Tasted at the winery, courtesy of Mike Dildine who brought the bottle. Was cool to share this with Bradley, a wine from his second vintage from this estate part of the property. This is a wine that changed with air, showing the evolution in the glass that some wines can exhibit. When we first opened it, the wine showed a smoky, merde-like bouquet and a palate of blueberry compote. We then decanted it. With air, it gets broader with a huckleberry core and the earlier aromatic smoothing out. The bouquet then evolves to pepper, spice, potpourri and touch of heat with leather. The finish improves, showing better length. With more air, now at about 30 mins, the plum skin emerges, as does a bloody quality and cooked meat note and the heat goes away. The experience of watching this wine change reminded me of the beauty that can emerge with air and reflection. A terrific syrah that is now approaching 10 years of life and in its prime.
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Santa Cruz Mountains Day 2 (Rhys, Big Basin, Plumed Horse): Tasted non blind at dinner. Decanted for 45 minutes before tasting. Wonderfully refine nose of dark berries, spice, lavender and anise. The palate was more of the same with some significant floral elements. The texture was perfect with very fine, powdery tannins. The finish was long and consistent. This wine showed extremely well this night.
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Decanted one hour, enjoyed over 3. Tremendously complex nose of spice, black fruit, lavender and a hint of smoke. Flavors of fig, plum, black olives, licorice, nutmeg. Midweight on the palate, extremely smooth and well balanced. What struck me throughout this experience was how savory this wine was. It was completely flavorful, harmonious, delicious, satisfying, interesting, evocative and sultry. I've enjoyed Bradley's wines for years, and now I have the tremendous privilege of representing his wines. It's these experiences that keep this passion flowing.
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Fridgewarming Syrah Tasting: Oh this is really something else, showing (as hoped) a nice combination of complex fruit and secondary characteristics. Creamy fig and blackberry vanilla offset by balsamic molasses, boysenberry and light brine. Not served blind but definitely in my top 3. As there was really only 3 of us tasting this in depth, it's hard to rank it, but in my book up with the Alban, Samsara, Pax, and Boheme as my favorites of the day, validated by the little splash left over for Monday.
Yeah, all those little tastes left over for Monday added up to a whole 2nd tasting... :)
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Popped and poured, enjoyed over three hours. Bloody, beefy, dark fruit. Iron, minerals, iodine, black plums, black fig, road tar, wild game. This is insanely good. Such intensity. So much going on in this wine. A real treat.
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Very rich and well balanced, this wine is just now beginning to pick up secondary flavors. The most well aged Big Basin I've enjoyed todate and one of the very best. Has years ahead of it.
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syrah smackdown (Barrington IL, Wally's house): nose: real attractive and cool nose with great tones of pepper, dark red cherries, black currants and some real nice tart red fruits. Certainly not a blow away nose, but one that seems to have a real confidence about it
taste: excellent medium/full feel with well balanced and cool tones of dark red cherries, dark berries, black currants, and some really nice bits of red fruits
overall: a real attractive and cool syrah. Not neccessarily going to win that many blind contests, but a very enjoyable syrah that I would love on its own to let it do its thing and spend time with it
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Pretty tight upon opening, but strongly benefitted from two hours in a decanter. On the nose, vanilla, roasted meats, black licorice and spice. On the palate, full-bodied with plenty of dark fruits, licorice, and a long, tannic finish with lots of pepper and a touch of vanilla. Outstanding wine.
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Decanted for 40 minutes. Medium-bodied wine that is dark magenta in color. On the nose, dark berry fruits and roasted meats. On the palate, silky, elegant blueberries with a dark chocolate, 30+-second finish. A classy and structured wine that has great balance...nice acidity and fine-grained tannins. Reminds me of the 2003 Peay Syrah I drank recently. I really liked this wine a lot...looking forward to see how it develops going forward!
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Medium bright purple-ruby color. Very nice aromatics straight from the bottle -- a lot of complex stone, and (especially) smoke, leather, and meaty aromas. It is medium- to full-bodied, with very good elegance and structure. There are some red fruit flavors, with a fair amount of acids and tannin. On its own, this could use more time, but the wine really came together when paired with a spice-rubbed lamb steak.
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2/15/2013 - sbtoby wrote: 84 Points
Still drinkable, but well past it's prime. Very musty and slightly mildewish. Seems like this was at one time a good wine.
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5/15/2012 - Kzeile wrote:
this wine did not hit mark. Perhaps too late?? Did not finish this bottle.
