March 14, 2024 - Young and pure, lithe (it's only 12.6%) and full of sappy, extremely primary berry fruit. Hints of liquorice, smoke, sage and incense come and go, and there's dark chocolate on the finish. Mmm! A fully mature bottle of this would be brilliant.
February 12, 2024 - needs at least an hour to open up; black plum, chocolate covered cherry, black pepper, baking spices, and a touch of smoke. Next bottle I will open up a couple hours ahead of time.
March 25, 2023 - Deep black-garnet with clear ruby edges. Classic aromas of black raspberry & smoked plum skin, with cracked peppercorn, fresh rosemary, pressed lavender, bergamot, mesquite char and juniper berry. Fresh and succulent, cool-toned red berry fruit on the palate with exotic secondary floral and herbal depth not unlike the nose along with a dense mineral core, very nice intensity. Medium-bodied, sinewy throughout, with firm fleshy dense tannins listed with taut acidity and finishing with zesty black fruit depth.
July 30, 2022 - Nose of cherries, cola, and complex earthy tones. Quick hit of strong dark cherry fruit on the palate with minerals, granite and some meaty notes adding themselves into the mix. Smooth, round tannins and earth on the finish.
November 28, 2021 - Somewhat muted and astringent. Wait another 1-2 years for the other bottles.
September 26, 2021 - Decanted for about 4 - 5 hours before drinking. I didn't pick up the astringency others have noted below, but agree with the general gist that this is a very enjoyable bottle of Syrah. Dark berry fruit, pepper, something floral, something meaty - Cote Rotie - plenty of intrigue & complexity even at this young age, and already the parts feel well integrated. Full bodied but with nice lift & freshness. Really amazing value at not much over £20 i/b in the UK. JG gives drinking dates from 2027 to 2060, but I don't see any crime in opening a bottle (or two or three) this year, although it will undoubtedly improve.
May 30, 2021 - Murky purple color. Sulfite funk nose blew off pretty quickly. Juicy ripe dark fruit--blackberry, prune--on the tip of the tongue. Fairly noticeable tannin. I see from previous notes, that I had made a similar observarion of this wine. Nice savoriness mid-palate.
February 20, 2021 - Appearance: deep ruby, violet highlights, moderate staining, medium tearing, fine sediment.
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, developing, blackberry, black olive, bilberry, violet, white pepper, crushed gravel, stemmy organic earth, bay leaf, new leather, smoke.
Palate: dry, medium+ acid, medium+ tannin, medium alcohol (12.7%), medium body, medium+ intensity, medium finish, blackberry, black olive, bilberry, violet, white pepper, crushed gravel, stemmy organic earth, bay leaf, new leather, smoke.
Overall: A very classic, aromatic cool-climate Syrah full of olive and pepper, with some violet and herbal notes as well as some savory whole cluster aromas. Elevated acidity and tannins provide solid structure, but for me the flavor intensity doesn't warrant long-term aging. Really well balanced and food friendly. Could use a tad more intensity and length to warrant a better score and more confidence for long-term aging, but this is certainly tasty, and a very good value!
January 31, 2021 - Purple in color and semi-opaque in the glass
Nose:
Day 1 - a little muted at first, but then blackberry, smoked meat, olive,
herbs, pepper
Day 2 - Blackberry, olive, iron/blood, pepper
Palate:
Day 1 - Tart fruit, herbs, pepper
Day 2 - Blackberry, black cherry, olive, and pepper
Medium(+) body with soft tannins
I really enjoyed this on Day 2. It definitely needs more time in the bottle
January 1, 2021 - This showed some real development over a couple of days open. Initially it shows ripe blackberry fruits with greener stem, seeds or skin notes. The tannin is astringent that way. Almost vegetal but not quite with a green peppercorn aroma.. The fruit is remarkably ripe and forward given the 12.7% ABV. No way I would have guessed that low blind. It still shows a lot more CA than some other vintages. This all integrates quite a bit on night two and three. While the tannin still has an astringent edge it doesn't stand up so green. The fruit shows more classic adding a distinct olive note. Lovely depth and richness that again surprises. This still shows more CA than say the '16 that has a real N Rhone side. But it's the sort of CA Syrah that is classic in style. It definitely stands out as singular in CA even amongst the other producers I favor. And it trashes many that cost many multiples more. I hope some more bottle time will let that astringent edge soften off the tannin but that with the acidity and fruit depth gives this vintage time to burn. I'd leave this one be at least a couple more years. Very good.