March 28, 2024 - 1.5L Magnum, opening with great anticipation. On the PNP I'm getting the grassy, vegetal notes I often taste in a pinot noir, so it's unusual to find this in a Syrah. I'm wondering how this will develop over the next few hours?
I opened this before my wife announced we were having chicken parm, and now I'm thinking it was a great pair(especially over typical Syrah!)...so we'll see where this goes. It's a light purple color and there are tart cherries and pepper present. I'm sensing a medium finish and the acidity is good. 13.5% ABV, and no heat, very subtle.
February 5, 2023 - solid N. Rhone syrah. tons of black pepper. blue fruit and bright acidity
November 26, 2021 - Double blind tasting
Deep ruby color with minimal rim clearing
Medium plus aromas of blue/ black fruit with leather/graphite and green herbal/ stemmy notes - moderate new oak notes noted
Medium bodied wine - red fruit/ plum and green stem noted on the palate
Only medium tannins noted primarily on the tongue with medium alcohol and rather short finish
I rarely miss Syrah blind but had no clue here - I surely didn't get the aromatic markers and I think the presumed new wood threw me off
In any case, I felt the palate to be a bit disjointed and finish was rather short
Not really impressed, especially for the price
Not sure where this is going
November 23, 2021 - Medium purple, filtered
Aromatics medium +. Ripe blue and black berries followed by a background savory note of bacon versus dark green stems. Not entirely typical of an old world Syrah, given fruit levels. Perhaps a ripe harvest?
Palate has medium body. Acid medium to possibly medium +. Tannin medium, fine quality on teeth, upper palate and later on the tongue. Alcohol medium. Chalky cherries, maybe some plum later, but overall little fruit on the palate.
Finish has medium length. Balance towards the tannins/chalk
Dry glass notes of savory notes like leather
I feel this lacks the typicity/intensity of a Northern Rhone Syrah, especially for the price.
Drink now.
March 16, 2021 - Medium purple.
Nose: Blueberry juice, cherry, beef fat, iron, horse saddle.
Mouth: Smooth notes of blueberry puree and smashed raspberry are met with liquid bay and iron notes just ahead of a very well buried rail of powdered graphite and bitter tobacco on the finish. The fruit comes back for an encore at the end, swelling nicely as the still burly tannins tug through.
Overall: Friendly up front, still a bit rowdy on the backend, this is coming along nicely, showing good meld and palate action. No longer backwards, this still needs a bit more time for the finish to iron itself out as a drinking wine, as a food wine this might be ready to roll now. Drink now - 2028.
91.
May 29, 2020 - Deftly balanced fruit and oak. Sour plum, cassis, tea and spices. Improved substantially with an hour of air but needs more, still fairly acidic. More cellar time needed imo.
April 12, 2020 - Nice notes of garrigue underlying the palate, though tobacco and plum dominate. Softened tannin and classic syrah spice throughout. Very tasty and easy drinker. A bit shorter on the finish than I'd like
April 9, 2020 - Appearance: deep garnet
Nose: pronounced blackberry, pepper, dried fruit, dried herbs. Cloves. No tertiary
Palate:
Dry
Low acid
High tannin
Medium alcohol
Full body
Pronounced black cherry, blackberry, black plum, black pepper, dried herbs. Smoke, chocolate. Meat. Wet leaves.
Medium finish.
Overall quality: good. Good balance and complexity, with identifiable flavors. Medium finish.
February 11, 2020 - Dark color and expressive fruit on the nose. Fruity but elegant with a hint of black pepper. I suspect it would have been several points better with some decant time. A good compromise when you have old and new world wine lovers at the table.
July 21, 2019 - Russk. Whiners Syrah tasting at Villagio.