Enjoyable but it has slipped past its prime. The fruit is still there (berries) but the tannins have mellowed so much, the wine was falling somewhat flat.
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Gorgeous wine. It opens to a deep, penetrating, leathery bouquet of cherries, cassis, and red currants atop foresty earth, pencil shavings, petrichor, and smoke. The palate is plush, vinous, and elegant, with serious structure and a dry yet juicy tension that frames a beautiful harmony between fruit and umami elements. Brambly spice and youthful tannin grip the long and savory finish. Outstanding, Old World wine with the bones to last. 93+
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This has changed since our last bottle. Has a woodsy/smoky thing going on in the background. Still a nice blend, but it seems to be heading toward an end point.
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Plum and Black fruits and integrated, smooth tannin. Long on aftertaste with slight cocoa and vanilla. Slight smokey also on aftertaste. Execllent wine
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Been holding on to this for some time now. Had it over the last few days and it was wonderful. Complex flavors and a lingering finish. Excellent with the Eye-round stuffed with a pepperoni that we had Sunday. Pasta with red onions, cooked with the Eye-round so the 'sauce' is basically cooked-down red onions with meat flavoring. Grated Romano cheese and you are ready to go. A family favorite for generations and this wine complemented it well.
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This was a wonderful Bordeaux blend of 57% Cabernet S., 26% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec. Lush, plush and flavorful; a very nice wine. Wish I could find some more.
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Huge, flamboyant, even somewhat hedonistic. Bouquet of high quality oak, including a certain floral sweetness. Without any indication of Alexander Valley terroir. Jammy, ultra-ripe blue and black berry drenched palate. Excellent acid, strong structure, huge alcohol! Not my drink of choice, but Wow!!!...there's a lot of it!!!
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Last Minute Get Together (Kevin and Vicki's): Very dark red/purple color. Decanted for about an hour. Drank 2 glasses over 90 minutes. There's really nice fruit on the nose, pretty black and blue fruits of creme de cassis, blueberry, black raspberry and some menthol. The palate is more approachable than expected with very appealing tannins, full bodied, nice texture, cassis, blueberry, glycerin, minerals, maybe a hint of stems. The finish is medium plus and quite round already. Another fine showing from AVV Cyrus. A very underrated value IMO. Approachable now with a minimal decant and will improve over 5 years.
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Dark ruby in color tar and cedar on the nose. Chewy tannins vanilla with hints of charred oak. Long finish. Probably needs longer decanting with few more years in the cellar.
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Restaurant purchase at Valentines' Day dinner. It's been a few years since I've tried this, but my past experience was favorable. Needs decanting and some air, but a solid CA Meritage. First impression is of lots of black earthiness, black fruits, and excellent structure. Chewy tannins but very manageable. Will probably benefit from a couple more years in the cellar, but decant and enjoy with hearty food for the foreseeable future.
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Deep ruby color with a muted, mixed, red fruit nose. Layered cherries, some vanilla, cedar and coffee with a moderate tanin and structure. I remember this wine being a bit bigger and more resonant with black fruit than were the current two. It could probably improve with a couple of years cellaring, but I wouldn't wait beyond 2015 to try it again.
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Medium bodied and dark red in the glass, the 2009 Cyrus is fourth wine from the AAV’s “Alexander School” series I’ve tried this year and the descriptor that all of them have in common is elegant. In the Sonoma fruit-forward style there was plenty of dark fruit and silky tannin, cherries, some blackberry, cedar, even some lavender and rose on the nose. Initially there were some rough edges on the finish but with a bit of they disappeared into something lingering and very enjoyable.
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6/9/2022 - Dagman Likes this wine: 89 Points
Enjoyable but it has slipped past its prime. The fruit is still there (berries) but the tannins have mellowed so much, the wine was falling somewhat flat.
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2/15/2020 - billyabbott Likes this wine:
Leathery nose, dry and fruity palate – red and black berries with a touch of sweetness into the finish.
