Finally way past it’s prime, brown, shoe polish, no fruit or character left. Should have expected this but hoped for one last great visit from this rebooked Olsen Syrah. Alas.
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Not the best Syrah ever, but enjoyable nonetheless. Good balance, nice dark fruit, but not a lot of depth. A bit past its peak, but still quite drinkable. An excellent wine for the price. Wish I had bought about 6 more bottles.
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PnP. Ready to go right away. Based on this bottle, it has peaked. Red and black fruit, silky on the palate. It did not evolve much after opening, and was in decline when revisited on Day 2. Very enjoyable, but time to drink, not hold.
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Lovely syrah nose and garnet color, and big rich flavors. A well-balanced wine with a medium-long finish. Definitely a great value for a well-made Columbia Valley syrah. Wish I had more!
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I opened this bottle last week but only consumed a glass before leaving it on the counter totally forgotten. After two days with just a standard stopper my wife put it in the fridge. 4 days later I pulled it out, let it warm up a bit... and this wine surprised the heck out of me. I was not expecting much tonight but this has a nice complexity with black brambly fruit and smoky meat, which offset the slightly hot finish. So I say about 6 days of bottle aeration... or at the very least a few hours to get the best out of this wine. It would have been very interesting to see what Olsen could have become, but alas...
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Didn't pull out the blue fruit in this bottle as in the previous one last year. Black fruit with a bit of smoke, cacao, fine tannins and good acidity. Excellent QPR, no big hurry to finish up.
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Pnp'd, it was ready for business right away. It was soft and supple with nice acidity to give some depth. The fruit was nice, this Syrah tended more on the lighter red fruit side. This was an easy drinker and paired very well with hot pastrami sandwiches. I miss getting to buy these full pull gems.
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Consumed over a couple nights... this wine is just very basic at this time. Dark fruit but not a lot of extended character. Not sure how much I expect for $12, but I do remember younger bottles of this having a bit more depth.
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What a surprise! 2.5 years since the last one. Way beyond standard syrah flavors and mouthfeel. Just the right amount of funky bacon. Lingering finish. Very satisfying.
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Day number one was bad for this misplaced bottle. it seemed hot and thin, so I left in the decanter. The next day it had thickened up in the mouthfeel, tannin and acids were in good form, but an entry level wine with dark fruits not much else.
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Much better than anticipated, but this appears to have hit its drinking window. Many oak notes on the nose and good woody black fruit through the middle. Didn't hold up to the Amavi Syrah in a blind tasting.
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This bottle is really good. Full nose of lavender and smooth black blue fruits. Palate follow suit and easy drinking. Great with pizza at the end of a long week.
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Talk about bottle variation.....this was completely different than my last bottle. Smooth with a lot of red fruit, almost too sweet for my taste. Where was all of the dark chocolate and earth notes from the last bottle? I much prefer that flavor profile. This is still a good wine for the price....it's just surprising that it tastes completely different. My one remaining bottle will be the tiebreaker I guess!
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Even better than a year ago. Magenta color dark and elegant. Nose is dense forest fruit backed by hints of creosote and pencil shavings. Flint and sweet herbs too. Mouthfeel is just even and polished, with a firm, cool berry and mineral sense. The finish is where the improvement is, alcohols have pulled back, fruit is lasting on finish. Tremendous, but this wine is the stars aligning on Olsen declassified Syrah. This won't happen again. Cherish each bottle you have left. Will easily last another few years.
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Very nice bottle this time. Funk and violets on the nose. Smooth palate. Bacon and pepper on the finish. Compares well to bottle costing twice as much from last night.
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tons of sediment in this bottle. tasty as a pop 'n pour, but 3 hours later it showed tons of smokey and spicy black raspberry and black cherry flavors. really in balance and in a good place right now. consistency seems to be a bit of an issue with this wine, with some showings being very earthy and funky and others being very fruity. either way, i really like this wine. if scoring this bottle, 90-92.
PnP. For the first 1/2 hour the fruit was more muted than past bottles and some of the earth and tar took a little more center stage. Hour and a half in is all bright sweet purple and blue fruits with a hot streak. Not balanced and a bit messy but does the job for a tuesday.
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Nice fruit, grip and acids, well balanced. Comparing this to leftovers from yesterday from CA, very different mainly in the acid profile. CA wine seemed flat in comparison. Very likely I preferred this partly because my palate is trained to like the WA acid profile.
