This is showing really really nicely. Deep color and good acidity with certainly low alcohol for Sonoma. Stems show on the nose but the wine doesn't taste "green". Still has some plumpness of fruit for a while upon opening without being pruney. After being open a couple hours, the savory tones really take hold and are quite deep. The term "bacon fat" often gets abused when describing Syrah but it was quite distinct here. Looking forward to opening my 2006 before too long. Dear lord, I'm glad they changed the label.
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Opened to enjoy through both Game 7s tonight of the NHL playoffs. I bought this bottle back in 2006 and it's one of the oldest wines I have owned from purchase to uncorking, from way back in 2006. I gave this 2 hours of slow ox time before I poured the first glass. A diverse, beautiful mix of aromatics here, driven from the age and also the whole cluster that Ed used. BBQ smoke, bacon fat, pepper, menthol, spice, all mixing for something really unique. The palate, at least at this level of aeration, is pretty accessible. Moderately plush and pretty smooth drinking. The flavors? Much like the aromatic, lots of diversity and things going on. BBQ sauce, soy, licorice, plenty of tangy cherry and raspberry holding it all together. The finish remains alive, juicy, tangy, with a cool, menthol closing note.....for Day 2, this filled in nicely and the tangier aspect from Day 1 has been augmented now by a deeper richness, which in my view makes this even better. My last note on this was 2015, when Ed came down for an August West/Sandler dinner we hosted for him. Based on that 2015 note and this bottle, the wine is aging slowly and gracefully. What a pleasure.
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Exactly a year since last tasted. Has a red/blackberry color showing some age. Nose is black olive tapenade, light campfire, and dark plum and cherry fruit. Excellent complexity on the attack as the olive, smoldering logs, dark fruit dance around. Rounded tannins and rawhide compose an absurdly long finish. Boy, has this aged gracefully. My only bottle, trying not to be sad. Unsuccessful.
Ed Kurtzman Dinner (Luciana's, Dana Point, CA): Huge amount of tapenade showing on the nose and palate. Big mineral and chalk mid palate. Medium acid. This was Sandlers first vintage and it's amazing if you love the northern Rhone style like I do.
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Ed Kurtzman Comes To Dinner (2015) (Luciana's In Dana Point (South OC)): I still have a bottle of this in my cellar so I was pleased to have Ed feature one from his library for the dinner. When I opened this wine earlier in the day, and I removed some of the light build around the very top of the bottle, it was like spooning out olive tapenade. One of those unique wine experiences that I will remember forever. Just crazy good. I know Ed made this with entirely whole cluster and that aspect is on display. Olive, cooked meat, dark fruit, pepper and bbq/sauce. Savory and not dried out or green. This remains very unique and terrific 10 years out and no sign of fade.
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Opened my last bottle for dinner with grilled flat iron steak. It wasn't offering much on the nose and had some unexpected flavors of lemon and citrus that eventually started to meld with the berry, but never disappeared. Wasn't bad, but not what I expected either. Not rated ...
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Delicious value, but needed age. Now, wonderful clear blueberry notes tinged with smoke and syrah spice fill out the edges of this medium to full bodied pitch black offering. Just now turning a little blood red on the edges, this is poised to pick up some complexity with time. Nice framework!
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Did a pop and pour on this bottle which definitely needed to be decanted. Perhaps with a couple years of ageing and a decanting this wine could become a 90 point wine but I'm not sure. Showing a nice amount of pepper.
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Intense nose that is meaty, dark, notes of blue fruit. Palate shows some real vibrant acidity at first blush. There is plenty of spice here, too. With time the acidity recedes a bit, but it is still there keeping this baby moving along. Dark olive, blueberry, smoked meat notes emerge with time. Wow. Very nice work from Sandler again. Terrific cooler climate syrah that is structured and nuanced. Kudos Ed.
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Ed Kurtzman Dinner - His Favs and His (Casa Murray): Heavy nose showing its 100% stem inclusion on its sleeve with asparagus and pepper. Dark berries among a tight palate with a green grip. This needs some time to unwind and integrate.
