February 13, 2024 - Spiced aromas with bold black fruit. Similar palate is slightly more reserved, more overtly structured and less harmoniously balanced. Certainly good now, some possible upside?
November 18, 2023 - Au nez: réglisse noire, violette, pivoine , confiture de bleuet (R) caramel beurre (E), cerise noire , prune (Y) sucre d'orge (M)
En bouche: chaleur, tanins soyeux, poivre, fruits noirs, mûrs, belle longueur.
Dégusté avec Osso bucco servi sur risotto aux champignons avec chips de céleri rave et concassé de radis d'hiver.
November 3, 2022 - Shared with friends at Wallace House dinner.
May 13, 2022 - This bottle was past it. Silky, jammy sweet red fruit with enough acid but that is overwhelmed in the palate by spiky alcohol.
April 20, 2022 - This was an excellent middle-aged Syrah. Plenty of fruit, lots of earth, smoke, pepper, olive, and good stuff. Mostly fine tannin.
October 11, 2021 - I thought this was hard as nails when tasted at release, and cellar time has been kind to this wine. Floral hints deceive you into thinking this will be on the elegant side, but the palate is firm, dense, and powerful. A lot of flavors to appreciate, but the structure is still front-and-center, so I expect this will be better in another 5+ years. 89-90 point potential.
August 9, 2020 - -- decanted 2 hours before initial taste --
-- tasted non-blind over a couple hours --
NOSE: expressive; mix of dark fruits that smell very ripe; hint of earthy leather; not savor; warm climate type of presentation.
BODY: medium-full bodied.
TASTE: cedar; dark ripe fruits, but not overblown; big; hints of pyrazine and something earthy; medium-low acidity; 14.8% alc. is well-masked by the fruit. Best to Drink Now and over the next few years. Gut impression score: 89 - 90.
July 19, 2020 - At its peak. well-balanced, tannins and fruit.
June 1, 2019 - Echoing prior notes, this drank beautifully, with the pepper and sweet blackberry palate in perfect balance. The only reason for posting a note again is that the wine seemed to lose power and focus after thirty minutes in the glass, suggesting that this has decidedly moved from hold to drink.
May 28, 2019 - Truly outstanding wine. So incredibly sorry this is our last bottle. Red berries, plenty of acidity, no signs of age.