Still just phenomenal for the price, aging nicely and smoothing out. Expressive after 30 minutes in glass. Plum, blackberry pie, mint, smoked meat rind. So much white pepper! Rich but still a bit raw on taste, Yakima valley and on the sweeter side of berry. But the smoke and meat is unmistakeable. Re-taste in a year, drink or hold through 2018.
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Out performs its price point - deep garnet, blue fruits, meat, pepper; nice acids, a decent finish. It took three days to really shine and if I had anymore I would give it some more time to unwind.
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Triple decant. This bottle showed poorly with recessive fruit, oak on the front and a bitter tannic finish. With 3 bottles left, I am hoping this was an abberent bottle.
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Continues to be a fantastic QPR. Noticed little if any bottle variation as others have mentioned. (We’ve powered through a case +). If anything, this wine has improved over the past year; softened, revealing some subtleties of fruit, oak and cured crispy pork funk.
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Really glad I like it since I went long buying 2 cases. Very lovely aromatic flowers after it opens up. Some spice on palate along with black raspberry. Classic WA syrah if a bit "too" fruity, hot site syrah.
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Okay, I have to say that I am into this bottle, with just a glass left. This is nice, with a mouth coating feel in that floats in your mouth with just enough acidity to keep it in the very good category. Loads of blackberry and fruit compote, but nor over-ripe, even for the 2009 vintage. It's sad that Olsen is no longer on scene as they had good quality fruit, and when qpr comes into play this should be bordering on excellent. Still I give it an 88 for over-all comparison to all wine. An extremely drinkable semi-viscous syrah that typifies, WA syrah. A deep mouth staining purple coats the teeth with wine stains, that will be gone after a good tooth brushing. A very enjoyable wine and the price is the big kicker. I wish I bought more. I doubled down on some '07 syrah which is still quite hard and tannic with oak that hasn't resolved. Drink up the '09's and hold '08 and '07, for now.
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Solid daily drinker, but liked it more a year or so ago when it was first released. Maybe it's my storage but I get a bit of a chemically smell now on day one. Day 2 seems better for these generally.
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Olsen Estates by another name; Inky dark purple, nose of blackberries. Dry tannins, bold fruit with acid to keep the fruit lively. Easy drinker now, it will be interesting to see where this ends. 88 PnP. Giving another night and starting to show some acid over the blackberry fruit. I think there is hope here. On the PnP worth the the $12 I paid, but not much more. Others tasted oak, I taste none, some would help balance and tame the fruit. I seem to like more restrained cool climate Syrah now. My friends will love it, glad I shared several cases with them. Tasting a little metallic blackberry tonight.
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Wonderful dark fruit with some mineral meatiness, but the wine is light on the palate that will pair very well with most meals. Had with spaghetti and it complimented the dish very well. Glad I have couple more.
The cork was very saturated, so probably these need to be consumed sooner rather than later.
I've had several bottles of this and I'm becoming less enamored. This had plenty of dark fruit along with quite a bit of oak but it lacked depth and richness. Neither of us loved it. Maybe it's just bottle variation
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• First night after 3 hours of air time – chalky tannins, a bit hot on the finish, lots of bitter dark chocolate, not a fruit bomb at all • 2nd night kept refrigerated in vacuum sealed bottle – much more integrated, still not much fruit, more silkiness, still a bit hot • 3rd night kept refrigerated in vacuum sealed bottle – same notes as 2nd night
Overall, the finish is a bit short and the alcohol comes through a bit too easily, but otherwise this is a great value wine for those seeking out a not-too-sweet syrah with aging potential. If drinking soon, recommended air time 6+ hours.
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Australian-esque fruit, a little syrupy, lavender, floral and some Gigondas type rustic quality. Quite different from just a few months ago and quite surprising.
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pnp, consumed over 3 hours. there's something weird about decanting a $14 bottle of wine, so i never decant this wine, and then i regret it. it takes a solid hour+ to open up and show it's earthy black fruit. i get lots of pepper from this wine, and more "dirty" fruit than some other washington wines, but i still really really like this. i don't mean dirty like underripe or flawed; i just mean that it has lots of earthier secondaries for me. for the price, this is still outstanding. such a shame this winery couldn't make it.
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I was concerned this could be overblown and oaky but it wasn't. It's definitely new world and on the riper side, but it's quite good and for the money it's a great value. Drinking well and will likely improve a bit, too.
