A bit tannic, maybe a full 1-2 hour decant would have helped, but not one of the better TCV I have had recently. I still have 6 left so I hope for better!
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Color and fleshiness like a Bordeaux. Medium weight and intense. Cerebral, complex blackberry/sour cherry nose is quite Rhonish and a little Piemontesi. The palate is closer to Rhone than Bordeaux, suggests both, as well as showing Paso's version of garrigue: smoked paprika, and other umami and herbal notes. 34 Grenache, 31 Mourvedre, 19 Syrah, 11 Counoise, and 5% Tannat. This has evolved and is more openly expressive, still youthfully fresh, and heading in a fantastic direction. 92+
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Totally harmonious... Pure sateen fruit, red, black, and blue. Stoney and bright mid-palate, iron. Super clean and vibrant, excellent showing. Fruit suggests continued life. Excellent.
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W porkchop from cast iron. Yummy wine. Great fruit upfront and great body. Good length. Just a solid wine with quite a life left, but is great now. You can really tastethe combination of the grapes (as the label says). Yummy
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A bit of a “kitchen sink” blend. Black fruit on the nose, with some wet earth, band aid, and vanilla. Early on, the fruit was very red on the front of the palate, but 3 hours of air beefed up the palate considerably. A mixture of acidic red fruit and lush black flavors competed for attention all the way to the back of the palate. The finish was a bit shorter than I thought it would be, but it was a wonderful accompaniment to some Prime Ribeyes!
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Great showing... Bright and full of beautiful array of juicy fruit. Strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate. Clean and pretty, easy to drink but plenty to think about. No sign of age.
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This is a very nice GSM blend. It is lighter than many GSMs that I have liked in the past. For us it tasted of spicy reddish fruits, not a lot of earthiness.
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Solid smooth palate with notes of sour cherry, blueberry laced with candied Grenache, rosemary, balsam. Ample acidity and tannin for the cellar.
On opening, mild, subtle nose. Needed several hours and a decant to emerge and was much juicier as the youthfully simple Grenache subsided and more complex fruits appeared, especially a fascinating Nebbiolo-like sour cherry. 4+11+17+7 = 89
Day 2. Darker and Transformed. More aromatic, fruit and florals. All the flavors above are integrated, dominated by red fruits of tart cherry, some darker bing cherry, and savory garrigue. At the back end is a good swipe of chalky tannin and citrus pith. 4+13+17+8 = 92
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Medium ruby. Bright, balanced. We did not get much of the depth and complexity that others have alluded to. There are nice suggestions of earth, but on the whole, over three nights we found it basically fruit driven and more simple than expected. Maybe age will bring out more interest.
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Very representative GSM from one of Paso's best (who brought GSM to the region). Fruit forward, but layered, with notes of minerality, making it taste more French than Cali. A bit young as the tannins are prominent, but goes great with cheeses, and I'm sure will soften over coming years.
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Crimson ruby, dark yet translucent. Fragrant black raspberry, wild cherry, and cracked pepper with an exotic and prominent lavender incense entwining the fruit, and some of that wonderful fir forest character of Esprit. That incense quality is rare, something one sees mostly in top dollar CdP. The aromas sing first of Grenache, or is it youthful Mourvedre? with a distant chorus of gamey Syrah. It starts tart, bright cranberry on the palate, then turns sweet and feminine with a savory rosemary middle, and has a mildly tannic follow through. Only lacking some oomph at the end, otherwise would rate about 95.
Excellent harmony and integration already, so eminently drinkable now. Certainly worth following every year for a few years, but unfortunately it is in short supply. I'll probably have another in 2017 to follow its progress and then wait to 2020 for the last bottle. Whatever, I think this is richer than the excellent 2012, and, even better, it may improve with development. Solid 92, 4 + 15 + 17 + 6.
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11/16/2023 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very nice GSM with a touch of Tannat! Interestng wine, lovely with dinner.
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10/18/2023 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 90 Points
A bit tannic, maybe a full 1-2 hour decant would have helped, but not one of the better TCV I have had recently. I still have 6 left so I hope for better!
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10/10/2023 - tb_baltimore Likes this wine: 91 Points
As already noted by others -- drinking very well right now -- this paired exceptionally well with a scallop/spinach dish --
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11/20/2021 - AAW_RightWine wrote: 91 Points
Drinking beautifully... decanted for 30 minutes... nicely balanced
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10/24/2021 - bbcc66 Likes this wine: 89 Points
Decanted 45 min. Drank over 2 days. Day 2 was as good as day 1.
Medium- body. Consistent tastes of red & darker fruits & cherry. Nice mouthfeel.
