April 1, 2022 - This is definitely a big wine and will impress everyone that tries it. I used a Durand to remove the cork - and even with that the cork broke while I was extracting it from the bottle.
We did not decant this and it was ready to go right out of the bottle. What an amazing nose! This is filled with dark fruit, blueberry, blackberry, tar, dark roasted coffee, and a hint of leather. Every time you swirl this wine you get one of the most gorgeous noses I have ever smelled on a wine. First taste - wow! Big, lush, full of flavor. The tannins are almost non existent at this time but it keep rewarding you with layers and layers of fruit and the finish just keeps going. It is perfectly balanced - now don't get me wrong, it is a huge powerful wine but is not over the top. For such a powerful wine it is remarkably restrained. We drank this over 2 hours and it kept evolving over that time with more layers of fruit.
Outstanding wine, have 2 more bottles left and they will last for many more years.
June 20, 2021 - The construct of this wine is impeccable.
It’s most assuredly amidst a quiet period.
It’s unctuous and the finish quite lengthy and I hope to wait many years b4 opening the next bottle.
Next evening wine was more quiet on the nose; no bricking and exploding w spice on palate w a reasonably long finish. Sticking w my above comments.
May 22, 2021 - I agree with the others who commented that this wine’s bouquet is incredible, the taste less impressive yet still quite good. Like 97 / 92+.
For some reason, I don’t get out the Durand often enough, and the cork was destroyed during extraction with an otherwise perfectly fine Pulltex. Hundred Acre uses long corks and generally they seem high quality... considering that there are several suspect or corked bottles amongst these reviews, perhaps there were “supply chain issues” the year this was bottled (sound familiar in 2021?).
To my palate, this is still in its prime and steady after a 2 hour quadruple decant (see above to remove typical volume of sediment and atypical cork floaters). Mild bricking. Enjoyable.
April 21, 2021 - Blueberry, tar, black olive, black fruits, fruit bomby, but good acidity in the back end, powerful, a bit over the top, tons of oak. Very well-made and weirdly I liked this in the line-up, but really a bit too much of everything IMHO. My notes say "gooey" and "way big". This got 2nd place overall. Taylor's Steak House Dirty Dozen dinner.
August 10, 2019 - Smokin Meat and Serious Syrah 2.0 (Westport, CT): Fitting with the Aussie theme and transitioning into some of the US new world. I always like Jayson's wines. They are hedonistic (as are the SQN), but there's something also very approachable and engaging about them. And while they are intense he seems to achieve some balance. Not over killing the fruit. Some decent acid. This was similar to that. You can't really tell the age (I wonder if one ever will - we have some of the early 2000's Napa versions sleeping), but it is as I said quite approachable and quite drinkable.
April 24, 2019 - Great fun to drink, hitting first maturity now, but long long life ahead. Intense tomato concentrate notes, that with air intensified a bit and kind of dominated the wine making it slightly one dimensonal. But good
February 5, 2019 - Slight brick around the edge. Full bodied black fruit. Lots of time left to this one.
February 6, 2018 - Dark garnet-purple, but slight hint of brown edges. Extremely viscous. Sweet black fruits and sweet oak, pronounced, but some definite prune notes indicating it's a bit beyond its peak. Very concentrated and full-bodied, but very balanced, with loads of fruit, high acidity, tannin well in the background. Overall very rich and full. Very long sweet finish. An outstanding wine, but the nose suggests its a bit beyond, and should be drunk.
Ric
January 15, 2018 - Third and final bottle of this fantastic wine. Sadly, I think it has begun to decline. Nose was still as expected but the palate and finish was far from being the full bodied velvet bomb I’ve become accustomed to. Drink now unless you prefer very soft edges.
March 26, 2017 - 801 chophouse hundred acre veritcal
Probably at peak right now. 10+ years left