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12/15/2018 - Baron Slick wrote: 93 Points
Gorgeous wine. It opens to a deep, penetrating, leathery bouquet of cherries, cassis, and red currants atop foresty earth, pencil shavings, petrichor, and smoke. The palate is plush, vinous, and elegant, with serious structure and a dry yet juicy tension that frames a beautiful harmony between fruit and umami elements. Brambly spice and youthful tannin grip the long and savory finish. Outstanding, Old World wine with the bones to last. 93+
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2/3/2018 - Coachron13 Likes this wine: 90 Points
This has changed since our last bottle. Has a woodsy/smoky thing going on in the background. Still a nice blend, but it seems to be heading toward an end point.
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1/13/2018 - cgspaul Likes this wine: 94 Points
Plum and Black fruits and integrated, smooth tannin. Long on aftertaste with slight cocoa and vanilla. Slight smokey also on aftertaste. Execllent wine
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1/10/2017 - madvitale Likes this wine: 92 Points
Been holding on to this for some time now. Had it over the last few days and it was wonderful. Complex flavors and a lingering finish. Excellent with the Eye-round stuffed with a pepperoni that we had Sunday. Pasta with red onions, cooked with the Eye-round so the 'sauce' is basically cooked-down red onions with meat flavoring. Grated Romano cheese and you are ready to go. A family favorite for generations and this wine complemented it well.
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5/3/2016 - JLPwine wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful wine. Decanted 2 hours and it settled out nicely
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12/6/2015 - fritzo Likes this wine: 92 Points
This was a wonderful Bordeaux blend of 57% Cabernet S., 26% Cabernet Franc, 11% Merlot, 3% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec. Lush, plush and flavorful; a very nice wine. Wish I could find some more.
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6/19/2015 - Coachron13 Likes this wine: 92 Points
A big, deep dark blend. Lots of fruit in the nose and on the palate. Love all the Cyrus vintages, this one is another good one.
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3/30/2015 - Motz wrote: 92 Points
Huge, flamboyant, even somewhat hedonistic. Bouquet of high quality oak, including a certain floral sweetness. Without any indication of Alexander Valley terroir. Jammy, ultra-ripe blue and black berry drenched palate. Excellent acid, strong structure, huge alcohol! Not my drink of choice, but Wow!!!...there's a lot of it!!!
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1/10/2015 - rocknroller wrote: 92 Points
Last Minute Get Together (Kevin and Vicki's): Very dark red/purple color. Decanted for about an hour. Drank 2 glasses over 90 minutes. There's really nice fruit on the nose, pretty black and blue fruits of creme de cassis, blueberry, black raspberry and some menthol. The palate is more approachable than expected with very appealing tannins, full bodied, nice texture, cassis, blueberry, glycerin, minerals, maybe a hint of stems. The finish is medium plus and quite round already. Another fine showing from AVV Cyrus. A very underrated value IMO. Approachable now with a minimal decant and will improve over 5 years.
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9/20/2014 - Jeffbrian wrote: 89 Points
Dark ruby in color tar and cedar on the nose. Chewy tannins vanilla with hints of charred oak. Long finish. Probably needs longer decanting with few more years in the cellar.
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2/14/2014 - wmccone54 wrote: 92 Points
Restaurant purchase at Valentines' Day dinner. It's been a few years since I've tried this, but my past experience was favorable. Needs decanting and some air, but a solid CA Meritage. First impression is of lots of black earthiness, black fruits, and excellent structure. Chewy tannins but very manageable. Will probably benefit from a couple more years in the cellar, but decant and enjoy with hearty food for the foreseeable future.
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1/12/2014 - vine20 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Deep ruby color with a muted, mixed, red fruit nose. Layered cherries, some vanilla, cedar and coffee with a moderate tanin and structure. I remember this wine being a bit bigger and more resonant with black fruit than were the current two. It could probably improve with a couple of years cellaring, but I wouldn't wait beyond 2015 to try it again.
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4/12/2013 - ProfPaul wrote:
Medium bodied and dark red in the glass, the 2009 Cyrus is fourth wine from the AAV’s “Alexander School” series I’ve tried this year and the descriptor that all of them have in common is elegant. In the Sonoma fruit-forward style there was plenty of dark fruit and silky tannin, cherries, some blackberry, cedar, even some lavender and rose on the nose. Initially there were some rough edges on the finish but with a bit of they disappeared into something lingering and very enjoyable.
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