4/25/2022 - f22nickell wrote:

Deep dark purple in color. Nose is medium intensity, with primary notes of black cherry and black plum. Not a lot of secondary notes outside a hint of pencil shavings. So young, just lots of primary fruit here. Palate has the black cherry and a little green pepper to it. Palate is dry, medium acidity, medium tannins (still a bit harsh), medium alcohol feel, medium body. Flavor intensity is medium. Flavor finish is somewhat short, but the drying tannins go on for a bit. However, they aren't bad. Although still a bit rough, they blend in fine until the flavors fade off, and the tannins are all you have left. Wine appears to well made.

All in all, not really in my wheelhouse. Maybe a bit too young. I shouldn't be surprised though - Yakima Valley fruit has never really done it for me.

12/9/2014 - f22nickell Likes this wine:

Seattle Wine Group - Dec 2014 Tasting - Theme: CA Cabs (Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue): Nose was filled with a sweetness and pinot gris characteristics. Loved the mouth feel; it was round, rich with enough acidity to keep it interesting; viscous but dry, not sweet. The mid-palate and finish were top notch. Definitely becoming a mature wine but no where past mature. Really enjoyed this bottle.

1/2/2015 - Ron Slye wrote:

These are tasting notes on the three 2005 single vineyard Syrahs (En Cerise, En Chamberlin, and Cailloux). All three were opened on December 31st. First are general notes on all three, and then more specific notes for this particular wine. I have rated them all the same at 92. For my palate, I think I like the En Chamberlin the best, but I don’t think it is necessarily a better wine than the other two. On first opening, it was very hard for me to distinguish among these three. All had a very strong blueberry streak – both in the nose and palate. (This was also true with the 2005 Camaspelo, which I had opened the day before. I am not sure if all four had been served blind upon initial opening I could have distinguished among them.) Very rich, almost port like in its intensity. The En Chamberlin was perhaps a bit more savory initially. The second day the fruit was still quite strong, and it was still difficult to distinguish among them, though the En Cerise seemed to be the most fruit forward. At first I was not very happy with these wines. They were more fruit forward and port like than I would normally like. I was heartened however at how well these stood up over a few days, and how the fruit stepped back a bit to let some other flavors start to come forward. For my palate these may get better in 3-5 years, but for those who like rich fruit dominated wines, these are drinking well now. Here now are specific notes on this wine on the third day (i.e. wine has now been opened for two days; each has at least half the bottle remaining; each was corked and placed on the counter – so no vacuuming, and no refrigeration).

Specific to the Cailloux: Not as strong fruit as the En Cerise. Seems a bit more subdued and even more complex than the En Cerise. Nose of earth, smoke, with a bit of berry. Palate has a bit more fruit than the nose, a bit more jaw clenching tannins, and some nice savory notes.

1/2/2015 - Ron Slye wrote:

These are tasting notes on the three 2005 single vineyard Syrahs (En Cerise, En Chamberlin, and Cailloux). All three were opened on December 31st. First are general notes on all three, and then more specific notes for this particular wine. I have rated them all the same at 92. For my palate, I think I like the En Chamberlin the best, but I don’t think it is necessarily a better wine than the other two. On first opening, it was very hard for me to distinguish among these three. All had a very strong blueberry streak – both in the nose and palate. (This was also true with the 2005 Camaspelo, which I had opened the day before. I am not sure if all four had been served blind upon initial opening I could have distinguished among them.) Very rich, almost port like in its intensity. The En Chamberlin was perhaps a bit more savory initially. The second day the fruit was still quite strong, and it was still difficult to distinguish among them, though the En Cerise seemed to be the most fruit forward. At first I was not very happy with these wines. They were more fruit forward and port like than I would normally like. I was heartened however at how well these stood up over a few days, and how the fruit stepped back a bit to let some other flavors start to come forward. For my palate these may get better in 3-5 years, but for those who like rich fruit dominated wines, these are drinking well now. Here now are specific notes on this wine on the third day (i.e. wine has now been opened for two days; each has at least half the bottle remaining; each was corked and placed on the counter – so no vacuuming, and no refrigeration).

Specific to 2005 En Cerise: More raspberry than blueberry on the nose, with some hints of blood, dust, and earth. This follows on the palate. Very nice mouthfeel, the flavors are rounded and nicely integrated. There is a slight hint of tannins, but not overpowering. The fruit as more subdued after two days.

