So this wine has gone from undrinkable to intriguing. Almost pinot on opening with a faint but distinct green stick tartness, and not in a bad way. After about an hour and a half the funk blows off and becomes a full bodied red and blue fruit Cali syrah.
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Explosive, savory palate. Smokey spices, dense dark fruits, black pepper, herbs. This was an amazing bottle for the nose and flavors alone. Huge impact the moment it hits your palate makes this very memorable.
There was no acidity added by the fruit, which makes the mid-palate/finish a little lacking. This also made it a bit harder to pair. It feels like a unique problem for this Donelan Syrah in particular, as I don't remember other Donelan syrahs having this problem.
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Excellent nose of sweet dark fruit, coal dust and black pepper. On the palate, this is clearly New World but very well done with delicious flavors of black fruits, slate minerals and black pepper. A bit warm in style but the finish is taut with dusty tannins and notes of licorice and salty spice. One of the best West Coast Syrah’s I’ve ever tasted. 93+
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12/13/2023 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 91 Points
So this wine has gone from undrinkable to intriguing. Almost pinot on opening with a faint but distinct green stick tartness, and not in a bad way. After about an hour and a half the funk blows off and becomes a full bodied red and blue fruit Cali syrah.
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3/1/2022 - twotee Likes this wine: 98 Points
Nearly flawless, incredibly fresh in aroma and texture at almost 10 years of age. So much time to go.
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2/12/2022 - SH Wu wrote: 90 Points
Explosive, savory palate. Smokey spices, dense dark fruits, black pepper, herbs. This was an amazing bottle for the nose and flavors alone. Huge impact the moment it hits your palate makes this very memorable.
There was no acidity added by the fruit, which makes the mid-palate/finish a little lacking. This also made it a bit harder to pair. It feels like a unique problem for this Donelan Syrah in particular, as I don't remember other Donelan syrahs having this problem.
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11/1/2020 - dream Likes this wine: 93 Points
Excellent nose of sweet dark fruit, coal dust and black pepper. On the palate, this is clearly New World but very well done with delicious flavors of black fruits, slate minerals and black pepper. A bit warm in style but the finish is taut with dusty tannins and notes of licorice and salty spice. One of the best West Coast Syrah’s I’ve ever tasted. 93+
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4/14/2018 - DonDon wrote: 92 Points
This was lovely. Dark fruit with spice and good acidity
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