January 16, 2021 - Nice nose. Decdanted 1/2 hr. Consistent tastes of dark fruits. This bottle aged well. Drank over 2 days. Day 2 was a bit better than day 1.
November 23, 2020 - 95% Syrah with 5% Viognier.
Decanted and showing moderate fine sediment.
Inky and opaque in the glass.
The nose is complex in it's aromas showing an array of bacon fat, black olive, leather, cured meats, dried violets and earth that weave into notes of slightly dried blueberry, wild blackberry, boysenberry, licorice and hints of pepper, sarsaparilla.
The palate is medium-plus in body and offers juicy berry-like acidity and smooth, moderate+, silky tannins. Still a good amount of freshness and fruit to this very well extracted Syrah. Flavors coat the palate in blueberry, blackberry and boysenberry jam notes with violet pastilles, licorice, briny black olive, sarsaparilla and earth with gentle hints of pepper. The finish lingers pleasantly. A lot to like about this Cote Rotie styled expression.
August 10, 2018 - Inky purple colored with a nose of purple fruit, florals and a dollop of bacon fat.
The palate is noticeably big and for my palate, far too much so. In fact, there’s too much of everything. Copious purple fruit that tastes slightly sweet. The other flavors — all playing secondary roles — come and go, flitting among black fruit, vanilla, and bacon fat. Finish is bitter, oaky and unpleasant.
Far too much new oak/fruit/sweetness for my liking. 15.1%abv.
July 23, 2018 - For my tastes, holding off on this was worth the wait. Aromatically expressive. This bottle showed plenty of fruit still, but also some developing cold climate syrah characteristics, plenty of pepper, and something vaguely like the elusive bacon fat. While a big wine, 15.1% alcohol, time has rendered it a bit more friendly, with no obvious heat.
July 12, 2018 - Fantastic perfumey nose from the 5% Viognier. Dark, delicious stuff in a N. Rhone style with dark berry fruit, bacon, and iron.
October 16, 2017 - Nice aromatics and very complicated and changed as it opened. Had licorice, garrique and some menthol over time
March 21, 2017 - Very good syrah but still a big tight. I think this would benefit from some more time. We decanted and aerated.
January 28, 2017 - Took a little while to open up. At pop n pour, the wine tingled in my mouth. This was dark and smooth. After 2 hours, this got much better! Much improved since my last note. Drank at a 65th birthday party with mid-eastern food. Drink sooner rather than later.
October 23, 2016 - Decanted and drank over 4 hours. At first, quite tannic and primary. Quite a bit of heat as well. Around hour 3 it began to soften, but this is a big wine. Showing no signs of evolving, I think drink them up, not much reason to age this. Good, but was hoping for more from this producer.
October 14, 2016 - Consumed over 4 hours. Everything that Jahull03 said. There is lots of fruit, blueberry, smoke, meat, some minerality, high alcohol. This reminds me of an Aussie shiraz, and not in a bad way.