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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Drinking window: Drink between 2009 and 2016 (based on 25 user opinions) |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 90.5 pts. and median of 90 pts. in 35 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by cooker315 on 11/23/2019: flawed (660 views) | | | Tasted by DollarMenunaire on 2/1/2018: This is showing really really nicely. Deep color and good acidity with certainly low alcohol for Sonoma. Stems show on the nose but the wine doesn't taste "green". Still has some plumpness of fruit for a while upon opening without being pruney. After being open a couple hours, the savory tones really take hold and are quite deep. The term "bacon fat" often gets abused when describing Syrah but it was quite distinct here. Looking forward to opening my 2006 before too long. Dear lord, I'm glad they changed the label. (929 views) | | | Tasted by tim_c on 10/6/2017: Drink up! (1287 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 5/10/2017: Opened to enjoy through both Game 7s tonight of the NHL playoffs. I bought this bottle back in 2006 and it's one of the oldest wines I have owned from purchase to uncorking, from way back in 2006. I gave this 2 hours of slow ox time before I poured the first glass. A diverse, beautiful mix of aromatics here, driven from the age and also the whole cluster that Ed used. BBQ smoke, bacon fat, pepper, menthol, spice, all mixing for something really unique. The palate, at least at this level of aeration, is pretty accessible. Moderately plush and pretty smooth drinking. The flavors? Much like the aromatic, lots of diversity and things going on. BBQ sauce, soy, licorice, plenty of tangy cherry and raspberry holding it all together. The finish remains alive, juicy, tangy, with a cool, menthol closing note.....for Day 2, this filled in nicely and the tangier aspect from Day 1 has been augmented now by a deeper richness, which in my view makes this even better. My last note on this was 2015, when Ed came down for an August West/Sandler dinner we hosted for him. Based on that 2015 note and this bottle, the wine is aging slowly and gracefully. What a pleasure. (1347 views) | | | Tasted by brigcampbell on 5/6/2016 & rated 94 points: Exactly a year since last tasted. Has a red/blackberry color showing some age. Nose is black olive tapenade, light campfire, and dark plum and cherry fruit. Excellent complexity on the attack as the olive, smoldering logs, dark fruit dance around. Rounded tannins and rawhide compose an absurdly long finish. Boy, has this aged gracefully. My only bottle, trying not to be sad. Unsuccessful. (1932 views) | | | Tasted by brigcampbell on 5/3/2015: Ed Kurtzman Dinner (Luciana's, Dana Point, CA): Huge amount of tapenade showing on the nose and palate. Big mineral and chalk mid palate. Medium acid. This was Sandlers first vintage and it's amazing if you love the northern Rhone style like I do. (2021 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 5/2/2015: Ed Kurtzman Comes To Dinner (2015) (Luciana's In Dana Point (South OC)): I still have a bottle of this in my cellar so I was pleased to have Ed feature one from his library for the dinner. When I opened this wine earlier in the day, and I removed some of the light build around the very top of the bottle, it was like spooning out olive tapenade. One of those unique wine experiences that I will remember forever. Just crazy good. I know Ed made this with entirely whole cluster and that aspect is on display. Olive, cooked meat, dark fruit, pepper and bbq/sauce. Savory and not dried out or green. This remains very unique and terrific 10 years out and no sign of fade. (1920 views) | | | Tasted by alpha_ori on 3/19/2014 & rated 89 points: Smells like a Northern Rhone. I imagine the fruit has dropped away a bit. The palate is pleasant but quite gentle, with anise undertone. (1342 views) | | | Tasted by scottj on 10/8/2011: Opened my last bottle for dinner with grilled flat iron steak. It wasn't offering much on the nose and had some unexpected flavors of lemon and citrus that eventually started to meld with the berry, but never disappeared. Wasn't bad, but not what I expected either. Not rated ... (2546 views) | | | Tasted by zheem on 8/23/2011: Outstanding nose and flavors, although still young. Tannins becoming sweet and soft, although need more time. Destined for greatness!. (2317 views) | | | Tasted by ginfizz on 5/30/2011 & rated 90 points: Delicious value, but needed age. Now, wonderful clear blueberry notes tinged with smoke and syrah spice fill out the edges of this medium to full bodied pitch black offering. Just now turning a little blood red on the edges, this is poised to pick up some complexity with time. Nice framework! (1717 views) | | | Tasted by Screameagle on 8/21/2010 & rated 88 points: Did a pop and pour on this bottle which definitely needed to be decanted. Perhaps with a couple years of ageing and a decanting this wine could become a 90 point wine but I'm not sure. Showing a nice amount of pepper. (1991 views) | | | Tasted by pjhr on 4/7/2010 & rated 93 points: As delicious as the last bottle. (1836 views) | | | Tasted by ginfizz on 3/4/2010 & rated 88 points: Still tight and tannic with astringent spice and reticent fruit. Tastes like a good crozes. More time? (1681 views) | | | Tasted by decaturwinedude on 11/28/2009 & rated 91 points: Intense nose that is meaty, dark, notes of blue fruit. Palate shows some real vibrant acidity at first blush. There is plenty of spice here, too. With time the acidity recedes a bit, but it is still there keeping this baby moving along. Dark olive, blueberry, smoked meat notes emerge with time. Wow. Very nice work from Sandler again. Terrific cooler climate