Absolutely night and day as compared to the bottle I had about a year ago. That bottle, simply was horrid. And it was not because it had turned. This bottle was rather tasty. A nice, juicy Syrah. Nose of tobacco. A simple and enjoyable wine. SECOND DAY NOTE:. Held up fairly well. Placed cork in the bottle and the next day It had only lost a touch of its fruit. Much more pruney. Doubt it would hold up very well on a third day.
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This wine confuses me. It was better than my previous bottle, but still no where near what Jeb and RMP experienced. It is a bummer, as I gave it a fair shake and enjoyed over a 6-8 hour period.
I wanted to give it another try as Jeb just re-tasted it recently and it has been 3 years since I enjoyed my last bottle of it.
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Dark garnet body; still purple on rim. Blackberry, raspberry, herbs, spice, maybe just a hint of bacon fat, vanillian. Decent fruit and richness. The wine has been cellered.
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The last of 5 bottles, all with consistent notes. Youthful purple color, with no real signs of age. Notes of ripe dark fruits, with hints of campfire, spice box, and roasted herbs. Medium bodied, with good concentration, but lacking in terms of texture and depth. A solid Syrah that is an excellent "Wednesday evening dinner at home" sort of wine, but a far cry from the 98+ that RP scored it.
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Oh what fresh hell did I fall into. Seriously? This was nothing that it is perceived by many. This was not a "turned" bottle either. It lacked any and all character and was devoid of any fruit and full of acidity. I had taken the advice of those who had previously written and hoping a decant would help the wine. Nope.
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Very disappointed in this wine. It is our last bottle of 09 Keltie. We hoped the decanting would help open it up and it did for about 45 minutes. Then, we had a overly acidic wine with little fruit.
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I generally agree with the comments here. This sure seems like an RP misfire and I don't get it. Nose is olive with maybe a little strawberry but mostly the former. On the palate very acidic and not much fruit at all. Tannic and coarse. Hard to drink, and lethal following a wonderful 2005 Aubert Reuling Pinot. Drank < a glass over an hour. Will see if this is better tomorrow but right now, not my cup of "tea" at all.
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I was a bit underwhelmed with this wine as well. I had high hopes considering the love that Parker and Jeb gave this wine.
I decanted this and we enjoyed it over a few hours. It was mute for a while and then the bouquet garni notes dominated the nose, with dark berry notes showing later in the evening. I think the wine is just too young so I'll wait on my other bottle for a few years.
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Not a big fan, esp at the price. Roped into buying by brother-in-law. Pretty much average fruit, not that engaging. May be a little better now than a year ago.
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Purple in color, the nose shows smoke, pepper, plums and game. There is not too much fruit on the palate and it also shows minerals with noticeable tannins.
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Not as good as I had remembered but still very nice. Extracted version of a Northern Rhone, ripe fruits with some bacon and smoke and olive. Smooth and easy going down. Would be nice to try one in 3-5 years.
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Blind Donelan tasting: The least offensive of the Donelan wines so far; the fruit here is more moderate and relatively austere compared to the other Syrahs. This is still rather extracted, but it's dominated by a wall of tannin and the fruit has a more savoury tinge to it, rather than the candied/cough syrupy elements marking the other wines. Not quite as bad, but still not particularly pleasant.
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A tasting of Donelan Wines (My home): Most people had this as their WOTN. Maybe it was the extra year, but this is a special wine. Purple in color. The nose is really nice. Clearly from California, but has that Northern Rhone style; black raspberries, violets, minerals, and some bacon fat on the nose. Lean but powerful on the palate. Layered but tight. Long finish. This needs more time, but it is complex and delicious.
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Just not there, some fruit, tannic, some tar and dark plum but nothing of significance. This is not opening up even on day 2. The low Alc. to me is a from lack of time on the vine and early picking.
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Better than the last bottle. More settled, good flavors of plum, blackberry and earthy tones well blended. The grape tones are far more muted, although not gone.
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Drank this over the course of 3-4 hours. After an hour or so, the nose settled into a nicwe syrah mix of black fruit and cooked meat. The palate never seemed to reolve to what I was hoping for. No mistake, there was blackberry, smoke, herbs - all the elements of a great syrah. However, these notes were overwhelmed by a simple grape-y punch flavor. Only on the last few sips did this flavor seem to recede and the more complex flavors come to the front. Perhaps another year will help.
