Very enjoyable midlevel Syrah. Bold black/blueberry fruit with secondary herbal and pepper notes balancing the initial sweetness on the mid palate. Enough tannin to hold together while maintaining a smooth silky texture.
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This is still a deep purple wine in color with nice fruit on the nose. However, after it had a chance to open up, the primary flavors dissipated and were overpowered by a prune like taste and smell. Still a big wine, but depending on ones preference drinking now versus later will probably yield different results.
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Medium purple fading to magenta at the rim. Aromas of dark fruit and spice. The wine is medium to full bodied and dry. The palate features notes of vanilla, tobacco, black pepper, blackberry, black plum, licorice, dark cherries, and chocolate. Smooth and delicious. The alcohol is high, but not overpowering. Tannins medium, acidity medium.
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May 17 2020: Initially quite acidic. Poured through an aerator and drank over two hours. Figs, vanilla, spices, peppery notes came out. Slightly sweetish then and actually quite enjoyable. May actually still improve over the next two, three years. December 22, 2020: drank the last bottle. Pleasant dinner wine, very enjoyable! Almost a 92 now.
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Good acid and nice full fruit. Drank well and went down easy. The finish was fruit with a touch of medium-dry tannin that was slightly sweet. This wine has at least 4-5 more years of prime life
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Medium purple. The nose leads with ripe blueberry/blackberry pastilles and vanilla and follows through with smoke, char-grill meats and baking spices. Complex, evolving and fun to drink; its flavors change with changes in temperature. On the palate the attack is savory showcasing bacon fat with just-ripe blue and black fruits coming in towards the middle in a seamless and beguiling transition of flavors. The mineral accented finish fades out a tad early. 15.1% alcohol but not at all hot. Thought I might taste some residual sugar but happy to find none. Good QPR.
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Decant this for two hours at 57 degrees and it rewards you. With rack of lamb sousvide with thyme garlic rosemary from Eataly- Medium plus intensity Aromas of red and dark blue fruits, roasted meats without excessive smoke, nuances of baking spice and dried flowers, flavors of same, some ethanol heat not too bothersome especially with food , uplift from acid (medium) and nice length in lingering finish. Richness and some weight. In a good place now. I think nay sayers may not have waited long enough for the wine to unfurl.
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Had this multiple times, and I just don’t like it. Inky black color and good mouth feel (high alcohol and a little RS?), but there is an unpleasant almost quinine bitterness and incredibly shy nose. Blackberry syrup and vanilla? Maybe some eucalyptus?
Gets somewhat better with air. Not seeming to improve with age. Red sangria fodder?
Edit: I waited another hour in glass, and eventually coaxed out smoke on the nose and a taste of cherry cough drop.
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Pipes and let it rest in open bottle for at least an hour. Wow! Drinks fabulously. Full bodied and added depth since I last tasted this. Don’t have more detailed notes but well surpassed the Chateau St. Michelle CS Indian Well for the night. Served with crab cakes and ribeye.
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Nice fruit with a good balance. IT starts out tight but loosens up in the glass. Finish starts with acidic fruit and them moves to a fuller smooth dark fruit and mild tannin
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wow, fragrant, dark staining purple color, huge nose, dusty, dark red and deep blue fruits, as the first bottle was, nice rich palate, good acid deep long finish, good fruit with a nice tannin balance. Thoroughly enjoyable.
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Drank over a couple of days. First night was out of balance .. even thought the bottle may have been flawed. 2nd night came together much more, tannins strong and fruit there but more in the background. Just not all that great and in the end may have been slightly off if I compare to other bottles I've had.
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Paired tonight with burgers and grilled squash and onions after a 2+ hour decant. Food was nice and salty, which I hoped would highlight some of the wine's nuances. However, this juice was still fairly one-dimensional and a little disappointing. Consistent with October 2016 notes. We've had better for USD$22. "Very good," 87/100.
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Nice fruit and good body with a tasty middle and a moderate finish. Overall not bad at all; look forward to seeing how another year or so goes with the wine.