syrah that is structured and nuanced. Kudos Ed. (1757 views) | | | Tasted by pjhr on 11/5/2009 & rated 93 points: As delicious as the last bottle, with a lot of life ahead of it! (1709 views) | | | Tasted by RussW on 10/11/2009: I hope with additional age the whole cluster profile will recede and allow the fruit to show a bit more. (1800 views) | | | Tasted by Frank Murray III on 2/28/2009: Ed Kurtzman Comes To Dinner (The Murray Casa): Brief notes and was not able to retaste this AM. Stems, dark menthol and some dark fruit. (2650 views) | | | Tasted by Paul Lin on 2/28/2009 & rated 85 points: Ed Kurtzman Comes to OC (Casa Murray - San Juan Capistrano, CA): Heavy notes of black pepper and charcoal over bacon fat and black plums. Extremely tight and tannic. (2761 views) | | | Tasted by WetRock on 2/28/2009: Ed Kurtzman Dinner - His Favs and His (Casa Murray): Heavy nose showing its 100% stem inclusion on its sleeve with asparagus and pepper. Dark berries among a tight palate with a green grip. This needs some time to unwind and integrate. (2554 views) | | | Tasted by scottj on 1/5/2009 & rated 92 points: Very similar to my note from 6 months ago. Drinking very nice ! (2228 views) | | | Tasted by Screameagle on 11/28/2008 & rated 87 points: Very acidic even with food. This bottle didn't show as well as the last bottle. Try another bottle in 6 months. (1950 views) | | | Tasted by ginfizz on 10/24/2008 & rated 89 points: Way too spicy for me...I'll stick with his pinots... Hope this tones down with some age... (2022 views) | | | Tasted by gutt22 on 10/7/2008: 13.9% alcohol. This has one of the most intense and attractive noses I've ever smelled in a California Syrah. Beautiful notes of black pepper, blueberry, and lots of spice. This is a very spicy one, quite unusual for California Syrah. Gorgeous on the palate, with blue and black fruits all over the palate, supported by pepper and that intense spiciness. Good acidity. Long finish that just goes on. This is a really terrific Syrah. Hard to know really what to say. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A- (1987 views) | | | Tasted by scottj on 7/3/2008 & rated 92 points: So I didn't read my note from last year ... Popped and poured - and it was OK ! Dark red to purple in color. Very nice nose of blackberry and boysenberry, which carry over onto the palate. The pepper seems to have integrated, and the flavors are dominated by rich, complex fruit. While not particularly heavy, the mouthfeel is very viscous and coating, almost syrupy, but in a very good way. This wine goes down way too easy !
What a difference from the bottle I enjoyed 7 months ago. I'm sure this has many more years ahead of it, but if the rest of my bottles taste like this one, they won't last long ! (2172 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (4/11/2007)
(Sandler Wine Company Syrah Connell Vineyard) Herbaceous, cold climate Syrah nose; herbaceous, pepper and tar palate, with good acidity; medium finish 90+ pts. 90 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| Sandler Wine Company Producer website
Welcome to the Sandler Wine Company, the personal label of consulting winemaker, Ed Kurtzman. For Sandler, Ed draws on his relationships with top growers to produce small lots of vineyard designate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, Zinfandel and Grenache from the Central Coast’s and Sonoma's most acclaimed sites.
Please go to the Wines page to learn more about our current offerings, or click here to join our mailing list for announcements about Sandler Wine Co.'s twice yearly (fall/spring) releases.
Cheers… and thanks for your interest in Sandler Wines.2005 Sandler Wine Company Syrah Connell VineyardWinemaker's notes:
The story of how this wine came about is an interesting one, to me at least. My Uncle John was visiting the Bay Area from Michigan in the winter of 2005. Being a wine fanatic, he wanted me to make a few winery appointments for him. Who better to call than Greg P? Greg set up visits for us at Paloma on Spring Mountain and with Thomas Brown at Nicholson Ranch. While tasting with Thomas, we first tried barrels of his '04 Rivers Marie Pinots, then moved on to the '04 Nicholson Ranch Syrahs. I had one sip of the Connell Vineyard Syrah and thought to myself that this was the finest California Syrah I had ever come across.
As luck would have it, Thomas told me that the Connells might have a few extra tons of this Syrah available for the '05 harvest. I called Sally Connell as soon as I could, visited the vineyard, and signed a contract for 2 tons of their Syrah on the spot, two months before budbreak. It was my first moment in the Bennett Valley, but I was thrilled to have a chance to get some of this incredible fruit. By the way, for more on Bennett Valley, check out this website:http://www.bennettvalleygrapegrowers.org/
The grapes for this 2005 Connell Vineyard Syrah were harvested on November 3, just before the rains commenced a very wet winter. I decided to ferment the wine entirely whole cluster and to age it in 100% neutral barrels. After only 9.5 months in barrel, I bottled the wine in late August of 2006. At this young stage, the wine is showing an intense black pepper nose, with a full palate and plenty of youthful but not obtrusive tannin. It seems to benefit from a couple hours in a decanter.Syrah Varietal article (Wikipedia) | (Wines Northwest)
Note that some producers in the Northern Rhone distinguish between simply Syrah and "Serine", the latter described as ‘an ancient clone of Syrah, the berries of which are more oval-shaped and less deeply pigmented than Syrah’ by producer Tardieu-Laurent. USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Sonoma CountyMendocino County |
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