USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(5/27/2012)
Muddled plum, savory meat, spicy dark cherry, with a notable seaweed/broccoli/decaying fruit thing. Anise, plump berry with almost too much weight, bitter palate with a faint effervescence that makes me think some secondary fermentation is happening. A lot to like but a lot to dislike too.
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
(5/27/2012)
Candy, smoke, oak, and plum nose. Fairly light, bright and simple in comparison to the other wines tonight. The fruit has a Fun Dip kind of confection to it and there's some astringency I don't like. Decent.
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
(5/27/2012)
Very different character from most wines tonight. Savory, charred meat, incense, olive, seaweed, licorice nose. Dark fruit without excessive ripeness, tobacco, brisk lemony acidity. Possesses a sense of balance and restraint. Consensus WOTN. Cool climate Syrah FTW!
Rich and boozy first impression with ripe plum and berry everywhere and a underlying plasticky thing. With air some pepper and more savory tones emerged but this was kind of lost in the mix as it was intermediate on the ripeness, alcohol, meatiness, and had nothing to stand out. As such, it was the sleeper and ended up being my second favorite wine at the end of the night.
Chocolate, currant, licorice, and a green Cab streak too. Sweet toasty oak dominates and the palate is all coffee and berries slathered in creamy toffee. Truly a "Dolly Parton" wine, there is a lot to like about this and perhaps even more to dislike. I don't really know what to think except that I won't be buying.
Vinyl, flambeed bananas, wild honey, peach, honeysuckle. Incredibly sweet without the acid to back it up - this almost hurts as the sugar crystallizes on your tongue. More like drinking honey than wine, not a particularly pleasant experience.
1994 Ojai Syrah Santa Barbara County
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(5/27/2012)
Muddled plum, savory meat, spicy dark cherry, with a notable seaweed/broccoli/decaying fruit thing. Anise, plump berry with almost too much weight, bitter palate with a faint effervescence that makes me think some secondary fermentation is happening. A lot to like but a lot to dislike too.
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1996 Arrowood Syrah Saralee's Vineyard 86 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
(5/27/2012)
Candy, smoke, oak, and plum nose. Fairly light, bright and simple in comparison to the other wines tonight. The fruit has a Fun Dip kind of confection to it and there's some astringency I don't like. Decent.
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2004 Copain Syrah Garys' Vineyard 92 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands
(5/27/2012)
Very different character from most wines tonight. Savory, charred meat, incense, olive, seaweed, licorice nose. Dark fruit without excessive ripeness, tobacco, brisk lemony acidity. Possesses a sense of balance and restraint. Consensus WOTN. Cool climate Syrah FTW!
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2004 Tensley Syrah Colson Canyon Vineyard 84 Points
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(5/27/2012)
Sweet strawberry candy nose. Boozy, jammy dessert palate. RP's wet dream.
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2004 Novy Family Wines Syrah Page Nord 89 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley
(6/4/2012)
Rich and boozy first impression with ripe plum and berry everywhere and a underlying plasticky thing. With air some pepper and more savory tones emerged but this was kind of lost in the mix as it was intermediate on the ripeness, alcohol, meatiness, and had nothing to stand out. As such, it was the sleeper and ended up being my second favorite wine at the end of the night.
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2004 L'Aventure Estate Cuvée
USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
(6/4/2012)
Chocolate, currant, licorice, and a green Cab streak too. Sweet toasty oak dominates and the palate is all coffee and berries slathered in creamy toffee. Truly a "Dolly Parton" wine, there is a lot to like about this and perhaps even more to dislike. I don't really know what to think except that I won't be buying.
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2001 Ojai Syrah Thompson Vineyard Flawed
USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
(6/4/2012)
Muddy, iodine, chemical, weird as hell. I'm thinking Brettanomyces on this one.
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1998 Arrowood Syrah Saralee's Vineyard
USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
(6/4/2012)
Dark fruit, candy oak, clay nose. Meaty, sweet/savory palate that has an awkward and conspicuous lack of fruit. Not something I can get behind.
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2004 Ojai Late Harvest Viognier Roll Ranch Vineyard
USA, California
(6/4/2012)
Vinyl, flambeed bananas, wild honey, peach, honeysuckle. Incredibly sweet without the acid to back it up - this almost hurts as the sugar crystallizes on your tongue. More like drinking honey than wine, not a particularly pleasant experience.
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