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Dark fruit and a pleasant, not overbearing, oakiness. Needs a solid decant and still drinks better on day 2. Excellent value and a shame that Olsen didn't last as a winery.
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Still a bit fruit forward but this feels like it has the bones to develop into something better. Day 1 we started after 2 hours in the decanter but there was definitely better complexity on day 2. Good value for WA Syrah but give it a little more time to evolve.
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A dark-hued Syrah. Flavors of blueberry, cherry and a bit of smoked meat. Long finish. A great value wine if you can find it, but just lacks a bit of the silkiness found in, for example, the Bunnell Family Cellars Syrah Clifton Hill Vineyard.
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Comparable to prior notes with spiced plums, caramel, toast and herbal components: forest rosemary, moss and slightly earthy. Hedonistic on the palate with reduced black fruits, sanguine, beef, silt and slate. A slight bit of heat still present on the posterior palate with chewy & tight tannins. Displaying a smooth finish after a bit of air is given.
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Comparable notes to last bottle with the addition of a few descriptors not noted previously: bing cherry, balsalmic glaze, brier, loam and plenty of mid-palate minerality. A big wine, hint of heat which mellows over a couple hours. Smooth and silky on the final sip. 4 cases of this will be far more difficult to stretch over as many years, than I had thought.
Followed over 2 hours slow ox. Deep concentrated dark inky purple color. Fumes of garrigue, nutmeg dusted cherry, boysenberry, caramel and crisp bacon. Brightly spiced blue and black fruit on the tongue with espresso notes and mulling spices alongside caramel. Finishes big and lofty. Pure magic for the tarrif. 89+.
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This wine is from the orphaned grapes at the sadly departed Olsen winery. I took a flyer and bought a case and a half based on positive experiences with other Olsen wines and Full Pull. What can I say, it is a steal for $15. This is a very serious syrah, with the depth and complexity you might reasonably expect from a $40- $60 example. Based solely on price, I had originally thrown these in the everyday drinking bin, but after the first bottle I moved them to the regular cellar, and I look forward to drinking this over the next 7-8 years. Well done FP.
pop and pour, consumed 3/4 over 5 hours. initial exciting nose of ripe black cherry, boysenberry, dusty cocoa-covered blackberry, and BBQ spice. the palate and finish started out tight and uninspiring, but broadened out over an hour to expand into delicious dark fruit and oaky spice. this did best with a slight chill, somewhere between cellar temp and room temp. I am so glad I bought a case of this, as it drinks like a WA Syrah that costs 2-3 times what I paid. Damn Paul delivers again! if scoring, solid 90-92, with good aging potential.
Poured through Vinturi. Black and blue fruit, dark chocolate, a hint of caramel and nutmeg. Great concentration, nice acidity, oaky sweetness on the finish. Very happy with this bottle, best QPR for a Syrah in my cellar.
1/12/2023 - JasonG wrote:
Finally way past it’s prime, brown, shoe polish, no fruit or character left. Should have expected this but hoped for one last great visit from this rebooked Olsen Syrah. Alas.
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8/19/2020 - Fugu Me Likes this wine:
PnP, showing well and proving that WA Syrah can age.
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3/16/2020 - Fugu Me Likes this wine:
This continues to provide absolutely ridiculous QPR. PnP, this is in a great spot now and appears to have at least a few more years of life.
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12/16/2018 - geexploitation Likes this wine:
Good stuff, but on its way out. Still some savory notes and earth, but the fruit is pretty much gone at this point.
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10/21/2018 - TMBWine Likes this wine: 89 Points
Not the best Syrah ever, but enjoyable nonetheless. Good balance, nice dark fruit, but not a lot of depth. A bit past its peak, but still quite drinkable. An excellent wine for the price. Wish I had bought about 6 more bottles.
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10/30/2017 - by wrote:
Final bottle of one of my favorite wines. Yep it's over its best.
But still, thanks to Olsen Family, Vinum/For a Song, Full Pull, and really, sadly, the horrible financial crash that brought this wine to me.
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3/17/2017 - by Likes this wine:
Still drinking well. So glad I stocked up on this. Only a couple of bottles left though.
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7/12/2016 - Fugu Me Likes this wine:
PnP. Ready to go right away. Based on this bottle, it has peaked. Red and black fruit, silky on the palate. It did not evolve much after opening, and was in decline when revisited on Day 2. Very enjoyable, but time to drink, not hold.