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Pop and pour into a decanter, and consumed straightaway, which was probably not fair to the wine. Nonetheless. In the glass, relatively clear dark red. Somewhat muted nose, with hints of iodine and crushed blackberries. On the palate, a clean but not particularly complex wine, with dark fruits and a distant saline note. Previous vintages of the Keltie have had more complexity and aromatics, even without the decant, so I wonder if this was an off bottle.
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Notes of smokiness with dark fruits in the background, firm tannins but not over powering. Drinking well now but should improve with additional cellar time.
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Tasting at Donelan (Santa Cruz): 100% Syrah, 100% whole cluster, best barrels from all the vineyards. Very pretty, dark syrah. Meats, smoke, tobacco. Dark fruits. Tannins still big, but smooth in mouth.
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5/18/2024 - Ryan-Garcia wrote:
Still so much life, dark fruits and iron on the palate. So so good even 15 yrs later
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5/9/2024 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 94 Points
One of my Favorite vineyard sites.
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9/11/2023 - dsimmons Likes this wine: 93 Points
Delicious aged cab. More northern Rhone than southern. Drink or hold
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1/11/2021 - Callybrian Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wonderfully smooth syrah with earthy notes of casis and tobacco on the nose and palate. Rhubarb comes through on a long finish.
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11/23/2020 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 93 Points
One of my favorite mountain sites for syrah!
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10/25/2020 - jshufelt wrote: 89 Points
Consistent with previous tasting notes.
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10/19/2019 - ChopperWine Likes this wine: 90 Points
Absolutely night and day as compared to the bottle I had about a year ago. That bottle, simply was horrid. And it was not because it had turned. This bottle was rather tasty. A nice, juicy Syrah. Nose of tobacco. A simple and enjoyable wine. SECOND DAY NOTE:. Held up fairly well. Placed cork in the bottle and the next day It had only lost a touch of its fruit. Much more pruney. Doubt it would hold up very well on a third day.
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10/13/2019 - dsimmons Likes this wine: 89 Points
This was very nice syrah drank with barbecue ribs. Good fruit and acidity. The fruit was a bit pruney. Drink or hold.
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8/19/2019 - CRAUBER4242 Likes this wine: 92 Points
This wine confuses me. It was better than my previous bottle, but still no where near what Jeb and RMP experienced. It is a bummer, as I gave it a fair shake and enjoyed over a 6-8 hour period.
I wanted to give it another try as Jeb just re-tasted it recently and it has been 3 years since I enjoyed my last bottle of it.
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2/2/2019 - Chainthroer wrote: 91 Points
Dark garnet body; still purple on rim. Blackberry, raspberry, herbs, spice, maybe just a hint of bacon fat, vanillian. Decent fruit and richness. The wine has been cellered.
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12/5/2018 - tbabes wrote: 90 Points
The last of 5 bottles, all with consistent notes. Youthful purple color, with no real signs of age. Notes of ripe dark fruits, with hints of campfire, spice box, and roasted herbs. Medium bodied, with good concentration, but lacking in terms of texture and depth. A solid Syrah that is an excellent "Wednesday evening dinner at home" sort of wine, but a far cry from the 98+ that RP scored it.
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10/29/2018 - ChopperWine Does not like this wine: 85 Points
Oh what fresh hell did I fall into. Seriously? This was nothing that it is perceived by many. This was not a "turned" bottle either. It lacked any and all character and was devoid of any fruit and full of acidity. I had taken the advice of those who had previously written and hoping a decant would help the wine. Nope.
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12/20/2017 - Ridgerunner Likes this wine: 93 Points
Keltie has always been a favorite source for me!
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3/19/2017 - TwoSmoochies wrote: 87 Points
Very disappointed in this wine. It is our last bottle of 09 Keltie. We hoped the decanting would help open it up and it did for about 45 minutes. Then, we had a overly acidic wine with little fruit.
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5/8/2016 - Fid Does not like this wine: 87 Points
I generally agree with the comments here. This sure seems like an RP misfire and I don't get it. Nose is olive with maybe a little strawberry but mostly the former. On the palate very acidic and not much fruit at all. Tannic and coarse. Hard to drink, and lethal following a wonderful 2005 Aubert Reuling Pinot. Drank < a glass over an hour. Will see if this is better tomorrow but right now, not my cup of "tea" at all.