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PnP with splash decant, drank a single glass over 45 minutes. Medium bodied and somewhat restrained, perhaps it needs a bit longer of a decant or more time in the cellar. I can tell this will be good, so I'm glad I have more.
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Needs 1 hr and not below 18C. silky yummy fleshy fruity. soft use of oak and no pepper tast as per some Rhone that use Syrah. The wife and I were fighting for the last half glass. Drink now!
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Pop and pour and served without food. Followed for about 1 hour. Some wet wool notes. Good dark fruits. Some notes of beef blood and leather. A little funk but that starts dissipating after a few minutes.
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Beautiful deep purple color. Tight nose that opened up to a wonderful fruity aroma as the meal went on. Sweet on the tongue, taste is like biting into a ripe plum. Swift but nice finish.
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Gentle decant for 2+ hours. Pours vibrant purple with some fine sediment in the last 5 mL. The nose continued to evolve in the glass but had core qualities of purple fruit, grape soda, cured meat, and red fruit. Quite heavily extracted and a bit sweet (ripe, not RS) on the palate with med+ acid and med- sweet, somewhat knappy tannins giving this a nice structure. Some alcohol on nose and palate detracted. Not a special finish.
Good pairing with food, but it has to be something quite salty and charred or a hard, salty cheese. Hopefully some more complexity will emerge after some more time in the cellar. Nice but not exceptional at USD$22. "Very good," 88/100.
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Dark red purple. Blackberry, dark chocolate, menthol, smoked meat. Bright acidity offsets the considerable weight. Pnp but drunk over several hours. Needs time.
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Deep purple. Aroma of chocolate, menthol, and alcohol. Big fruit flavor, more chocolate, medium tannins, bright acidity. Drinking on its own is good, would have been even better with a high fat meal.
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A bit off balance with serious tannins; lacks the complexity and depth of better Syrahs from this region and vintage. Tasted like a $10 Syrah to me. Ok value, but I think one can do better. I found the 2012 to be much better. I'll have to give this another try to make sure something wasn't wrong with this particular bottle.
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12/7/2022 - maxmanx wrote:
Ready to go on PnP. Very good QPR at $22 from Last Bottle.
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11/7/2022 - thalver wrote:
rich...flavorful....nice balance between fruit, tannin, acidity and some savory notes 90-91-ish
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9/2/2022 - maxmanx wrote:
Full throttle syrah. Enjoyed it, but needed a thick steak to go with it.
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8/23/2022 - ddingley Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very enjoyable midlevel Syrah. Bold black/blueberry fruit with secondary herbal and pepper notes balancing the initial sweetness on the mid palate. Enough tannin to hold together while maintaining a smooth silky texture.
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4/15/2022 - Laz4wine Likes this wine: 90 Points
Black olive, black rasp, rich full and round, softly tannic with ample length. Nice w/spring lamb. Drink up.
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8/7/2021 - lovemycab wrote: 89 Points
This is still a deep purple wine in color with nice fruit on the nose. However, after it had a chance to open up, the primary flavors dissipated and were overpowered by a prune like taste and smell. Still a big wine, but depending on ones preference drinking now versus later will probably yield different results.
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5/27/2020 - Stephen.Somm Likes this wine: 89 Points
Medium purple fading to magenta at the rim. Aromas of dark fruit and spice. The wine is medium to full bodied and dry. The palate features notes of vanilla, tobacco, black pepper, blackberry, black plum, licorice, dark cherries, and chocolate. Smooth and delicious. The alcohol is high, but not overpowering. Tannins medium, acidity medium.
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5/17/2020 - HU Likes this wine: 91 Points
May 17 2020: Initially quite acidic. Poured through an aerator and drank over two hours. Figs, vanilla, spices, peppery notes came out. Slightly sweetish then and actually quite enjoyable. May actually still improve over the next two, three years. December 22, 2020: drank the last bottle. Pleasant dinner wine, very enjoyable! Almost a 92 now.
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12/11/2019 - wtianseter wrote: 90 Points
Good acid and nice full fruit. Drank well and went down easy. The finish was fruit with a touch of medium-dry tannin that was slightly sweet. This wine has at least 4-5 more years of prime life
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10/28/2019 - rgawlowski Likes this wine: 90 Points
Deep purple, fruit forward, but we’ll balanced; nice nose; very surprising.