11/21/2014 - f22nickell Does not like this wine:

Very disappointed. Lots of dark fruit coming through, along with some dark chocolate and spice. However, way too "jammy" and the alcohol is just too overpowering. Hopefully an off bottle as Betz typically does better than this.

11/12/2014 - f22nickell Likes this wine:

Young, refreshing, hot mulled cider in a sparkler. Bubbles are round and firm. All around well-balanced. A worthy addition for the Thanksgiving table.

10/19/2014 - Tim Heaton wrote:

Drizzle some peaches and dried apricots with honey and butterscotch, throw in some river rocks and minerals, plenty of fresh acids, and this is what you get. Which is to say it was really good. Enough acidity to sip on its own, I suppose, but paired with warm fig bread pudding it's really good. A fig tart would have worked, too. recommended

Served non-blind.

7/19/2014 - bruce61 wrote:

Unfortunately second of three with high levels of Brett. I will take them up on their prior replacement offer. I neglected to add to this old note how great the customer service of Rhys was. Replaced the bad bottle and exchanged unopened ones that could have been fine. Never had another issue with their bottles!

10/16/2013 - f22nickell Likes this wine:

Seattle Wine Group - Oct 2013 Tasting - Theme: Southern Hemisphere Reds (Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue): Setting: I brought this to the tasting to go with Mike’s Carnitas dinner. I did not take detailed notes.

Nose: This wine does not smell flawed. Aromas are of red fruit; cherries and cranberries specifically. Secondary notes of orange peel with hints of sous bois and forest floor. I pick up very little oak or heat on the nose.

Palate: This wine is medium bodied. This wine has flavors of cherry, strawberry, and a hint of cranberry. Lush mouthfeel, very silky.. Secondary flavors of orange peel and spice. The palate has a definite crispness. There are echoes of earthiness, but definitely more reserved on the palate than the nose. Trace of minerality, but no heat.

Structure: This wine is dry. Acid is medium plus. Alcohol is medium. Tannins are medium minus and well integrated. Finish is long. Complexity is medium.

Final Thoughts: This is really good bottle of wine. Flavors, tannins, alcohol and acid are in great balance. The acid, contrasted with the orange peel and earthy secondary flavors, speak well of this wine maturing over time. Wonderful now, worth keeping a bottle around to see what it becomes.

My last bottle ... DEFINITELY need to get some more.

3/13/2014 - f22nickell wrote:

Seattle Wine Group - Mar 2014 Tasting - Theme: Syrah "4X" (Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue): Bottle "G"
Tasted single blind. Pop 'n Poured.

Dark color depth, ruby hue, 1/4" to the meniscus. Nose of licorice, blue fruit, plum, and some chalk. Primary palate of black fruit, very soft intensity with some bitter, astringent characteristics. No attack, soft across the board, ending in dry heat. Tannins are fine. Finish is short and not complex.

Final thoughts: I think this wine was a bit overwhelmed by the previous extracted Lagier Meredith wine. This one just seemed to get lost. Nothing great, nothing bad ... Nothing memorable. This was a "middle of the pack" wine for most of the group, with only two outliers, one high, one low.

My Ranking: 6th out of 8 wines
Group Ranking: 4th out of 8 wines
Middle-Tier (47 total points out of 88 possible points)

2/4/2014 - f22nickell wrote:

Sadly, this bottle is nothing like the last one. This bottle is tired and past its prime. Fruit is gone, tannins are almost gone, only a bit of acid remains to keep it lively. This drinks like a low tannin/high fruit supermarket slurping wine ... Just without the fruit. It still has some balance so not to the level of "sink pour." I recommend you drink these up now, if it isn't already too late. (Edit: Changed this to "Flawed" as its clearly off kilter)

1/25/2014 - hankj wrote:

Good wine overall. Dense and brooding with an almost Cahors-like weight and extraction. The wood is distinctly Barolo, and there is a good amount of it. Kinda a Parkerized bottle but 10 years might help with that? Not sure it will vastly improve but will let sit 5 years before checking in again.

1/29/2014 - curtispomeroy wrote:

Corked.