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5/12/2012 - rjonwine@gmail.com wrote: 93 Points
Visit to Big Basin: Rattlesnake Rock Syrah Vertical (Big Basin Vineyards, Boulder Creek, California): Opaque black red violet color; lovely, focused, roasted black fruit, tar, tart black fruit, baked green olive nose; intense, dried olive tapenade, tar, dried black fruit, mineral, light pepper palate; tight yet, could use 2-3 years and should go 25 years; medium-plus finish
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4/4/2012 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Tasted at the winery, courtesy of Mike Dildine who brought the bottle. Was cool to share this with Bradley, a wine from his second vintage from this estate part of the property. This is a wine that changed with air, showing the evolution in the glass that some wines can exhibit. When we first opened it, the wine showed a smoky, merde-like bouquet and a palate of blueberry compote. We then decanted it. With air, it gets broader with a huckleberry core and the earlier aromatic smoothing out. The bouquet then evolves to pepper, spice, potpourri and touch of heat with leather. The finish improves, showing better length. With more air, now at about 30 mins, the plum skin emerges, as does a bloody quality and cooked meat note and the heat goes away. The experience of watching this wine change reminded me of the beauty that can emerge with air and reflection. A terrific syrah that is now approaching 10 years of life and in its prime.
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3/23/2012 - floydtp wrote: 94 Points
Santa Cruz Mountains Day 2 (Rhys, Big Basin, Plumed Horse): Tasted non blind at dinner. Decanted for 45 minutes before tasting. Wonderfully refine nose of dark berries, spice, lavender and anise. The palate was more of the same with some significant floral elements. The texture was perfect with very fine, powdery tannins. The finish was long and consistent. This wine showed extremely well this night.
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9/10/2011 - blondon wrote:
Decanted one hour, enjoyed over 3. Tremendously complex nose of spice, black fruit, lavender and a hint of smoke. Flavors of fig, plum, black olives, licorice, nutmeg. Midweight on the palate, extremely smooth and well balanced. What struck me throughout this experience was how savory this wine was. It was completely flavorful, harmonious, delicious, satisfying, interesting, evocative and sultry. I've enjoyed Bradley's wines for years, and now I have the tremendous privilege of representing his wines. It's these experiences that keep this passion flowing.
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9/5/2010 - silton wrote: 94 Points
Fridgewarming Syrah Tasting: Oh this is really something else, showing (as hoped) a nice combination of complex fruit and secondary characteristics. Creamy fig and blackberry vanilla offset by balsamic molasses, boysenberry and light brine. Not served blind but definitely in my top 3. As there was really only 3 of us tasting this in depth, it's hard to rank it, but in my book up with the Alban, Samsara, Pax, and Boheme as my favorites of the day, validated by the little splash left over for Monday.
Yeah, all those little tastes left over for Monday added up to a whole 2nd tasting... :)
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1/30/2010 - blondon wrote:
Popped and poured, enjoyed over three hours. Bloody, beefy, dark fruit. Iron, minerals, iodine, black plums, black fig, road tar, wild game. This is insanely good. Such intensity. So much going on in this wine. A real treat.
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12/25/2009 - Mike Dildine wrote: 93 Points
Very rich and well balanced, this wine is just now beginning to pick up secondary flavors. The most well aged Big Basin I've enjoyed todate and one of the very best. Has years ahead of it.
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4/24/2009 - KeithAkers wrote: 91 Points
syrah smackdown (Barrington IL, Wally's house): nose: real attractive and cool nose with great tones of pepper, dark red cherries, black currants and some real nice tart red fruits. Certainly not a blow away nose, but one that seems to have a real confidence about it
taste: excellent medium/full feel with well balanced and cool tones of dark red cherries, dark berries, black currants, and some really nice bits of red fruits
overall: a real attractive and cool syrah. Not neccessarily going to win that many blind contests, but a very enjoyable syrah that I would love on its own to let it do its thing and spend time with it
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7/14/2007 - Paul Lin wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 1 hour. Showing very well right now. Lots of dark fruits, game, and a hint of tar. One of the highlights of the evening.
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5/26/2007 - SacredCow wrote: 92 Points
Pretty tight upon opening, but strongly benefitted from two hours in a decanter. On the nose, vanilla, roasted meats, black licorice and spice. On the palate, full-bodied with plenty of dark fruits, licorice, and a long, tannic finish with lots of pepper and a touch of vanilla. Outstanding wine.
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5/22/2006 - DFC wrote: 91 Points
Decanted for 40 minutes. Medium-bodied wine that is dark magenta in color. On the nose, dark berry fruits and roasted meats. On the palate, silky, elegant blueberries with a dark chocolate, 30+-second finish. A classy and structured wine that has great balance...nice acidity and fine-grained tannins. Reminds me of the 2003 Peay Syrah I drank recently. I really liked this wine a lot...looking forward to see how it develops going forward!
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2/19/2006 - MJHDC wrote: 91 Points
Medium bright purple-ruby color. Very nice aromatics straight from the bottle -- a lot of complex stone, and (especially) smoke, leather, and meaty aromas. It is medium- to full-bodied, with very good elegance and structure. There are some red fruit flavors, with a fair amount of acids and tannin. On its own, this could use more time, but the wine really came together when paired with a spice-rubbed lamb steak.
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