Picked up on closeout at random liquor store for $21 while I was bourbon hunting. Decanted for 2 hours.
Very light bricking at the rim. It would be difficult to tell that the wine is 10 years old on appearance alone. Med + legs that show quite a bit of extraction. Stains the glass quite easily.
A bit simple on the nose. There's some blackberry and blueberry, alongside cooked bacon and crushed peppercorn. The unsweetened cocoa and ground espresso bean notes from the oak have not integrated well and are overpowering. There's some crushed violet and herbal notes underneath the surface that are obscured by the oak.
On entry, the wine starts with some nice tart blue and dark fruits. Spent coffee grounds and bacon smoke start to muddy up the wine's nuances on the mid-palate and add some ambiguous character to the finish. Acid is the wine's saving grace here as it carries the fruit through the murky mid-palate and cuts through a long finish that would otherwise be ruined by oak. Tannins probably need another few years to further resolve as they're still overly dry and chunky. It's possible that the fruit has peaked
Overall, this wine is a bit maddening because it keeps suggesting to you what it could be (violets! garrigue! lavender! peppercorn!) and then just buries those secondary and tertiary aromas/tastes with oak. For the price, it's fine and has a very long finish that would pair well with barbecue and grilled meats. But it just isn't as satisfying as many of the region's other wines can be from well-known producers for similar prices when not on sale (in between $25-$35 USD). It's possible that the fruit peaked some years ago, but I can't make that distinction because I haven't had enough aged northern Rhone wines to do so reliably.
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Lots of black pepper and spiciness med intensity. Clean clear garnet. Dark black berries with a hint of some red fruit. Slight meaty essence to make it kind of interesting, but was hoping for more. Qpr is ok.
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The nose is clean with a medium intensity. There are well-defined aromas of oak (dark chocolate), black fruit (blackberry, subtle black cherry), and pungent spice (black pepper). The wine is youthful.
On the palate, the wine is dry with medium(+) acidity, medium alcohol, and medium (+) body. The medium(+) level tannins are ripe, fine-grained in nature, and hold firm. The flavours have a medium intensity and show notes of black fruit (blackberry, black cherry), oak (wood), and pungent spice (black pepper, liquorice). The finish has a medium(+) length.
This is a very good quality wine. The flavours are concentrated and have a great balance with the alcohol and the acidity. The fine-grained tannins have a great balance with the acidity and complement the flavour profile. The subtle oak treatment does not interfere with the primary fruit. In its current state, the wine only shows primary and secondary characteristics. The wine is very enjoyable and has a finish with great length. The flavours provide a very clear expression of syrah, with typical black fruit, dark chocolate, and black pepper aromas.
The wine drinks well now, but has potential for further ageing. The fruit intensity is great, and the tannin and acid structure will support the wine as the tertiary notes develop.
[Note: 100% syrah]
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Really nice and refined syrah. Paired well with a roast chicken dinner but was also very nice on its on. Lots of lush dark fruit, spice/pepper and a nice backbone of tannin/acid. Delightful now.
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Popped and poured, with intense aromas of smoked meat and raspberry on the nose. Mouthwatering on the palate, with loads of black raspberry and tar buoyed by faint notes of peppered meat and medium acidity.
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Technically this is a solid wine - medium body, clean, and good intensity to the cherry cough medicine flavors. But subjectively, I just didn't like the cough medicine cherry, and so had to rate it as I tasted it.
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Savory, Old World Syrah displays a meaty, brambly, and peppery character. The nose is full of dark berry, briars, and a nice sprinkling of cardamom spice. Nice weight and concentration, this turns plummy with aeration, picking up more spices on the tasty finish. Even more impressive with food.
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Guigal New Releases including 2013 LaLas: Licorice, olive, cherry and char notes with some meat and blackcurrant. Good ripeness while retaining control. Youthful and should improve.