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13.9% alcohol. This has one of the most intense and attractive noses I've ever smelled in a California Syrah. Beautiful notes of black pepper, blueberry, and lots of spice. This is a very spicy one, quite unusual for California Syrah. Gorgeous on the palate, with blue and black fruits all over the palate, supported by pepper and that intense spiciness. Good acidity. Long finish that just goes on. This is a really terrific Syrah. Hard to know really what to say. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A-
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So I didn't read my note from last year ... Popped and poured - and it was OK ! Dark red to purple in color. Very nice nose of blackberry and boysenberry, which carry over onto the palate. The pepper seems to have integrated, and the flavors are dominated by rich, complex fruit. While not particularly heavy, the mouthfeel is very viscous and coating, almost syrupy, but in a very good way. This wine goes down way too easy !
What a difference from the bottle I enjoyed 7 months ago. I'm sure this has many more years ahead of it, but if the rest of my bottles taste like this one, they won't last long !
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Popped and poured - Don't do that ! Very tight nose, offering almost nothing. Pepper and a bit of heat on the palate. After about 2 hours, really opened up into a delightful wine. Great aromas of black fruit and pepper. Rich and full-bodied on the palate, with a spicy blueberry flavor and a hint of creaminess. Nicely balanced, with some tannin evident. Lingering finish. Drinkable now with a few hours (or more) decanting, but I'll be in no hurry to get into my next bottle.
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A lovely young syrah! Floral & blueberry aromas and flavors on the palate with distinct herbal & earthy flavors extending to a tasty finish. Nicely structured wine with chewy tannins and delectable acidity.
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Very, very good CA syrah. The whole cluster component creates a very nice complexity. The wine is nicely balanced and has a Northern Rhone feel. This is a great example of what cool climate CA syrah is capable of, coming from a great vineyard and in the right hands. The QPR here is off the hook.
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Bought 2, this was my first bottle opened since purchase. Stemmy nose, just a lot of whole cluster cloaking some fruit. Into the 'Scraper for 24 hours to see if some of that herbal nose blows off.
24 hours later, the wine has evolved. Mainly, the prominent whole cluster signature has faded some, both on the nose and palate, allowing some other features in the wine to come forth. The nose shows a florality, smoke and bacon fat note, along with the stems. Thinking about it, the style here would remind me a lot of both the Copain Broken Leg and Copain Cailloux syrahs--very similar in expression. The palate? Well, the herbal note is still woven through but now some of the fruit comes forth--a crushed/snappy blackberry feel, accented with some blueberry juiciness, finishing with a salinity/stony finish. Listed alcohol of 13.9% would seem to fit here, as I don't find any, nor much oak either. In sum, a complex expression of CA syrah, complementing many of the mostly destemmed, more fruit forward syrahs of my cellar.
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This is drinking very well now. The stemmy characteristics (though never astringent) have integrated into the wine, leaving it very complex and fun to drink. The nose has rose petal and white pepper notes and the palate is very full with pepper and blue fruit characteristics. The spicy flavors stay around for a very long finish. I recommend decanting this wine for a few hours before serving. It also held up well overnight on the counter. I cannot wait to taste Ed's '06 rendition.
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Since I bought 6 of these, I felt no hesitation in popping one and seeing how it was drinking. I must admit that I was really looking forward to this based on two facts...Ed Kurtzman made the wine and that the alcohol content was only 13.9%! Certainly no guarantee of quality, but a mighty good start. I drank this over a 2 and 1/2 hours after splash decanting. Here's my notes... App-opaque purple to the rim without variation, daybright, high intensity (4 pts) Nose-Aromatic intensity was high (I could immediately smell it as I was pouring it into the decanter), lots of ripe blackberry, black raspberry, creosote, black pepper, violet, touch of vanillin, smoke, toast, allspice, little tilled soil, I was a touch concerned that this would be a jammy blockbuster on the palate, but it was a pleasure to smell (13 pts) Palate-two things jumped out to me immediately, the wonderful weight/mouthfeel and the lack of heat, beautiful entry of fruit confirming the nose following through all the way to the finish, alcohol and acid are beatifully matched, defintate presence of tannins but they are long and well integrated, really enjoyed the way the fruit came across as plump and juicy but not jammy, this was a pleasure to drink and I look forward to watching it's evolution (18 pts) Overall-I am not familiar with this vineyard, but I just loved Ed K's expression of it...all the parts are there-fruit, alcohol, acid, tannin, finish, wonderful harmony (9 pts) Total-94 pts
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My first bottle from Ed Kurzman. Really liked this - as did everyone else. Strong black pepper mixed with red/black fruit. Extremely well integrated - long finish. Decanted for two hours.
