From Mag... given some of the reviews from years ago, was very worried this would be really tired... but still had a bit of acid in it, still nice fruit with some leather, the 4 of us were very very pleased!!
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Blind Red Wine Tasting (Plymouth, MN): Dark in color yet without much structure remaining. This still sports a fruit-forward palate. For blind tasting: I guessed Bordeaux, 88 pts. 3rd place. Marianne: Zinfandel, 86 pts. 5th place. Overall 3rd out of 8 wines.
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Well, this has been disappointing syrah week. Great dark purple color in this glass. The nose has nice raspberry, spice, and toast. The palate is a let-down. The fruit recedes, it's very one-dimensional, and there's a bitterness to the finish. I'm hoping this is just a bad bottle.
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As a big fan of the MM grenaches I was really looking forward to the Syrah. I decanted for a couple of hours. The nose didn't yield much of anything. In the mouth I simply couldn't get past the harshness or the drying tannins on the finish. I'll try again today.
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Bought this a while back with the intent of drinking it soon to try and then lost track of it for a while... just popped it for lunch w/ coworkers. This is no shy wine. Upon initial opening it smelled like 03 Rhone. This is big, boisterous and concentrated. On the nose it has dark fruit though not as much varietal character as you might hope for, plenty of sweet oak (including some shoe polish leading to vinyl type aromatics that are a touch off putting), and a good bit of heat. Lots of pie fruit / some jamminess on the palate. It finishes with good concentration but also with a lot of heat, reminiscent of neat alcohol. A bummer of sorts as it seems the underlying fruit must be of pretty high quality, but this wine could be well served to have been picked much sooner and to have seen less new wood.
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These notes are from memory following a trip to Va. Tech with a WCWN lurker, Mark Dorton. The nature of the trip diminished any interest in making contemporaneous notes, but discussion of the wine was a welcome emotional transition.
This is huge wine just now. The bit of brett on the nose blew off after about an half hour. A hugely expressive wine, it delivers flavors of blueberry, cooked blackberries, (Mark described it as blackberry jam), plum, smoke, mineral and long and deep on the finish was coffee. Somewhere at some point, some anise and iodine sneaked in. The alcohol, a whopping 15.4%, is, for the most part, nicely balanced with the fruit. While not a gloppy Cali Syrah, it’s nevertheless a huge wine. Yet, at times, as its expression developed with air and time, I was thinking of Cote Rotie. No, this is not an old world wine, but it doesn’t seem to sit squarely on the new world side of the fence either. Rather, it was a welcome change of pace. This needs time. How much, I cannot say, but it won’t suffer in the next 5 years at all.
And a word of thanks to Brad Herrington of Varietals (and, yes, well, WCWN too) who put together a case for me which included this wine. This was the first wine pulled from that case. If this is any indication of what surprises await me in that case, ... well, I’m in for some excellent glasses ahead!
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Midnight black in color. Tobacco, boysenberries, blackberries, blueberries and a touch of vanilla oak. Great acidity. Super extracted but not heavy. Mid palate is somewhat complex. Nice long, rich finish. Drinking very well right now. 15.4% alcohol.
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Dark, dense ruby color. Nose of leather, tobacco and blackberries. Tastes of blueberries. Very extracted and rich. Mouth coating. Layered, long finish. Enough fruit to cover it's considerable alcohol level of 15.4%. Everything you would want in a Central Coast Syrah. Bravo!
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Was not as thrilled as the Grenache that I had several months ago. I had expected the similar wonderful aromatics but was disappointed. It had a muted nose that only vigorous swirling can coax it out of the glass. The flavors were thin and uninviting. I like the QPR delivered by this winery so I will have to give this the benefit of the doubt and try another bottle.
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10/13/2019 - gf2182 Likes this wine: 91 Points
From Mag... given some of the reviews from years ago, was very worried this would be really tired... but still had a bit of acid in it, still nice fruit with some leather, the 4 of us were very very pleased!!
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11/22/2014 - GoBlue2002 Likes this wine: 87 Points
Blind Red Wine Tasting (Plymouth, MN): Dark in color yet without much structure remaining. This still sports a fruit-forward palate.
For blind tasting:
I guessed Bordeaux, 88 pts. 3rd place.
