on the nose. Very stemmy but a good everyday drinking wine.
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3/3/2007 - cobystilp wrote: 86 Points
Only had one glass tonight and vacuvin'd. Opened after drinking 2003 Caymus CabSav. Dried prune, blueberry and beef jerky nose. Tasted very tanic for a Syrah. It had a very odd aftertaste on the finish.
On the second night it had mellowed a lot but the backend was still very odd. It almost seemed like there was a pure Alum streak that clung to your pallete and wouldn't let go.
I hope the other bottles are better.
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8/26/2006 - mmurry wrote: 86 Points
California Coastal Wineries! (Farpointe Cellar): This one was very disappointing. It tasted more like a Cab than a Syrah. The nose had lots of raspberry and plums, along with a bit of cherry and vanilla. The palate was way out of balance. Too much oak, with just a little bit of raspberry and spice. It did have solid tannins, and a long finish.
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8/3/2006 - trankin wrote: 88 Points
Nice raspberry nose with good spice - cinnamon and white pepper. Big and fruit-driven, with a small amount of silky tannins and a bit of a spice component.
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2/22/2006 - diablo wrote: 88 Points
An extremely concentrated fruit bomb. A big, luscious wine with a lot of creamy vanilla and candied cherry flavors. Light wood, spices, cloves, and some citrus. Creamy mouthfeel with extremely soft tannins. Might've gone a little overboard with the malolactic fermentation, but nonetheless an enjoyable mid-week wine.
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7/23/2005 - CP wrote: 87 Points
Solid wine. Decanted for about three hours before it really came alive. Dark reddish brown with a slight purple tone, kind of cloudy, kind of weighty. Not a whole lot on the aroma, real slight meat and perfume. Palate feels more plummy than anything else, but spice doesn't take long to kick in and intensify, then the tannins grab hold and lead to a decent blackberry finish. Not a lot to it, but nice. Could use a year or two.
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6/25/2005 - slaintebmr wrote: 88 Points
Typical Justin wine with great depth. The wine starts out with loads of fruit, but has enough tannins in it to give it a big mouth feel. Finishes soft. It got better as it opened. This is a big syrah with a lot goin on it.
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