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I tried a bottle of this wine way too young even with a couple hours of decanting. It's a beautifully made syrah and should age effortlessly for at least 5 possibly 10 more years. Kudos Ed to crafting a great syrah. I think this wine could improve to 92-93 points with some ageing.
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11/23/2019 - cooker315 wrote:
flawed
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2/1/2018 - DollarMenunaire wrote:
This is showing really really nicely. Deep color and good acidity with certainly low alcohol for Sonoma. Stems show on the nose but the wine doesn't taste "green". Still has some plumpness of fruit for a while upon opening without being pruney. After being open a couple hours, the savory tones really take hold and are quite deep. The term "bacon fat" often gets abused when describing Syrah but it was quite distinct here. Looking forward to opening my 2006 before too long. Dear lord, I'm glad they changed the label.
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10/6/2017 - tim_c Likes this wine:
Drink up!
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5/10/2017 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Opened to enjoy through both Game 7s tonight of the NHL playoffs. I bought this bottle back in 2006 and it's one of the oldest wines I have owned from purchase to uncorking, from way back in 2006. I gave this 2 hours of slow ox time before I poured the first glass. A diverse, beautiful mix of aromatics here, driven from the age and also the whole cluster that Ed used. BBQ smoke, bacon fat, pepper, menthol, spice, all mixing for something really unique. The palate, at least at this level of aeration, is pretty accessible. Moderately plush and pretty smooth drinking. The flavors? Much like the aromatic, lots of diversity and things going on. BBQ sauce, soy, licorice, plenty of tangy cherry and raspberry holding it all together. The finish remains alive, juicy, tangy, with a cool, menthol closing note.....for Day 2, this filled in nicely and the tangier aspect from Day 1 has been augmented now by a deeper richness, which in my view makes this even better. My last note on this was 2015, when Ed came down for an August West/Sandler dinner we hosted for him. Based on that 2015 note and this bottle, the wine is aging slowly and gracefully. What a pleasure.
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5/6/2016 - brigcampbell wrote: 94 Points
Exactly a year since last tasted. Has a red/blackberry color showing some age. Nose is black olive tapenade, light campfire, and dark plum and cherry fruit. Excellent complexity on the attack as the olive, smoldering logs, dark fruit dance around. Rounded tannins and rawhide compose an absurdly long finish. Boy, has this aged gracefully. My only bottle, trying not to be sad. Unsuccessful.
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5/3/2015 - brigcampbell wrote:
Ed Kurtzman Dinner (Luciana's, Dana Point, CA): Huge amount of tapenade showing on the nose and palate. Big mineral and chalk mid palate. Medium acid. This was Sandlers first vintage and it's amazing if you love the northern Rhone style like I do.
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5/2/2015 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Ed Kurtzman Comes To Dinner (2015) (Luciana's In Dana Point (South OC)): I still have a bottle of this in my cellar so I was pleased to have Ed feature one from his library for the dinner. When I opened this wine earlier in the day, and I removed some of the light build around the very top of the bottle, it was like spooning out olive tapenade. One of those unique wine experiences that I will remember forever. Just crazy good. I know Ed made this with entirely whole cluster and that aspect is on display. Olive, cooked meat, dark fruit, pepper and bbq/sauce. Savory and not dried out or green. This remains very unique and terrific 10 years out and no sign of fade.
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3/19/2014 - alpha_ori Likes this wine: 89 Points
Smells like a Northern Rhone. I imagine the fruit has dropped away a bit. The palate is pleasant but quite gentle, with anise undertone.
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10/8/2011 - scottj wrote:
Opened my last bottle for dinner with grilled flat iron steak. It wasn't offering much on the nose and had some unexpected flavors of lemon and citrus that eventually started to meld with the berry, but never disappeared. Wasn't bad, but not what I expected either. Not rated ...
