External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2001
2000
Show more
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 91.2 pts. and median of 91 pts. in 106 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by Tym4wine on 2/4/2022 & rated 91 points: Nicely aromatic. Dark fruit flavors, BlackBerry, cola and mocha. Good acidity and nicely integrated tannins still showing some grip. Finishes soft and smooth. Medium+ (1208 views) | | | Tasted by daveinatlanta on 1/16/2022 & rated 90 points: Drink up if you have it. Dark fruit chocolate. Maybe a bit past it's best. Cork was a bit brittle but inact.... Be careful opening. (1099 views) | | | Tasted by leachriscellar on 11/11/2021 & rated 90 points: Still there IMO, tannins are smooth, chocolate and stone fruit flavors (1152 views) | | | Tasted by wmccone54 on 9/18/2021: Yep, this is dead….flat prune, grainy tannin and acids are in control. Great vintage but longevity of this label is about twelve years for future reference. (1263 views) | | | Tasted by thepeng1 on 3/3/2021: Over the hill (1494 views) | | | Tasted by CWilliam on 8/10/2020 & rated 85 points: Over the hill. Black red color with clear meniscus. Nose - prune, dried fruit, blackberry liquour and sweet cherry - almost port like. Full body, integrated tannins and medium acidity. Not as overtly sweet as nose - good structure - not a flabby wine. 85+/- Tonight. Won't age more than 10 years (or buy from cooler vintages). (1134 views) | | | Tasted by ragtop on 6/14/2020 & rated 91 points: Don’t keep this any longer. (1123 views) | | | Tasted by Snag One on 3/18/2020 & rated 90 points: Tannins and acidity still pronounced. They’re more in balance than a couple years ago. Nice layers of cocoa, dried figs, black cherries, blueberries and toast. Short but nice finish. (1113 views) | | | Tasted by skurtz on 11/26/2019 & rated 92 points: Decanted at Melograno. Spicy mineral nose. Dark and brooding on the nose, on the palate dark fruit more mineral, iodine. Tasty but restrained. (1316 views) | | | Tasted by CWilliam on 9/10/2019: 87+/- Better than last bottle but not what I would expect - wine has good structure but fruit is too prominent and ripe/sweet. I'm not a hater of CA wines - I had the '01 Symmetry with 10 years of age on it in 2011 and loved it. Bottles purchased new in 2011 and stored in cool cellar. I rated this highly up through 2017.
87+/- is scored to my palate (at this age, bottle variation is going to happen so not surprising variation in scores). (1184 views) | | | Tasted by wmccone54 on 8/24/2019 & rated 95 points: Pulled from a pristine 55 degree Eurocave where it has resided for the last eight years. Despite recent unfavorable reports that this wine may be fading, is a “fruit bomb”, or possibly unbalanced, I will only respond that IMHO this wine is hitting on all cylinders at almost 12 years. I’ve enjoyed a number of bottles of the 2007 Symmetry and this still checks all my criteria: BALANCED in terms of fruit and structure; INTENSE color, aroma and flavor profile; long LENGTH at the finish; and great COMPLEXITY in terms of primary fruit, secondary notes from oak aging, and tertiary characteristics pertaining to ageability. Agreed, we all have different preferences and palates; however, I can only opine this wine is still drinking well, and although unlikely to improve with further cellaring, should drink well for another 2-3 years. (1043 views) | | | Tasted by Snag One on 8/21/2019 & rated 88 points: Dark ripe red fruit. The tannins and acidity are still a little strong for a wine of this age. As blends go, I had higher expectations for the press this had in 2009. (1013 views) | | | Tasted by CWilliam on 8/11/2019 & rated 84 points: Time has not treated this well. Rated 93 in 2017 - PNP (and enjoyed over 2 nights with limited improvement). Dark black color. Port like nose - alcohol was very evident. Sweet cherry, burnt sugar on the nose. Palate was similar, with port like flavors. Maybe an off bottle (I hope). Wine had good acidic structure and tannins with a long finish. Will drink one of other bottles in next few weeks in case this was an off bottle. Maybe a wine to drink in it's first 10 years? 84+/- (995 views) | | | Tasted by BoulderWine on 4/27/2018 & rated 88 points: Thought that this was a bit over-the-top in ripeness, dark and dense. Not what I'm looking for in a Cab or Cab blend. (1457 views) | | | Tasted by jzebrack on 10/22/2017 & rated 85 points: As a blend, I compare it to BV Tapestry, as it is somewhat similarly priced. In my opinion, it really does not favorably compare.