Marianne: Zinfandel, 86 pts. 5th place.
Overall 3rd out of 8 wines.
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9/14/2014 - alpha_ori Likes this wine: 91 Points
Soft and lush, with acids just barely balancing. Drink now.
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12/9/2013 - alpha_ori Likes this wine: 93 Points
Fruit, acids are very good for an 11-year-old wine. This is drinking very well.
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2/19/2010 - JavaMonkey wrote: 86 Points
Well, this has been disappointing syrah week. Great dark purple color in this glass. The nose has nice raspberry, spice, and toast. The palate is a let-down. The fruit recedes, it's very one-dimensional, and there's a bitterness to the finish. I'm hoping this is just a bad bottle.
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1/1/2009 - fcs wrote: 92 Points
Terrific wine
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4/23/2008 - oaxaca90049 wrote:
As a big fan of the MM grenaches I was really looking forward to the Syrah. I decanted for a couple of hours. The nose didn't yield much of anything. In the mouth I simply couldn't get past the harshness or the drying tannins on the finish. I'll try again today.
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4/2/2008 - pbjosh wrote:
Bought this a while back with the intent of drinking it soon to try and then lost track of it for a while... just popped it for lunch w/ coworkers. This is no shy wine. Upon initial opening it smelled like 03 Rhone. This is big, boisterous and concentrated. On the nose it has dark fruit though not as much varietal character as you might hope for, plenty of sweet oak (including some shoe polish leading to vinyl type aromatics that are a touch off putting), and a good bit of heat. Lots of pie fruit / some jamminess on the palate. It finishes with good concentration but also with a lot of heat, reminiscent of neat alcohol. A bummer of sorts as it seems the underlying fruit must be of pretty high quality, but this wine could be well served to have been picked much sooner and to have seen less new wood.
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7/1/2007 - ejca wrote:
dark, powerfull but complex, high in alcohol but did not overwhelm. Great wine, especially at the price.
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5/3/2007 - timewithwine wrote:
These notes are from memory following a trip to Va. Tech with a WCWN lurker, Mark Dorton. The nature of the trip diminished any interest in making contemporaneous notes, but discussion of the wine was a welcome emotional transition.
This is huge wine just now. The bit of brett on the nose blew off after about an half hour. A hugely expressive wine, it delivers flavors of blueberry, cooked blackberries, (Mark described it as blackberry jam), plum, smoke, mineral and long and deep on the finish was coffee. Somewhere at some point, some anise and iodine sneaked in. The alcohol, a whopping 15.4%, is, for the most part, nicely balanced with the fruit. While not a gloppy Cali Syrah, it’s nevertheless a huge wine. Yet, at times, as its expression developed with air and time, I was thinking of Cote Rotie. No, this is not an old world wine, but it doesn’t seem to sit squarely on the new world side of the fence either. Rather, it was a welcome change of pace. This needs time. How much, I cannot say, but it won’t suffer in the next 5 years at all.
And a word of thanks to Brad Herrington of Varietals (and, yes, well, WCWN too) who put together a case for me which included this wine. This was the first wine pulled from that case. If this is any indication of what surprises await me in that case, ... well, I’m in for some excellent glasses ahead!
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2/17/2007 - kstoddard wrote: 93 Points
Midnight black in color. Tobacco, boysenberries, blackberries, blueberries and a touch of vanilla oak. Great acidity. Super extracted but not heavy. Mid palate is somewhat complex. Nice long, rich finish. Drinking very well right now. 15.4% alcohol.
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12/11/2006 - kstoddard wrote: 93 Points
Dark, dense ruby color. Nose of leather, tobacco and blackberries. Tastes of blueberries. Very extracted and rich. Mouth coating. Layered, long finish. Enough fruit to cover it's considerable alcohol level of 15.4%. Everything you would want in a Central Coast Syrah. Bravo!
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8/26/2006 - Love4Vino wrote:
Was not as thrilled as the Grenache that I had several months ago. I had expected the similar wonderful aromatics but was disappointed. It had a muted nose that only vigorous swirling can coax it out of the glass. The flavors were thin and uninviting. I like the QPR delivered by this winery so I will have to give this the benefit of the doubt and try another bottle.
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