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8/23/2011 - zheem wrote:
Outstanding nose and flavors, although still young. Tannins becoming sweet and soft, although need more time. Destined for greatness!.
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5/30/2011 - ginfizz wrote: 90 Points
Delicious value, but needed age. Now, wonderful clear blueberry notes tinged with smoke and syrah spice fill out the edges of this medium to full bodied pitch black offering. Just now turning a little blood red on the edges, this is poised to pick up some complexity with time. Nice framework!
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8/21/2010 - Screameagle wrote: 88 Points
Did a pop and pour on this bottle which definitely needed to be decanted. Perhaps with a couple years of ageing and a decanting this wine could become a 90 point wine but I'm not sure. Showing a nice amount of pepper.
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4/7/2010 - pjhr wrote: 93 Points
As delicious as the last bottle.
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3/4/2010 - ginfizz wrote: 88 Points
Still tight and tannic with astringent spice and reticent fruit. Tastes like a good crozes. More time?
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11/28/2009 - decaturwinedude wrote: 91 Points
Intense nose that is meaty, dark, notes of blue fruit. Palate shows some real vibrant acidity at first blush. There is plenty of spice here, too. With time the acidity recedes a bit, but it is still there keeping this baby moving along. Dark olive, blueberry, smoked meat notes emerge with time. Wow. Very nice work from Sandler again. Terrific cooler climate syrah that is structured and nuanced. Kudos Ed.
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11/5/2009 - pjhr wrote: 93 Points
As delicious as the last bottle, with a lot of life ahead of it!
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10/11/2009 - RussW wrote:
I hope with additional age the whole cluster profile will recede and allow the fruit to show a bit more.
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2/28/2009 - WetRock wrote:
Ed Kurtzman Dinner - His Favs and His (Casa Murray): Heavy nose showing its 100% stem inclusion on its sleeve with asparagus and pepper. Dark berries among a tight palate with a green grip. This needs some time to unwind and integrate.
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2/28/2009 - Paul Lin wrote: 85 Points
Ed Kurtzman Comes to OC (Casa Murray - San Juan Capistrano, CA): Heavy notes of black pepper and charcoal over bacon fat and black plums. Extremely tight and tannic.
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2/28/2009 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Ed Kurtzman Comes To Dinner (The Murray Casa): Brief notes and was not able to retaste this AM. Stems, dark menthol and some dark fruit.
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1/5/2009 - scottj wrote: 92 Points
Very similar to my note from 6 months ago. Drinking very nice !
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11/28/2008 - Screameagle wrote: 87 Points
Very acidic even with food. This bottle didn't show as well as the last bottle. Try another bottle in 6 months.
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10/24/2008 - ginfizz wrote: 89 Points
Way too spicy for me...I'll stick with his pinots... Hope this tones down with some age...
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10/7/2008 - gutt22 wrote:
13.9% alcohol. This has one of the most intense and attractive noses I've ever smelled in a California Syrah. Beautiful notes of black pepper, blueberry, and lots of spice. This is a very spicy one, quite unusual for California Syrah. Gorgeous on the palate, with blue and black fruits all over the palate, supported by pepper and that intense spiciness. Good acidity. Long finish that just goes on. This is a really terrific Syrah. Hard to know really what to say. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A-
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7/3/2008 - scottj wrote: 92 Points
So I didn't read my note from last year ... Popped and poured - and it was OK ! Dark red to purple in color. Very nice nose of blackberry and boysenberry, which carry over onto the palate. The pepper seems to have integrated, and the flavors are dominated by rich, complex fruit. While not particularly heavy, the mouthfeel is very viscous and coating, almost syrupy, but in a very good way. This wine goes down way too easy !
What a difference from the bottle I enjoyed 7 months ago. I'm sure this has many more years ahead of it, but if the rest of my bottles taste like this one, they won't last long !
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12/8/2007 - scottj wrote: 90 Points
Popped and poured - Don't do that ! Very tight nose, offering almost nothing. Pepper and a bit of heat on the palate. After about 2 hours, really opened up into a delightful wine. Great aromas of black fruit and pepper. Rich and full-bodied on the palate, with a spicy blueberry flavor and a hint of creaminess. Nicely balanced, with some tannin evident. Lingering finish. Drinkable now with a few hours (or more) decanting, but I'll be in no hurry to get into my next bottle.