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The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, cranberry and raspberry. It tastes like blueberry, raspberry, red currant and oak. The body is medium/full. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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JM's wset2; 7/15/2017-7/22/2017 (wine-company): clear deep purple. clean, medium-pronounced nose. funky rich dark fruit, leather, vegetal, spice and tobacco. dry, medium acid, high tannin. sweet dark leaf, dark florals, herbaceous, violts, leather, spice and dark fruit. elegant, mid-long finish.
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12/8/2023 - Magickjohnson wrote: 86 Points
Picked up on closeout at random liquor store for $21 while I was bourbon hunting. Decanted for 2 hours.
Very light bricking at the rim. It would be difficult to tell that the wine is 10 years old on appearance alone. Med + legs that show quite a bit of extraction. Stains the glass quite easily.
A bit simple on the nose. There's some blackberry and blueberry, alongside cooked bacon and crushed peppercorn. The unsweetened cocoa and ground espresso bean notes from the oak have not integrated well and are overpowering. There's some crushed violet and herbal notes underneath the surface that are obscured by the oak.
On entry, the wine starts with some nice tart blue and dark fruits. Spent coffee grounds and bacon smoke start to muddy up the wine's nuances on the mid-palate and add some ambiguous character to the finish. Acid is the wine's saving grace here as it carries the fruit through the murky mid-palate and cuts through a long finish that would otherwise be ruined by oak. Tannins probably need another few years to further resolve as they're still overly dry and chunky. It's possible that the fruit has peaked
Overall, this wine is a bit maddening because it keeps suggesting to you what it could be (violets! garrigue! lavender! peppercorn!) and then just buries those secondary and tertiary aromas/tastes with oak. For the price, it's fine and has a very long finish that would pair well with barbecue and grilled meats. But it just isn't as satisfying as many of the region's other wines can be from well-known producers for similar prices when not on sale (in between $25-$35 USD). It's possible that the fruit peaked some years ago, but I can't make that distinction because I haven't had enough aged northern Rhone wines to do so reliably.
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1/22/2021 - BjarneR Likes this wine: 77 Points
Had it with some ptarmigans from the norwegian mountains.
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10/5/2020 - ThalesGaspar Likes this wine: 89 Points
Very fruity and ready to drink.
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2/2/2020 - Andrew H wrote: 86 Points
Medium-deep red. A whiff of cherry, some dust, not complex but pleasant. Good for short ribs.
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1/12/2020 - pjhr wrote: 88 Points
Rather simple quaffer!
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3/22/2019 - valecnik Likes this wine: 90 Points
Quite a ripe vintage. Lots of lip-smacking dark berry fruit here. Very good acidity. Nicely structured and balanced.
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1/26/2019 - Winedude10 wrote: 92 Points
Very good wine for the price. Dark red/purple, spice notes and nice finish. Great on a cold winter day.
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11/25/2018 - IsakOfMoe Likes this wine:
Very nice
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6/22/2018 - battytaxicab Likes this wine: 89 Points
Beautiful berry aromas and rich purple colour. Soft and luscious. Very good wine for the price.
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6/20/2018 - Gnieboer wrote: 87 Points
Pleasant but just that. Missing the power I prefer and more commonly find in Australian Shiraz.
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6/14/2018 - etc wrote:
Lots of black pepper and spiciness med intensity. Clean clear garnet. Dark black berries with a hint of some red fruit. Slight meaty essence to make it kind of interesting, but was hoping for more. Qpr is ok.
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6/1/2018 - Chenkl wrote: 60 Points
較為消瘦的酒體,酸度明顯,略有香料味,單寧適中。
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4/16/2018 - ack162 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Drinking well right now, dark red cherries, underbrush, tar and pepper. Very nice for the price.
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2/19/2018 - CBRwineguy wrote: 88 Points
WSET Level 2 - Day 2 (Pialligo Estate, Canberra, ACT, Australia): The appearance is clear and deep purple in colour. Tears are visible.
The nose is clean with a medium intensity. There are well-defined aromas of oak (dark chocolate), black fruit (blackberry, subtle black cherry), and pungent spice (black pepper). The wine is youthful.