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4/11/2016 - CRAUBER4242 Likes this wine: 89 Points
I was a bit underwhelmed with this wine as well. I had high hopes considering the love that Parker and Jeb gave this wine.
I decanted this and we enjoyed it over a few hours. It was mute for a while and then the bouquet garni notes dominated the nose, with dark berry notes showing later in the evening. I think the wine is just too young so I'll wait on my other bottle for a few years.
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11/15/2015 - ogres3 wrote: 88 Points
Not sure I get these wines. Maybe will improve with bottle age. Disjointed. Not sure the complexity or tannins are there to morph into a good wine.
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10/23/2015 - jshufelt wrote: 90 Points
Largely consistent with previous tasting notes, but has filled out a bit since the last bottle.
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7/5/2015 - ogres3 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Not a big fan, esp at the price. Roped into buying by brother-in-law. Pretty much average fruit, not that engaging. May be a little better now than a year ago.
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1/9/2015 - ogres3 wrote: 89 Points
Decanted about two hours. Lots going on but way too green for me to make any sense out of the wine. Will try again in 5 years or so.
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11/27/2014 - Minkey Likes this wine: 90 Points
Purple in color, the nose shows smoke, pepper, plums and game. There is not too much fruit on the palate and it also shows minerals with noticeable tannins.
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8/13/2014 - cpsmith33 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Not as good as I had remembered but still very nice.
Extracted version of a Northern Rhone, ripe fruits with some bacon and smoke and olive. Smooth and easy going down. Would be nice to try one in 3-5 years.
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2/20/2014 - salil wrote: 81 Points
Blind Donelan tasting: The least offensive of the Donelan wines so far; the fruit here is more moderate and relatively austere compared to the other Syrahs. This is still rather extracted, but it's dominated by a wall of tannin and the fruit has a more savoury tinge to it, rather than the candied/cough syrupy elements marking the other wines. Not quite as bad, but still not particularly pleasant.
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12/13/2013 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 95 Points
A tasting of Donelan Wines (My home): Most people had this as their WOTN. Maybe it was the extra year, but this is a special wine. Purple in color. The nose is really nice. Clearly from California, but has that Northern Rhone style; black raspberries, violets, minerals, and some bacon fat on the nose. Lean but powerful on the palate. Layered but tight. Long finish. This needs more time, but it is complex and delicious.
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12/10/2013 - tc from santee Does not like this wine: 86 Points
Just not there, some fruit, tannic, some tar and dark plum but nothing of significance. This is not opening up even on day 2. The low Alc. to me is a from lack of time on the vine and early picking.
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11/24/2013 - jrbearden wrote: 93 Points
Drinking well now
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6/30/2013 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 90 Points
Better than the last bottle. More settled, good flavors of plum, blackberry and earthy tones well blended. The grape tones are far more muted, although not gone.
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11/17/2012 - danielbleier wrote: 88 Points
Drank this over the course of 3-4 hours. After an hour or so, the nose settled into a nicwe syrah mix of black fruit and cooked meat. The palate never seemed to reolve to what I was hoping for. No mistake, there was blackberry, smoke, herbs - all the elements of a great syrah. However, these notes were overwhelmed by a simple grape-y punch flavor. Only on the last few sips did this flavor seem to recede and the more complex flavors come to the front. Perhaps another year will help.
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9/21/2012 - jshufelt wrote: 88 Points
Pop and pour into a decanter, and consumed straightaway, which was probably not fair to the wine. Nonetheless. In the glass, relatively clear dark red. Somewhat muted nose, with hints of iodine and crushed blackberries. On the palate, a clean but not particularly complex wine, with dark fruits and a distant saline note. Previous vintages of the Keltie have had more complexity and aromatics, even without the decant, so I wonder if this was an off bottle.
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1/29/2012 - ClubTerry wrote: 93 Points
Notes of smokiness with dark fruits in the background, firm tannins but not over powering. Drinking well now but should improve with additional cellar time.
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12/8/2011 - brianngibson wrote: 92 Points
Sage, blueberry, spring flowers, lilac, meat and a hint of smoke. Drinking really well early.
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10/14/2011 - cpsmith33 wrote: 93 Points
Tasting at Donelan (Santa Cruz): 100% Syrah, 100% whole cluster, best barrels from all the vineyards. Very pretty, dark syrah. Meats, smoke, tobacco. Dark fruits. Tannins still big, but smooth in mouth.
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