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12/2/2007 - pjhr wrote: 93 Points
A lovely young syrah! Floral & blueberry aromas and flavors on the palate with distinct herbal & earthy flavors extending to a tasty finish. Nicely structured wine with chewy tannins and delectable acidity.
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11/27/2007 - RussW wrote:
Very, very good CA syrah. The whole cluster component creates a very nice complexity. The wine is nicely balanced and has a Northern Rhone feel. This is a great example of what cool climate CA syrah is capable of, coming from a great vineyard and in the right hands. The QPR here is off the hook.
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10/19/2007 - Frank Murray III wrote:
Bought 2, this was my first bottle opened since purchase. Stemmy nose, just a lot of whole cluster cloaking some fruit. Into the 'Scraper for 24 hours to see if some of that herbal nose blows off.
24 hours later, the wine has evolved. Mainly, the prominent whole cluster signature has faded some, both on the nose and palate, allowing some other features in the wine to come forth. The nose shows a florality, smoke and bacon fat note, along with the stems. Thinking about it, the style here would remind me a lot of both the Copain Broken Leg and Copain Cailloux syrahs--very similar in expression. The palate? Well, the herbal note is still woven through but now some of the fruit comes forth--a crushed/snappy blackberry feel, accented with some blueberry juiciness, finishing with a salinity/stony finish. Listed alcohol of 13.9% would seem to fit here, as I don't find any, nor much oak either. In sum, a complex expression of CA syrah, complementing many of the mostly destemmed, more fruit forward syrahs of my cellar.
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10/9/2007 - EPounds wrote:
This is drinking very well now. The stemmy characteristics (though never astringent) have integrated into the wine, leaving it very complex and fun to drink. The nose has rose petal and white pepper notes and the palate is very full with pepper and blue fruit characteristics. The spicy flavors stay around for a very long finish. I recommend decanting this wine for a few hours before serving. It also held up well overnight on the counter. I cannot wait to taste Ed's '06 rendition.
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9/6/2007 - lstevens wrote: 94 Points
Since I bought 6 of these, I felt no hesitation in popping one and seeing how it was drinking. I must admit that I was really looking forward to this based on two facts...Ed Kurtzman made the wine and that the alcohol content was only 13.9%! Certainly no guarantee of quality, but a mighty good start. I drank this over a 2 and 1/2 hours after splash decanting. Here's my notes...
App-opaque purple to the rim without variation, daybright, high intensity (4 pts)
Nose-Aromatic intensity was high (I could immediately smell it as I was pouring it into the decanter), lots of ripe blackberry, black raspberry, creosote, black pepper, violet, touch of vanillin, smoke, toast, allspice, little tilled soil, I was a touch concerned that this would be a jammy blockbuster on the palate, but it was a pleasure to smell (13 pts)
Palate-two things jumped out to me immediately, the wonderful weight/mouthfeel and the lack of heat, beautiful entry of fruit confirming the nose following through all the way to the finish, alcohol and acid are beatifully matched, defintate presence of tannins but they are long and well integrated, really enjoyed the way the fruit came across as plump and juicy but not jammy, this was a pleasure to drink and I look forward to watching it's evolution (18 pts)
Overall-I am not familiar with this vineyard, but I just loved Ed K's expression of it...all the parts are there-fruit, alcohol, acid, tannin, finish, wonderful harmony (9 pts) Total-94 pts
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1/1/2007 - Florida Keys Girl wrote:
this definitely needs some time in the bottle - the structure is there for major improvement but right now it is a bit disjointed.
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12/25/2006 - tederf wrote: 92 Points
My first bottle from Ed Kurzman. Really liked this - as did everyone else. Strong black pepper mixed with red/black fruit. Extremely well integrated - long finish. Decanted for two hours.
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12/8/2006 - Screameagle wrote: 90 Points
I tried a bottle of this wine way too young even with a couple hours of decanting. It's a beautifully made syrah and should age effortlessly for at least 5 possibly 10 more years. Kudos Ed to crafting a great syrah. I think this wine could improve to 92-93 points with some ageing.
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