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5/28/2021 - wilypod Likes this wine: 92 Points
Color and fleshiness like a Bordeaux. Medium weight and intense. Cerebral, complex blackberry/sour cherry nose is quite Rhonish and a little Piemontesi. The palate is closer to Rhone than Bordeaux, suggests both, as well as showing Paso's version of garrigue: smoked paprika, and other umami and herbal notes. 34 Grenache, 31 Mourvedre, 19 Syrah, 11 Counoise, and 5% Tannat. This has evolved and is more openly expressive, still youthfully fresh, and heading in a fantastic direction. 92+
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11/26/2020 - brinko99 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Totally harmonious... Pure sateen fruit, red, black, and blue. Stoney and bright mid-palate, iron. Super clean and vibrant, excellent showing. Fruit suggests continued life. Excellent.
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1/17/2020 - MichielV wrote: 91 Points
W porkchop from cast iron. Yummy wine. Great fruit upfront and great body. Good length. Just a solid wine with quite a life left, but is great now. You can really tastethe combination of the grapes (as the label says). Yummy
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1/26/2019 - DickMull Likes this wine: 91 Points
A bit of a “kitchen sink” blend. Black fruit on the nose, with some wet earth, band aid, and vanilla. Early on, the fruit was very red on the front of the palate, but 3 hours of air beefed up the palate considerably. A mixture of acidic red fruit and lush black flavors competed for attention all the way to the back of the palate. The finish was a bit shorter than I thought it would be, but it was a wonderful accompaniment to some Prime Ribeyes!
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12/15/2018 - brinko99 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Great showing... Bright and full of beautiful array of juicy fruit. Strawberry, raspberry, pomegranate. Clean and pretty, easy to drink but plenty to think about. No sign of age.
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10/27/2017 - yatchisin Likes this wine: 90 Points
Poured at a party, but luckily a lot of it made it to a second day. And, as others have written, it opened up so well, complex fruit and soil.
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8/14/2017 - SLOFred Likes this wine: 90 Points
Second bottle in a week. Very closed in. I think it is going through a closed in phase. I would not drink another bottle for some time.
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5/6/2017 - JERB Likes this wine: 89 Points
This is a very nice GSM blend. It is lighter than many GSMs that I have liked in the past. For us it tasted of spicy reddish fruits, not a lot of earthiness.
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12/5/2016 - wilypod Likes this wine: 92 Points
Solid smooth palate with notes of sour cherry, blueberry laced with candied Grenache, rosemary, balsam. Ample acidity and tannin for the cellar.
On opening, mild, subtle nose. Needed several hours and a decant to emerge and was much juicier as the youthfully simple Grenache subsided and more complex fruits appeared, especially a fascinating Nebbiolo-like sour cherry. 4+11+17+7 = 89
Day 2. Darker and Transformed. More aromatic, fruit and florals. All the flavors above are integrated, dominated by red fruits of tart cherry, some darker bing cherry, and savory garrigue. At the back end is a good swipe of chalky tannin and citrus pith. 4+13+17+8 = 92
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11/21/2016 - BigBoy_Sonoma Likes this wine: 90 Points
This wine is tannic. Wine been open 3 days, each day the wine got better.
Black fruit, blue fruit, pepper, spice, acidity, minerality, balanced. A-/B+
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5/8/2016 - Deux Chevaux wrote:
Medium ruby. Bright, balanced. We did not get much of the depth and complexity that others have alluded to. There are nice suggestions of earth, but on the whole, over three nights we found it basically fruit driven and more simple than expected. Maybe age will bring out more interest.
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5/1/2016 - JSPuskar Likes this wine: 85 Points
Tasty, fruity, some spice on the palate. Nice 'quaffing' wine.
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2/27/2016 - bobdameron wrote: 92 Points
Very representative GSM from one of Paso's best (who brought GSM to the region). Fruit forward, but layered, with notes of minerality, making it taste more French than Cali. A bit young as the tannins are prominent, but goes great with cheeses, and I'm sure will soften over coming years.
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2/4/2016 - wilypod Likes this wine: 92 Points
Crimson ruby, dark yet translucent. Fragrant black raspberry, wild cherry, and cracked pepper with an exotic and prominent lavender incense entwining the fruit, and some of that wonderful fir forest character of Esprit. That incense quality is rare, something one sees mostly in top dollar CdP. The aromas sing first of Grenache, or is it youthful Mourvedre? with a distant chorus of gamey Syrah. It starts tart, bright cranberry on the palate, then turns sweet and feminine with a savory rosemary middle, and has a mildly tannic follow through. Only lacking some oomph at the end, otherwise would rate about 95.
Excellent harmony and integration already, so eminently drinkable now. Certainly worth following every year for a few years, but unfortunately it is in short supply. I'll probably have another in 2017 to follow its progress and then wait to 2020 for the last bottle. Whatever, I think this is richer than the excellent 2012, and, even better, it may improve with development. Solid 92, 4 + 15 + 17 + 6.
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7/22/2015 - MeMyself&I wrote: 88 Points
The best of a vertical tasting on Sunday at the vineyard.
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