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3/27/2016 - Leomania Likes this wine: 89 Points
Red and black fruit, soft tannins, medium acidity. Decent finish.
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2/22/2016 - donknotts Likes this wine: 87 Points
Very nice but not as complex as I remember. Air didn't open it up much more. Nice but not special.
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1/24/2016 - Mtpisgah Likes this wine:
Much improved over the last bottle we opened. Nothing fancy but w good WA Syrah.
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12/21/2015 - mhoonchild Likes this wine: 91 Points
Lovely syrah nose and garnet color, and big rich flavors. A well-balanced wine with a medium-long finish. Definitely a great value for a well-made Columbia Valley syrah. Wish I had more!
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7/14/2015 - Leomania Likes this wine: 89 Points
Still drinking very nicely. No notes taken.
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6/10/2015 - schwank wrote:
I opened this bottle last week but only consumed a glass before leaving it on the counter totally forgotten. After two days with just a standard stopper my wife put it in the fridge. 4 days later I pulled it out, let it warm up a bit... and this wine surprised the heck out of me. I was not expecting much tonight but this has a nice complexity with black brambly fruit and smoky meat, which offset the slightly hot finish. So I say about 6 days of bottle aeration... or at the very least a few hours to get the best out of this wine. It would have been very interesting to see what Olsen could have become, but alas...
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3/16/2015 - Leomania Likes this wine: 89 Points
Delicious. Notes consistent with previous.
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1/31/2015 - Leomania Likes this wine: 90 Points
Didn't pull out the blue fruit in this bottle as in the previous one last year. Black fruit with a bit of smoke, cacao, fine tannins and good acidity. Excellent QPR, no big hurry to finish up.
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1/17/2015 - ccotton8 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pnp'd, it was ready for business right away. It was soft and supple with nice acidity to give some depth. The fruit was nice, this Syrah tended more on the lighter red fruit side. This was an easy drinker and paired very well with hot pastrami sandwiches. I miss getting to buy these full pull gems.
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12/11/2014 - schwank wrote:
Consumed over a couple nights... this wine is just very basic at this time. Dark fruit but not a lot of extended character. Not sure how much I expect for $12, but I do remember younger bottles of this having a bit more depth.
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11/20/2014 - Pedroel Likes this wine: 92 Points
What a surprise! 2.5 years since the last one. Way beyond standard syrah flavors and mouthfeel. Just the right amount of funky bacon. Lingering finish. Very satisfying.
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10/31/2014 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 88 Points
One of the standard bottles of this wine. I think maybe I have tired of it. Or it is a bit tired.
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9/17/2014 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 87 Points
Bottle variation again I think. This one was a bit hot and not as structured as others. Maybe temp driven, but mainly alcohol I think.
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7/10/2014 - Champagneinhand wrote: 87 Points
Day number one was bad for this misplaced bottle. it seemed hot and thin, so I left in the decanter. The next day it had thickened up in the mouthfeel, tannin and acids were in good form, but an entry level wine with dark fruits not much else.
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7/6/2014 - Kevincrouch Likes this wine:
Much better than anticipated, but this appears to have hit its drinking window. Many oak notes on the nose and good woody black fruit through the middle. Didn't hold up to the Amavi Syrah in a blind tasting.
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6/27/2014 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 91 Points
This bottle is really good. Full nose of lavender and smooth black blue fruits. Palate follow suit and easy drinking. Great with pizza at the end of a long week.
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6/5/2014 - smcilhen wrote:
Talk about bottle variation.....this was completely different than my last bottle. Smooth with a lot of red fruit, almost too sweet for my taste. Where was all of the dark chocolate and earth notes from the last bottle? I much prefer that flavor profile. This is still a good wine for the price....it's just surprising that it tastes completely different. My one remaining bottle will be the tiebreaker I guess!
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5/4/2014 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 90 Points
Really nice nose of boysenberry and brambles. Smooth on the palate and fully ready to go. Big Fruit, good acids, good wine.
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4/28/2014 - JasonG Likes this wine: 92 Points
Even better than a year ago. Magenta color dark and elegant. Nose is dense forest fruit backed by hints of creosote and pencil shavings. Flint and sweet herbs too. Mouthfeel is just even and polished, with a firm, cool berry and mineral sense. The finish is where the improvement is, alcohols have pulled back, fruit is lasting on finish. Tremendous, but this wine is the stars aligning on Olsen declassified Syrah. This won't happen again. Cherish each bottle you have left. Will easily last another few years.
