November 22, 2023 - I have to admit I was slightly disappointed by this wine. Although Colson Canyon is a warm sight, I would have liked to have seen a great effort to lower the sugar/alcohol in this wine. After 14 years this wine still lacks any balance; it’s overly jammy fruit and almost young port-like on the nose is nausea inducing. I would have preferred this wine closer to 13.5% abv and with more acidity to balance. This was drank after a superb ‘21 domaine vincent paris St. Joseph ‘Les Cotes’ and did not compare well at all. Major headache incoming!
Overall: 83 (and going down quickly)
October 1, 2020 - Sweet, flabby and hot. No upside.
December 25, 2019 - Could not drink it. Dumped it down the sink
December 22, 2019 - Purchased from winery. Second bottle that tastes like grape juice. No structure. Just sweetness and a bit of canned cranberry sauce tartness on the finish. Bleech.
September 27, 2019 - I opened this first bottle from my case tonight at The Oven. Decanted the wine and did not notice much evolution over the two hours Charlie, Jim Harris, and I drank it. Dark fruit, cassis, sweet, slowly emerging olive, lush, dense, new world style. Alcohol is very present at 15%, and the full body, very extracted style will no doubt appeal to some, just not me. Mid palate isn't terribly interesting, and I thought the finish was nothing out of the ordinary, with some heat. Kind of reminds me of a plump, buxom woman, falling out of her dress, while loudly doing shots of goldschlager at a party. Man I miss college.
February 23, 2019 - Dropping some tannins but still a big wine. Plenty of brambly dark fruit along with crushed rock and a hint of violet on the nose. In a very good place but still has time. 92 points
October 18, 2018 - PnP. This is amazing for the age as its just great. Sage, herbs, black fruit in a full bodied, smooth wine. Long finish. Just awesome. Unfortunately, last 2 bottles.
September 3, 2018 - waves of blue and black fruit with wet rock underneath, finishes with a hint of cranberry. A hedonistic treat.
July 4, 2018 - This was throwing a huge amount of sediment and absolutely needs to be decanted off of it. That said, this really is showing no signs of slowing down. This bottle was very rich and fruit forward, but outside of a healthy dose of pepper, was lacking some of the meatier and smokier notes I had expected. This didn't make it lesser than previous bottles, just a bit different. Oak, tannins and alcohol were totally integrated and made for a texturally rich wine that, while very full bodied, wasn't plodding or fatiguing to drink. This is a full throttle take on syrah, but is a very good example of the style. It wasn't showing many tertiary notes, so I'm not sure what this evolves into, but this has the structure to age for 5+ years. Tired perfectly with grilled tri-tip.
May 19, 2018 - PnP. Dark purplish red. Strawberry, raspberry, and prunes on the nose. Wine is thick. Tar, prunes, plums, and a little chocolate. Decent length finish. A nice change from what we typically drink.