2015 Hors Catégorie Vineyards Syrah Hors Catégorie Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (11) Avg Score: 94.7 points

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  3/12/2024 - sh6k wrote:

  Oh man. I could justify any score from 75-100.
  
  When I ordered this (never tasted it but read the rave critic reviews) the somm said “this is an advanced wine drinker’s wine”. We all assured him we were very advanced thankyouverymuch.
  
  He decanted for an hour or so.
  
  Initial nose was big with bright fruit in coal and forest floor. On the challenging side of a Syrah but totally expected. The palate though was like tar mixed with aloe Vera directly from the plant — green and astringent. And the finish just kept that up. Totally different than the nose.
  
  Over time the nose and the palate converged somewhat — the palate mellowed a bit and the nose got more of the tar and burned meat.
  
  It paired well / interestingly with some foods. And it was incredibly confident — it didn’t exactly taste flawed, just super weird.
  
  So the case for 100 points is that it was memorable and composed and full of big flavor.
  
  And the case for 75 points is it was a big mouthful of tar and green plant astringency.
  
  I’m gonna leave it NR

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  2/14/2024 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 100 Points

  Second bottle tasted of my 2015's, same note as October, 2022: Dark garnet, completely opaque. Pronounced aroma, easy to smell well beyond the glass. The aromas are typical Cayuse but even more intense...roasted meat, bacon fat, pepper. Classic Northern Rhône style of Guigal's single vineyards. On the palate very rich and full, bacon and black fruit predominate, but not at all coarse and heavy. Perfect balance of fruit, acid and tannin make for an extremely drinkable wine but one which will last years. Drink or hold. Perfection in the glass!
  Ric

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  10/15/2023 - Deb293 Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Don't get me wrong; this is a lovely bottle of wine. A little funk on the nose, sure, a bit of heat on the finish and a nice acidic lift. On the palate it is fairly graceful; not overly brooding or heavy, with well-integrated tannins. Medium to heavy bodied with a full, rounded, velvety mouthfeel, I'm sure it will give pleasure for many years to come. My only quibble is with the price point. There are so many domestic Syrahs (Cayuse included) that offer as much pleasure for way less expense. Still, it is a privilege to be drinking it, albeit for the last time. I served the 2014 to guests last year and they didn't get it at all...so this one's for me.

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  7/24/2023 - RAB007 Likes this wine: 99 Points

  Superb bottle of a complex, and unusual red wine. Purple color with opaque center. Youthful bouquet of fruits (blackberry, blueberry), and a very unusual but wonderful taste. Full bodied, but not overly so. A very nice, well-balanced wine that will age and improve for another 5 to 10 years and then plateau for another15. Greatly enjoyed everything except the price, though I guess even that was inline with other wines knocking on a triple digit score.

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  7/8/2023 - gteran76 Does not like this wine: 80 Points

  This was one of my 2 100 pts selection for a blind tasting with Mark and Carol in Naples. I wanted to paired this one double blind with the 2010 Astralis (also a 100 pts wine).
  
  I was shocked to smell and tasted this acidic, tart, bitter, out of balance and light body garbage. Not of us could drink this and it’s not corked. We left over 3 quarters of the bottle for the next day and still it was undrincable. It might be a defect bottle, but I put it in the fridge and will give it another chance with 2-3 hours of air to see… if anything changes I’ll update but I doubt it…

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