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3/31/2014 - ddmhunter wrote: 90 Points
What syrah is all about with great QPR. Dark fruit and smoke on the palate that lingers nicely to finish.
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3/23/2014 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 91 Points
Very nice bottle this time. Funk and violets on the nose. Smooth palate. Bacon and pepper on the finish. Compares well to bottle costing twice as much from last night.
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3/19/2014 - Leomania Likes this wine: 89 Points
Black and blue fruit, a bit smoky, nice balance between all of the components. Drinking well.
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3/12/2014 - 8count Does not like this wine:
sour fruit
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3/9/2014 - caeleric Likes this wine:
tons of sediment in this bottle. tasty as a pop 'n pour, but 3 hours later it showed tons of smokey and spicy black raspberry and black cherry flavors. really in balance and in a good place right now. consistency seems to be a bit of an issue with this wine, with some showings being very earthy and funky and others being very fruity. either way, i really like this wine. if scoring this bottle, 90-92.
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2/18/2014 - puppetclause Likes this wine:
PnP. For the first 1/2 hour the fruit was more muted than past bottles and some of the earth and tar took a little more center stage. Hour and a half in is all bright sweet purple and blue fruits with a hot streak. Not balanced and a bit messy but does the job for a tuesday.
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2/5/2014 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 90 Points
Nice fruit, grip and acids, well balanced. Comparing this to leftovers from yesterday from CA, very different mainly in the acid profile. CA wine seemed flat in comparison. Very likely I preferred this partly because my palate is trained to like the WA acid profile.
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1/9/2014 - Leomania Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very good; excellent QPR. No notes taken.
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1/9/2014 - JasonG Likes this wine: 91 Points
Still just phenomenal for the price, aging nicely and smoothing out. Expressive after 30 minutes in glass. Plum, blackberry pie, mint, smoked meat rind. So much white pepper! Rich but still a bit raw on taste, Yakima valley and on the sweeter side of berry. But the smoke and meat is unmistakeable. Re-taste in a year, drink or hold through 2018.
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12/13/2013 - VinLancaster wrote:
Continues to deliver twice it’s price!
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11/23/2013 - green-steve wrote: 88 Points
Out performs its price point - deep garnet, blue fruits, meat, pepper; nice acids, a decent finish. It took three days to really shine and if I had anymore I would give it some more time to unwind.
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11/18/2013 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 87 Points
This bottle is a bit off. Maybe it needs time to open up.
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11/13/2013 - caeleric Likes this wine:
pnp, consumed over 5 hours. significantly fruitier than past bottles. very tasty yet again
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10/12/2013 - exsmith21 wrote:
Good spicy Syrah, not too complicated but tasty.
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10/5/2013 - Redrunners wrote: 88 Points
This is juice from Olsen Estates remarketed by another vineyard after their bankruptcy. Originally sold for a higher tarrif.
Dark fruit with blueberries, vanilla, moderate tannins and bold fruit.
Fairly well balanced.
Good value for money. Glad I have a few more bottles of this.
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9/18/2013 - dgriffin3480 wrote: 82 Points
Triple decant. This bottle showed poorly with recessive fruit, oak on the front and a bitter tannic finish. With 3 bottles left, I am hoping this was an abberent bottle.
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9/7/2013 - VinLancaster wrote:
Continues to be a fantastic QPR. Noticed little if any bottle variation as others have mentioned. (We’ve powered through a case +). If anything, this wine has improved over the past year; softened, revealing some subtleties of fruit, oak and cured crispy pork funk.
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8/12/2013 - ChrisinCowiche wrote: 89 Points
Really glad I like it since I went long buying 2 cases. Very lovely aromatic flowers after it opens up. Some spice on palate along with black raspberry. Classic WA syrah if a bit "too" fruity, hot site syrah.
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8/11/2013 - Mtpisgah Likes this wine: 88 Points
This is a great wine for the price. A nice smooth Syrah, a little old world earthy taste to me.