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8/3/2019 - DavidWong168 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Medium purple. The nose leads with ripe blueberry/blackberry pastilles and vanilla and follows through with smoke, char-grill meats and baking spices. Complex, evolving and fun to drink; its flavors change with changes in temperature. On the palate the attack is savory showcasing bacon fat with just-ripe blue and black fruits coming in towards the middle in a seamless and beguiling transition of flavors. The mineral accented finish fades out a tad early. 15.1% alcohol but not at all hot. Thought I might taste some residual sugar but happy to find none. Good QPR.
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12/15/2018 - lgomberg Likes this wine: 92 Points
Decant this for two hours at 57 degrees and it rewards you. With rack of lamb sousvide with thyme garlic rosemary from Eataly- Medium plus intensity Aromas of red and dark blue fruits, roasted meats without excessive smoke, nuances of baking spice and dried flowers, flavors of same, some ethanol heat not too bothersome especially with food , uplift from acid (medium) and nice length in lingering finish. Richness and some weight. In a good place now. I think nay sayers may not have waited long enough for the wine to unfurl.
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10/4/2018 - deviousrhesus Does not like this wine: 79 Points
Had this multiple times, and I just don’t like it. Inky black color and good mouth feel (high alcohol and a little RS?), but there is an unpleasant almost quinine bitterness and incredibly shy nose. Blackberry syrup and vanilla? Maybe some eucalyptus?
Gets somewhat better with air. Not seeming to improve with age. Red sangria fodder?
Edit: I waited another hour in glass, and eventually coaxed out smoke on the nose and a taste of cherry cough drop.
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7/27/2018 - Sniffy-Sniff Likes this wine: 88 Points
Somewhat nondescript, with nothing standing out to get you exited. Not terrible but was expecting more.
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6/8/2018 - bkrup Likes this wine: 91 Points
Pipes and let it rest in open bottle for at least an hour. Wow! Drinks fabulously. Full bodied and added depth since I last tasted this. Don’t have more detailed notes but well surpassed the Chateau St. Michelle CS Indian Well for the night. Served with crab cakes and ribeye.
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12/27/2017 - WineAggregate Likes this wine: 92 Points
Blackberry syrup, almost port-like, a very nice and concentrated mouthful.
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12/5/2017 - wtianseter wrote: 88 Points
Nice fruit with a good balance. IT starts out tight but loosens up in the glass. Finish starts with acidic fruit and them moves to a fuller smooth dark fruit and mild tannin
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8/25/2017 - pjmartin44 wrote:
wow, fragrant, dark staining purple color, huge nose, dusty, dark red and deep blue fruits, as the first bottle was, nice rich palate, good acid deep long finish, good fruit with a nice tannin balance. Thoroughly enjoyable.
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7/7/2017 - cmr wrote:
Drank over a couple of days. First night was out of balance .. even thought the bottle may have been flawed. 2nd night came together much more, tannins strong and fruit there but more in the background. Just not all that great and in the end may have been slightly off if I compare to other bottles I've had.
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4/30/2017 - pkbowen Likes this wine: 87 Points
Paired tonight with burgers and grilled squash and onions after a 2+ hour decant. Food was nice and salty, which I hoped would highlight some of the wine's nuances. However, this juice was still fairly one-dimensional and a little disappointing. Consistent with October 2016 notes. We've had better for USD$22. "Very good," 87/100.
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4/30/2017 - egortner Likes this wine: 90 Points
Pretty rich. Fruit forward.
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4/6/2017 - heyjohnnyboy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Wow I LOVE this. Spectacular!!
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3/17/2017 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 90 Points
consistent with notes of 12/26/2016
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2/3/2017 - wtianseter wrote: 88 Points
Nice fruit and good body with a tasty middle and a moderate finish. Overall not bad at all; look forward to seeing how another year or so goes with the wine.