1/29/2014 - NavyVet6874 Likes this wine:

With all due respect to the sub-80 points reviews, I don't know where this is coming from. Popped and poured at 60 degrees right from the N'finity and couldn't disagree more. Not getting the high vanilla, not overly fruity at all, and I think the finish is decent. Will have to see what happens as it opens up and warms up as well...OK, had with dinner (beef stroganoff) and I've got no complaints. My rating stands.

1/20/2014 - schwank Does not like this wine:

Not sure if it was flawed but easily the worst bottle I have tasted in some time. Down the drain.

1/19/2014 - skifree wrote:

This wine was in perfect balance and so smooth after decanting for 45 minutes. Drank during the NFC Championship game that the Seahawks won - perhaps we were in a really good mood when scoring?

11/1/2013 - SoundinBetween wrote:

cork was soaked 1/3 of the way through with a clean top. wine was over the hill unfortunately and did not change markedly with 1-3 hour decant. this is easily 5 years past its prime, if not more. offered very little in the way of fruit, very short/clipped finish.

10/29/2013 - f22nickell wrote:

Ugh ... moldy mess

8/29/2013 - ChrisinCowiche wrote:

Daily drinker type wine with a bit of age is holding up nicely. Very smooth and fruity. Not terribly complex, but better than your average bear.

8/14/2013 - Jasonrgreen Likes this wine:

SnP (SnP = Stuck and Poured with the Coravin)
Very well balanced wine with bright acidity. Blackberry, cocoa, minerals. A little heat, but not too much. Long Finish, but still pretty tannic.

5/10/2013 - MattTM wrote:

Devin's Surprise Birthday Party (Q4 - Vancouver, BC): Nice nose showing a burst of ripe raspberry aromas, along with black cherries, blueberries, spice, a hint of prunes and some leafy mint notes. There's tons of cooling menthol on the palate, as well as some rich ripe black cherries, black pepper spice, blueberries, and herbs. Plenty of firm drying acidity on the finish. While this is certainly a delicious and well made wine it was rather boring and lacked the excitement I was hoping for, especially at this level. Very good

4/22/2013 - f22nickell Likes this wine:

Seattle Wine Group - April Wine Tasting Event - Theme: Rioja/Tempranillo (Amaroso Room - Wine Storage Bellevue): Deep, inky purple in color. Aroma of dark fruit. Palate was nicely balanced. Attack of dark fruit, followed by balanced mid of tannins and acid. medium finish that changed from the first sip to the last. 91 pts. JRockman brought this for an aperitif our monthly wine group tasting. The tasting theme was Rioja. This wine was unrelated to the tasting; sadly though, it was my WOTN.

4/21/2013 - jrockman Likes this wine:

For me, a rare experience with an aged Bordeaux; decanted for sediment, was somewhat surprised by the lack of any. This wine was beautiful and sublime, balanced and smooth. An inviting ruby red in the glass, very aromatic - cherry, wood, spice and mineral all together; a wonderful texture in the mouth and on the tongue; tannins are rounded and integrated. A delicious experience with a beautifully mature wine. 4+13+18+8=93

2/16/2013 - ChrisinCowiche wrote:

Nope, couldn't make it through glass this time. Still not sure what is going on with this wine, except that it is undrinkable.

2/1/2013 - pmillersu Likes this wine:

Had this last night and was great just drinking with no food... Will see how it taste on day two...

1/31/2013 - ChrisinCowiche wrote:

Color is black purple, Nose is asphalt black blue fruit and beef, palate is earthy asphalt black fruit, almost Boushey Vineyard (WA) like. Alcohol never notices and big tannic long finish make this my favorite of 5 CA syrah drank/tasted over two days.

Thank you to Linda at The Wine Closet in Camarillo for the introdcution to Central Coast AVA's and their Syrahs.

1/21/2013 - ChrisinCowiche wrote:

Not nearly as bad as I expected after reading some of the CT reviews, but still not very drinkable. I think this wine had heat damage or something that stripped all the body and finish out of it. Not sure if this is even possible, but surely a wine wasn't intended to taste like this?

Might try next bottle for cooking.

12/13/2012 - ob2s wrote:

Ok, so here is how I classify this wine. I am a kids soccer coach and I have 11 pretty good players, but there are 18 kids on the team. Some of those 7 don't even want to play, but their parents make them. I have to play all 18, as I should, but when to play them so we don't lose is the dilemma. So when to drink these let downs in order to not detract from what is being served for dinner is the challenge.....and I have more than 7 to deal with...