Drank a bit upon opening, and then decanted and tried periodically over next 3 hours. Finally served after 3 hours.
Would not bother with again. For me, I would stick with Tapestry (1692 views) | | | Tasted by wmccone54 on 4/29/2017 & rated 95 points: Hard to believe it's been over five years since the last time I enjoyed this. As it's aged it's really gained some nuance, floral aromatics, and complexity. Fruits are transitioning toward red, vanilla has turned to mocha, earthiness has morphed to tobacco and mint chocolate, and structure has tamed. Lots of layers. Drinking very well and age has definitely been kind given there was plenty of tannin and acidity to support cellaring. I think this has another 3-5 years of enjoyment assuming it's cellared properly. Enjoy with food. This was an exceptional vintage and effort for this producer. (2269 views) | | | Tasted by CWilliam on 4/25/2017: I will not formerly score as the bottle is sitting on my desk and I enjoyed ~ 2 months ago with grilled steaks. I don't drink a lot of "new world" Bordeaux blends but I loved this wine. Glad I have 3 bottles left as this has aged very well - fruit was still there and the wine had impeccable balance. 93+ from memory, if not a point higher. (2279 views) | | | Tasted by JHaslam on 4/16/2017 & rated 91 points: Medium-short finish, otherwise a nice new world red. (2286 views) | | | Tasted by Winiac on 12/4/2016 & rated 90 points: Very nice bouquet. Full bodied and balanced. Medium length with pleasant finish. (2138 views) | | | Tasted by Jwd12 on 1/14/2016 & rated 91 points: Dark red almost opaque. Floral overtones and woody nose. Sweet cherry some spice and oaky on back of palette. A nice wine with good structure a long finish and smooth. Wish I had more (3125 views) | | | Tasted by Wineson on 12/18/2015 & rated 91 points: Good, but not exciting! (2521 views) | | | Tasted by mhenry on 8/23/2015 & rated 91 points: Drinking very well now. 2007 was a good vintage for Symmetry. (3132 views) | | | Tasted by Winedude10 on 4/19/2015 & rated 95 points: Outstanding, de ante for an hour plus. Rich, cassis, nice balance of tannin and fruit. I thought the CA Cabernet dominated. Has some life left, but drinking well now. One bottle left, I should have bought more! (3461 views) | | | Tasted by jbehrendt on 1/30/2015 & rated 92 points: Served with cheese, crackers, chocolate brownies etc. to guests. A really delicious wine. Moderate tannins, just-right fruit. (3308 views) | | | Tasted by kingboo on 8/29/2014 & rated 93 points: Enjoy. (3230 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Rodney Strong Producer website
Tom Klein
Proprietor
A fourth generation California farmer, Tom earned a business degree from Stanford and spent the first part of his career as a management consultant at the San Francisco office of the prestigious global management firm McKinsey & Company. One project during this time was evaluating a small winery in the Russian River Valley called Rodney Strong Vineyards and, in a chance meeting, he was introduced to founder Rod Strong and winemaker Rick Sayre. Already developing an interest in wine, this encounter planted a seed that would grow into a lifelong passion.
Rick Sayre
Head Winemaker
Rick began his winemaking career at the age of 19 as an assistant winemaker and cellar master at Simi Winery in Sonoma County. He had the opportunity to train under the world-renowned winemaster André Tchelistcheff, who instilled in his young trainee a deep passion for the art of winemaking and a desire to not only master his craft, but continually push the boundaries of creativity. “André taught me that a winemaker must live with his wine,” Rick recalls, “from walking the vineyards to the careful craft of guiding the wine into bottle. Even the smallest details can have a lasting effect.”
When Rod Strong decided to take a step back from the demanding role of winemaker, he called upon Rick Sayre, who joined the team at Rodney Strong Vineyards in 1979. In more than three decades in the cellars, Rick has guided the wine collection to include world-class Reserve, Symmetry and Single-Vineyard releases, an outstanding line of Estate wines and best-in-class Sonoma County wines that continue to please vintage after vintage. His voracious appetite for new winemaking knowledge has taken him around the world, including trips to the wine regions of France, Australia, New Zealand and Spain
Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.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 CountyAlexander Valley Alexander Valley Winegrowers Association | Wikipedia
|
|