On the palate, the wine is dry with medium(+) acidity, medium alcohol, and medium (+) body. The medium(+) level tannins are ripe, fine-grained in nature, and hold firm. The flavours have a medium intensity and show notes of black fruit (blackberry, black cherry), oak (wood), and pungent spice (black pepper, liquorice). The finish has a medium(+) length.
This is a very good quality wine. The flavours are concentrated and have a great balance with the alcohol and the acidity. The fine-grained tannins have a great balance with the acidity and complement the flavour profile. The subtle oak treatment does not interfere with the primary fruit. In its current state, the wine only shows primary and secondary characteristics. The wine is very enjoyable and has a finish with great length. The flavours provide a very clear expression of syrah, with typical black fruit, dark chocolate, and black pepper aromas.
The wine drinks well now, but has potential for further ageing. The fruit intensity is great, and the tannin and acid structure will support the wine as the tertiary notes develop.
[Note: 100% syrah]
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2/10/2018 - GiWineDoc wrote: 88 Points
Solid Syrah.
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11/18/2017 - bdisk1235 wrote: 91 Points
Really nice and refined syrah. Paired well with a roast chicken dinner but was also very nice on its on. Lots of lush dark fruit, spice/pepper and a nice backbone of tannin/acid. Delightful now.
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11/3/2017 - nisid Likes this wine:
No formal notes taken. Off memory: Rustic and fruity, relatively short finish.
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10/18/2017 - ziavino wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured, with intense aromas of smoked meat and raspberry on the nose. Mouthwatering on the palate, with loads of black raspberry and tar buoyed by faint notes of peppered meat and medium acidity.
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10/5/2017 - jeffjohnsonjj@hotmail.com wrote: 88 Points
Technically this is a solid wine - medium body, clean, and good intensity to the cherry cough medicine flavors. But subjectively, I just didn't like the cough medicine cherry, and so had to rate it as I tasted it.
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10/2/2017 - Baron Slick wrote: 90 Points
Savory, Old World Syrah displays a meaty, brambly, and peppery character. The nose is full of dark berry, briars, and a nice sprinkling of cardamom spice. Nice weight and concentration, this turns plummy with aeration, picking up more spices on the tasty finish. Even more impressive with food.
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9/21/2017 - njsinger Likes this wine: 92 Points
Stellar old-world Syrah, great nose of black pepper and hints of meat. M+ acid, just right for what it is. Great value at $17
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9/20/2017 - CamWheeler wrote: 90 Points
Guigal New Releases including 2013 LaLas: Licorice, olive, cherry and char notes with some meat and blackcurrant. Good ripeness while retaining control. Youthful and should improve.
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9/20/2017 - chatters wrote:
2017 Guigal single vineyard cote rotie release dinner (Bel & Brio, Barangaroo): Funky, savoury, black fruit but a little unripe. That slightly sour black fruit is on the palate backed by plentiful gritty drying taninns. Hmm.
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9/17/2017 - Androurse wrote: 88 Points
The wine looks garnet colored. The legs are medium. There is no sediment in the bottle. It smells like blackberry, cranberry and raspberry. It tastes like blueberry, raspberry, red currant and oak. The body is medium/full. The wine has round texture. The wine finishes medium. The wine has low acidity.
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7/16/2017 - JerM wrote:
JM's wset2; 7/15/2017-7/22/2017 (wine-company): clear deep purple. clean, medium-pronounced nose. funky rich dark fruit, leather, vegetal, spice and tobacco.
dry, medium acid, high tannin. sweet dark leaf, dark florals, herbaceous, violts, leather, spice and dark fruit.
elegant, mid-long finish.
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6/14/2017 - Ben Christiansen wrote:
No viognier. Lots of black pepper here. And clean cut, if a bit straight out.
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5/5/2017 - Gnieboer wrote: 86 Points
Medium bodied, strawberry on the nose, not complex.
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11/27/2016 - Collector1855 wrote: 90 Points
Medium purple. Dark pitched nose, blackberry, smokey. Medium light palate. Not grand, but very characterful. Like it.
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