December 9, 2021 - Nothing I would necessarily peg as a California Syrah. This drinks very much like a well made St. Joseph. Cooler darker fruit, with the full Syrah backing band; smoke, a touch of bacon, cracked pepper and a graphite-y mineral thing. The whole profile of this is very much less ripe, so the meat and smote notes are accents and this never skews to the full BBQ side at all. Under 13% abv and bright acidity makes this waaaay to easy to drink and offers a really refreshing side that you don't normally see in CA Syrah. I'm not going to reach for a Sandlands wine for a birthday or anniversary, but they are gods of Thursday night. Paired perfectly with a roasted chicken and rich sides. In context to the price, 91++
April 7, 2021 - Really excellent Syrah - funk and lighter bodied with plenty of good character. This is textbook Northern Rhone in style. Awesome stuff.
September 17, 2020 - Purple in color. 12.6% ABV. Savory nose of red and black fruits, citrus, blood and earth. Medium to full bodied with perfect acidity. Tart and earthy. Cranberry, bacon fat, iron and earth on the palate. Medium length on the finish. Unique wine that is easy to drink despite being far afield of what one would expect from a California Syrah. Best over the next 2-3 years.
August 1, 2020 - 12.4% abv. Dark ruby, extremely aromatic. Ripe plum, black pepper, olive, saddle leather and mint. Great depth and length. Outstanding and will only improve. Delicious syrah.
July 4, 2020 - Put into a decanter because there seemed to be quite a bit of sediment built up on the side of the bottle. Nose was initially dominated by an olive note, but the fruit and herbs start to become prominent with air. Youthful, but drinking really well after a couple hours of air. Reminds me of a polished N. Rhône wine (maybe Gonon?).
November 29, 2019 - Decanted off of a lot of sediment. Very deep inky garnet color. Closed aroma, showing black pepper, meat, black cherry. Full-bodied on the palate, with brisk tea flavors in a grippy acid balance. Finishes with dusty tannins. Could use some time.
August 10, 2019 - Early, early, but fun to drink. The balance is perfect, with ripe blackberry fruit, sage and earth tones. There’s a little tar on the finish. Tannic structure is present but not drying. Probably a good five years from prime drinking.
May 22, 2019 - Pretty good. Some magenta tinge to the color here, and some puppy fat shows—it’s decidedly black fruit and not red with just a mild note of savory on the finish.
January 6, 2019 - Very, very good. Bright, concentrated CA fruit but with some dusty earth and herbs de Provence. Honest and balanced. Excellent value.
November 18, 2018 - This was fantastic. Cohesive and compact. Still in a very primary and youthful place so no rush at all with this. Classic northern Rhone Syrah like flavor elements, sour plum, blackberry, licorice, ash, purple flowers, bright smacking acidity, nicely understated very elegant. Dusty tannins. Yummy wine. Very glad I have another bottle.