2012 Big Basin Vineyards Syrah Old Corral

Community Tasting Notes (13) Avg Score: 91.6 points

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  12/14/2023 - VlgJeff Likes this wine: 92 Points

  This bottle, while showing a bit more age than our previous bottle some 8 months ago, was actually more enjoyable. The color was a medium to plus violet to a watery rim, which was lighter than that previous bottle, but the nose provided those same deep aromas of dark fruits. The palate was medium to plus bodied showing blackberry, black currant, blueberry and black cherry along with doses of spice and earth. The acidity was up to the task of balancing all this fruit and any tannins, as well as any oak, were completely integrated. I would suggest drinking up in the next year or two for maximum enjoyment.

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  6/21/2023 - Fractalage Likes this wine:

  This bottle had been standing upright for 2 years. Due to its new oak content my intent was to put this case up for auction, but since it was so rare and from one of my favorite wineries, I decided to drink it all myself. The 2 years upright allowed all the sediment to cake more solidly at the bottom and not drift up until all but 2oz were decanted. There was a lot of dense sediment.
  
  Nose of teas, vanilla, baking spices, palate of tart spices, dried wild blackberries, length with lush body.
  
  It reminded me of hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains foraging for wild blackberries, smelling the heat of the decomposing bay leaf, tasting the dried berries mixing with the fermented old ones in my mouth along with the perfect ripe ones, enjoying the cool ocean breeze with the stark heat of direct sunlight cutting my skin.
  
  The best things about this were the complexities of teas and cured meats that came to my tongue.

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  4/10/2023 - VlgJeff wrote: 91 Points

  Slo-oxed for 5 minutes which allowed the wine to open. This vintage has definitely held up better than either the 2011 or the 2010. It was a dark purple in the glass. Lots of dark fruits (blackberry, black currant, blueberry, black cherry) on the nose which carry over to the medium bodied palate along with a dose of spice and a bit of earth. The acidity was nicely balancing and any tannins, as well as any oak, were completely integrated. I would suggest drinking up in the next year or two.

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  11/28/2020 - Fractalage wrote:

  It's a dinosaur, extinct as Bradley rooted out all of the Syrah and grafted in Pinot Noir.
  Altogether, there is too much new oak to really make this count.
  I used to love this, but now I can't really drink it. I've grown to detest new oak and anything that detracts from the quality of the fruit. It's not needed at all. Oak is great for breathing, but those tannins are stupid for wine. Do what Pierre Clape does, loan out the new barrels for 4 years for others to drain those tannins to get a good neutral barrel.
  Or better yet, use concrete or amphorae to bring those minute amounts of oxygen to the phenolics.
  Really, I think Mencia is the grape of choice. It's practically unknown but just fantastic in all respects.

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  12/26/2019 - ClaytonDave Likes this wine: 93 Points

  Great, spicy Syrah. Smooth tannins. Short decant is all that is needed

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