2015 ÀMaurice Cellars Syrah Boushey Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 92.4 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Sauvyfan's profile
  • Report Issue

  6/14/2023 - Sauvyfan Likes this wine: 90 Points

  Pretty good value for a Boushey Syrah, though I'd much rather spend a little more for what Boushey can ultimately offer. Would I buy this again? At $30, yes! It makes for a great weekday wine. Most of the "what to expects" are there; the finish is lacking some.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View sid_loves_wine's profile
  • Report Issue

  9/7/2021 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Pretty much exactly the same as when I last tried it a year ago. Still genuinely rhone-like, a little bit of that Saint Joseph freshness and brine (plus that floral tone, maybe lavender?), and a little bit of Cornas with the deep black fruits and coarse tannins. Extremely well balanced, intense but very dialed-in and feels like much lower ABV than nearly 15%. Very mineral, again could use maybe a pinch more acidity, even though it's anything but flabby. The combination of ripeness, complexity, and elegance here is pretty rare, not perfectly integrated but really exciting.
  
  It's possible I very slightly overrated this last year- at the time it was the first really good wine I had enjoyed in weeks after a hectic move. I'm still keeping the same score though, this is excellent QPR and I think it'll be even more complex and complete with some bottle age to soften the gritty tannins and coalesce the various characteristics. Definitely has the fruit, structure, and energy for quite a long nap.
  
  It's still interesting to me how different this was compared to their "Fred" syrah 2014- same price, and both were good, but felt like different producers! This was dramatically more complex, unique, and engaging.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View sid_loves_wine's profile
  • Report Issue

  11/2/2020 - sid_loves_wine Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Gorgeous, intriguing wine that was the perfect choice to celebrate our move to Seattle. Pop and pour, would decant next time although it was nicely expressive right out of the gate.
  
  I was drawn in immediately by the nose, and would never guess it was nearly 15% ABV based on scent. Smells like a Saint-Joseph or ultra-cool climate California, not even necessarily from a ripe vintage. Pure Northern Rhone worship with the full array of classical Syrah tones; ultra-black, highly minerally blackberry, black licorice, but also a fresh, airy quality that prevents any sense of extracted fruit from emerging. Peppery/olive tapenade tones from the stems, ashy, maybe something a little meaty, more about the fresh black fruit and ashy olive tones.
  
  Palate is even more surprising. I would never guess this was more than 13.5% ABV if blind (it's 14.8%). The fruit is rich here too with a bowl of blackberries and black licorice, along with a good dose of medium+ acidity and really chalky, crunchy tannins. A buttload of dark chocolate and ironlike minerals on the finish, buttressed by echoes of fresh berry acidity. My only real criticism is that I wish the acidity was a touch higher, which would balance the tannins even better (it's anything but flabby though, don't get the wrong idea.)
  
  The tannins are really interesting; this reminded me intensely of a K Vintners Rock Garden Syrah (2014) which felt almost the same, despite being nearly 2 full points lower in ABV. The only major difference was the tannins- the K Rock Garden was extremely elegant and lithe in texture, making it more palatable, while this showed very heavy tannin; not so much that it felt imbalanced, but much more tightly wound. I've decided to rate this wine the same as the K; it's a little less expensive (although harder to find, I think) and although it's a little less complete/magical right now, it would probably age longer, with a serious combination of fruit, complexity, acidity, and tannin.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.