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8/9/2013 - Champagneinhand Likes this wine: 88 Points
Okay, I have to say that I am into this bottle, with just a glass left. This is nice, with a mouth coating feel in that floats in your mouth with just enough acidity to keep it in the very good category. Loads of blackberry and fruit compote, but nor over-ripe, even for the 2009 vintage. It's sad that Olsen is no longer on scene as they had good quality fruit, and when qpr comes into play this should be bordering on excellent. Still I give it an 88 for over-all comparison to all wine. An extremely drinkable semi-viscous syrah that typifies, WA syrah. A deep mouth staining purple coats the teeth with wine stains, that will be gone after a good tooth brushing. A very enjoyable wine and the price is the big kicker. I wish I bought more. I doubled down on some '07 syrah which is still quite hard and tannic with oak that hasn't resolved. Drink up the '09's and hold '08 and '07, for now.
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8/8/2013 - Mtpisgah Likes this wine: 87 Points
Excellent wine for the price.
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7/21/2013 - Leomania Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very enjoyable. Blackberry jam, brown sugar, toasty oak. Good quaffer.
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7/2/2013 - puppetclause wrote:
Solid daily drinker, but liked it more a year or so ago when it was first released. Maybe it's my storage but I get a bit of a chemically smell now on day one. Day 2 seems better for these generally.
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6/23/2013 - dsgris wrote: 89 Points
Olsen Estates by another name; Inky dark purple, nose of blackberries. Dry tannins, bold fruit with acid to keep the fruit lively. Easy drinker now, it will be interesting to see where this ends. 88 PnP. Giving another night and starting to show some acid over the blackberry fruit. I think there is hope here. On the PnP worth the the $12 I paid, but not much more. Others tasted oak, I taste none, some would help balance and tame the fruit. I seem to like more restrained cool climate Syrah now. My friends will love it, glad I shared several cases with them. Tasting a little metallic blackberry tonight.
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6/20/2013 - trifecta wrote:
More oak than last time. Not sure if this is on a down slope or a dumb phase, but each bottle seems to be less enjoyable than the previous.
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6/20/2013 - ccotton8 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wonderful dark fruit with some mineral meatiness, but the wine is light on the palate that will pair very well with most meals. Had with spaghetti and it complimented the dish very well. Glad I have couple more.
The cork was very saturated, so probably these need to be consumed sooner rather than later.
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5/28/2013 - mreinitz wrote: 87 Points
I've had several bottles of this and I'm becoming less enamored. This had plenty of dark fruit along with quite a bit of oak but it lacked depth and richness. Neither of us loved it. Maybe it's just bottle variation
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5/24/2013 - trifecta wrote:
This bottle had far more oak than previous ones. Still decent and a good QPR, but definitely some variation with this one.
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4/15/2013 - boogeyone Likes this wine: 88 Points
Deep purple, took a while to open up although I used a Nuance. Healthy tannins and tight flavors, probably needs at least a couple years.
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4/13/2013 - jay_hawk@yahoo.com Likes this wine: 90 Points
Opened up after a couple hours
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4/12/2013 - Leomania Likes this wine: 89 Points
Delicious blue fruit with some cassis and dark chocolate. Best after some air. Decent structure, very enjoyable.
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4/12/2013 - smcilhen Likes this wine: 88 Points
Consumed over 3 nights:
• First night after 3 hours of air time – chalky tannins, a bit hot on the finish, lots of bitter dark chocolate, not a fruit bomb at all
• 2nd night kept refrigerated in vacuum sealed bottle – much more integrated, still not much fruit, more silkiness, still a bit hot
• 3rd night kept refrigerated in vacuum sealed bottle – same notes as 2nd night
Overall, the finish is a bit short and the alcohol comes through a bit too easily, but otherwise this is a great value wine for those seeking out a not-too-sweet syrah with aging potential. If drinking soon, recommended air time 6+ hours.
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3/25/2013 - spo wrote: 88 Points
Australian-esque fruit, a little syrupy, lavender, floral and some Gigondas type rustic quality. Quite different from just a few months ago and quite surprising.
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3/16/2013 - ocperu wrote: 89 Points
Great QPR!
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2/23/2013 - caeleric Likes this wine:
pnp, consumed over 3 hours. there's something weird about decanting a $14 bottle of wine, so i never decant this wine, and then i regret it. it takes a solid hour+ to open up and show it's earthy black fruit. i get lots of pepper from this wine, and more "dirty" fruit than some other washington wines, but i still really really like this. i don't mean dirty like underripe or flawed; i just mean that it has lots of earthier secondaries for me. for the price, this is still outstanding. such a shame this winery couldn't make it.