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1/19/2017 - Dale Rattles Likes this wine: 89 Points
PnP with splash decant, drank a single glass over 45 minutes. Medium bodied and somewhat restrained, perhaps it needs a bit longer of a decant or more time in the cellar. I can tell this will be good, so I'm glad I have more.
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1/4/2017 - Twinkles wrote: 89 Points
Much better than I remember. Solid wine.
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12/31/2016 - bradleymichaelharris@gmail.com Likes this wine:
Really concentrated, inky syrah from California. Definitely a good buy at 22 bucks
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12/26/2016 - danielbleier Likes this wine: 90 Points
finished over 2 days - nice rich blend of plum and spice flavors - good minerality keeps things lively
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12/10/2016 - heyjohnnyboy Likes this wine: 92 Points
Needs 1 hr and not below 18C. silky yummy fleshy fruity. soft use of oak and no pepper tast as per some Rhone that use Syrah. The wife and I were fighting for the last half glass. Drink now!
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11/18/2016 - t_moderne wrote: 89 Points
Pop and pour and served without food. Followed for about 1 hour.
Some wet wool notes. Good dark fruits. Some notes of beef blood and leather. A little funk but that starts dissipating after a few minutes.
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11/6/2016 - MateusPetrus Likes this wine: 87 Points
Nice simple Syrah, fairly priced.
Beautiful deep purple color. Tight nose that opened up to a wonderful fruity aroma as the meal went on. Sweet on the tongue, taste is like biting into a ripe plum. Swift but nice finish.
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10/15/2016 - pkbowen Likes this wine: 88 Points
Gentle decant for 2+ hours. Pours vibrant purple with some fine sediment in the last 5 mL. The nose continued to evolve in the glass but had core qualities of purple fruit, grape soda, cured meat, and red fruit. Quite heavily extracted and a bit sweet (ripe, not RS) on the palate with med+ acid and med- sweet, somewhat knappy tannins giving this a nice structure. Some alcohol on nose and palate detracted. Not a special finish.
Good pairing with food, but it has to be something quite salty and charred or a hard, salty cheese. Hopefully some more complexity will emerge after some more time in the cellar. Nice but not exceptional at USD$22. "Very good," 88/100.
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9/16/2016 - mgstull Likes this wine: 89 Points
Dark red purple. Blackberry, dark chocolate, menthol, smoked meat. Bright acidity offsets the considerable weight. Pnp but drunk over several hours. Needs time.
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9/2/2016 - despore Likes this wine: 88 Points
Huge fruit in this without the pepper or backbone of more complex Syrah/Shiraz. That said, spouse loved the roundness and mouthfeel.
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8/2/2016 - Glarange Likes this wine: 90 Points
Dinner with Porfirios, paired with slow roast pork ribs. A smoky affair, decanted and gone.
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7/16/2016 - wabi47 wrote: 88 Points
good fruit, but high toned and with a bit of menthol on the finish; likely needs more time
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7/1/2016 - ephorn wrote:
At this point it isn't formed yet. The alcohol and acidity stick out. Perhaps time will integrate this.
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6/29/2016 - slippytoad Likes this wine: 92 Points
Staggeringly good value. Extremely silly mouth feel and long finish. Nice bold fruit.
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6/5/2016 - Mapleglo330 Likes this wine: 92 Points
Deep purple. Aroma of chocolate, menthol, and alcohol. Big fruit flavor, more chocolate, medium tannins, bright acidity. Drinking on its own is good, would have been even better with a high fat meal.
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3/22/2016 - Sonoma Bill Likes this wine: 93 Points
Group of Seven rated this #2 out of 7 quality California Syrahs
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3/12/2016 - Twinkles wrote: 86 Points
Harsh. Hot. Was disappointed.
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7/18/2015 - cdebeau Likes this wine: 89 Points
Nice fruit but not sweet
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6/23/2015 - gravedee wrote: 86 Points
A bit off balance with serious tannins; lacks the complexity and depth of better Syrahs from this region and vintage. Tasted like a $10 Syrah to me. Ok value, but I think one can do better. I found the 2012 to be much better. I'll have to give this another try to make sure something wasn't wrong with this particular bottle.
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