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2/19/2013 - Ron Felthoven wrote:
I was concerned this could be overblown and oaky but it wasn't. It's definitely new world and on the riper side, but it's quite good and for the money it's a great value. Drinking well and will likely improve a bit, too.
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2/15/2013 - Fugu Me Likes this wine:
Dark fruit and a pleasant, not overbearing, oakiness. Needs a solid decant and still drinks better on day 2. Excellent value and a shame that Olsen didn't last as a winery.
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2/15/2013 - schwank Likes this wine:
Still a bit fruit forward but this feels like it has the bones to develop into something better. Day 1 we started after 2 hours in the decanter but there was definitely better complexity on day 2. Good value for WA Syrah but give it a little more time to evolve.
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2/8/2013 - mcsac67 Likes this wine: 89 Points
A dark-hued Syrah. Flavors of blueberry, cherry and a bit of smoked meat. Long finish. A great value wine if you can find it, but just lacks a bit of the silkiness found in, for example, the Bunnell Family Cellars Syrah Clifton Hill Vineyard.
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2/5/2013 - Jamesgold wrote: 91 Points
Dark and inky. Lots of fruit. Great feel.
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1/1/2013 - Kevincrouch Likes this wine:
I appreciate the clean, focused fruitiness of this wine. Good cherry and and a touch of oak and tar. Excellent value for the money.
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12/18/2012 - VinLancaster wrote: 89 Points
Comparable to prior notes with spiced plums, caramel, toast and herbal components: forest rosemary, moss and slightly earthy. Hedonistic on the palate with reduced black fruits, sanguine, beef, silt and slate. A slight bit of heat still present on the posterior palate with chewy & tight tannins. Displaying a smooth finish after a bit of air is given.
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12/9/2012 - VinLancaster wrote: 89 Points
Comparable notes to last bottle with the addition of a few descriptors not noted previously: bing cherry, balsalmic glaze, brier, loam and plenty of mid-palate minerality. A big wine, hint of heat which mellows over a couple hours. Smooth and silky on the final sip.
4 cases of this will be far more difficult to stretch over as many years, than I had thought.
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11/30/2012 - VinLancaster wrote: 89 Points
Followed over 2 hours slow ox.
Deep concentrated dark inky purple color. Fumes of garrigue, nutmeg dusted cherry, boysenberry, caramel and crisp bacon. Brightly spiced blue and black fruit on the tongue with espresso notes and mulling spices alongside caramel. Finishes big and lofty. Pure magic for the tarrif. 89+.
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11/21/2012 - Magnolian Likes this wine: 91 Points
This wine is from the orphaned grapes at the sadly departed Olsen winery. I took a flyer and bought a case and a half based on positive experiences with other Olsen wines and Full Pull. What can I say, it is a steal for $15. This is a very serious syrah, with the depth and complexity you might reasonably expect from a $40- $60 example. Based solely on price, I had originally thrown these in the everyday drinking bin, but after the first bottle I moved them to the regular cellar, and I look forward to drinking this over the next 7-8 years. Well done FP.
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11/19/2012 - spo wrote: 88 Points
Blueberry, bacon, smoke and caramel. A little herbal and floral quality in the background. Kind of intense but not harsh.
This was supposed to be Olsen's Heritage Syrah.
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11/18/2012 - caeleric wrote:
pop and pour, consumed 3/4 over 5 hours. initial exciting nose of ripe black cherry, boysenberry, dusty cocoa-covered blackberry, and BBQ spice. the palate and finish started out tight and uninspiring, but broadened out over an hour to expand into delicious dark fruit and oaky spice. this did best with a slight chill, somewhere between cellar temp and room temp. I am so glad I bought a case of this, as it drinks like a WA Syrah that costs 2-3 times what I paid. Damn Paul delivers again! if scoring, solid 90-92, with good aging potential.
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11/16/2012 - Mary Crawford wrote: 90 Points
A little simple on the first day, but cigar, coffee and caramel notes come through on the second day. Score is based on really good QPR.
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11/4/2012 - Leomania wrote: 90 Points
Poured through Vinturi. Black and blue fruit, dark chocolate, a hint of caramel and nutmeg. Great concentration, nice acidity, oaky sweetness on the finish. Very happy with this bottle, best QPR for a Syrah in my cellar.
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