From magnum. Opened a couple hours ahead but didn't decant. Excellent with short ribs. I think this was drinking better than the last bottle of this we had almost 4 years ago.
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We last had this wine in 2016… and honestly, it’s just starting to enter a real drinking window. Still primordial in color, the fruit, tannins, and acid are integrating nicely. Yes there is a slight eucalyptus note on the nose but with air, not really detectable in the flavors- if anything a very slight menthol note on the finish. This is a bold wine with great notes of cherry, blueberry, some floral characteristics, nectarine and tar- not monolithic, it’s very complex… concentrated with real texture, this will go on forever (like the finish).
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From the moment the cork came out (pristine, with the thinnest edge of dark stain at the tip), the wine announced itself, concentrated notes of violet, dark cherry, blackberry, and yes, the infamous eucalyptus above it all, in a higher register. Such an intensity of flavors, and yet, all in harmony, each supporting the other, and each seemingly stepping to the fore for a few bars of solo, then back into the ensemble. The tannins, so beautifully integrated, giving just the right tart, acidic balance. Served at cellar temperature, directly from the bottle, without decanting - perfection. There may be plenty of life left in other bottles, but one would not do wrong to drink this now.
Decanted 2 hours. Very good, paired well with pot roast. No sense that it will get any better with time, nor that it's fading. Not as big/weighty as I recalled, maybe has mellowed a bit with age ... well-rounded & full on the palate, medium to medium+ body. Telltale Eucalypus definitely noticeable but not too much.
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Only has another ten years or so of useful life ahead of it. Needs to breathe a good two or three hours (or decant). Stunningly complex - I won't even try to list all the stuff I detected on the nose and on the palate. However (and it pains me to say this), it's more interesting and thought provoking than it is enjoyable.
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Popped and poured. Drinking really well right out of the bottle. Didn't get to come back to it but very dark, concentrated fruit with a nice long finish. Holding well but would be drinking now. A-
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This was from a magnum. Aged but still a baby. I opened this 4 hours before serving and it was singing. Just a touch of herbal. Great length on the palate. The wine was really complete. Complex but with a bit of what's that. I have one more magnum of this vintage and will hold it for 4-5 years if I can. As a comparison, I opened a 2001 Orion 750 to follow this. Popped and poured. It was delicious but needed some air. These wines are so age worthy.
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Best Orion yet for me. One interesting thing about this wine that it can smell or taste like so many things, nearly anything you can think of. Another is that it paired with EVERY food we ate tonight (less so with arugula salad but even that). Notes of olives, cooked collards, cumin, BBQ sauce & who knows what else. Most of all - Thackrey.
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Outstanding complexity with nuanced layers. An Original. Every once in while the glass is filled with something that isn't simply another nice wine- even calling it wine belies what lies within.
The nose: While savoring the depths my daughter asks, "When are you going take a sip?" Honestly the nose alone is reason enough to seek this out.
Mouthfeel is extraordinary. Full yet weightless. Silky almost unnoticeable tannins, so well integrated from age and provenance.
Life cycle- 10 years old & I suspect this is just beginning to express itself. Any earlier and it was likely a jammy chewy mess. A crime to open. Given present vitality guessing 2024-2030 would be just insane.
Length, depth, vitality, balance and complexity. Serious juice.
Not a party wine, this deserves contemplation and withstands intense examination.
3 hour bottle breathe, then decanted for another hour of air. Served with a grass-fed Porterhouse from Olivier's Butchery, mushroom risotto and sautéed spinach.
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I didn't get a chance to revisit this, but upon opening it was good, but a little less giving than the '02, which was much more enjoyable. Possible it opened up later so will defer to next time...
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Beautiful, clear, deep, bright cherry color, very difficult to place the varietal blend based on this color, almost reminiscent of barbera or gamay. Similarly beguiling nose and palate of exotic spice, Penfolds-like eucalyptus and intense oak, blueberries, Rhone fruit and kirsch. Minimal acidity, pleasant tannins building late, and a kick of volatility and heat from the alcohol. A really interesting, cerebral wine that led to much opining around the table on this wine's true quality, and much speculation on the unknown grape blend. This is not a wine I would enjoy drinking every day, but in an era when most California cult wines taste predictably similar, this seems more like what a cult wine should be, idiosyncratic and fascinating. 14.4% abv
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Dark and inky. Still looks fresh. When great, this wine can be one of my very favorites but they can be variable. This was my first time trying the 2004 and it was impressive. Seemingly just starting to change. Clean aromas of berries and briar. Nice spice as well. Slight smell of VA. This looks so dark but it is actually more red fruited. This nears the edge of ripeness but just stays in check. I think this is doing fine but seems like it is on the edge of evolving into a beauty or heading down a road of imbalance and VA. I am hopeful for the former and will let my other bottle sleep.
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Big hit a party. Opened (not decanted) about an hour before tasting. At this point, it probably should be decanted. Assertive, plummy nose. Typical Orion flavor profile - plums, peaches, white pepper and an unmistakeable, but unidentifiable herbal component. Very rich, with a long, rich finish.
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wow this wine is terrific- a field blend of old vine reds- delicious, balanced, fresh, vibrant- a bit reticent on the nose- but jam packed with black and red fruit (currant, blueberry, cherries and a hint of fig and pepper with hints of balsamic)- mouthwatering; good middle middle and a long finish- so many people talk about mint or eucaplyptus in this wine but i don't get it in this one....
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I'm generally not a fan of California syrah but I have to say that this wine surprised me. Beautiful dark ruby color. Medium-weight and very fresh with lovely flavors of black currants and blueberries with hints of pepper and spice. There is a wonderul uplift of opulence to this wine and the texture and flavor profile reminds me very much of a Jamet Cote Rotie which is high praise in my book. Finishes with dry but smooth tannins. Beautifully balanced so it should age well but it's gorgeous now. This has the restraint and fineness that I look for in great wines. Wow!
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very solid showing. Very rich and meaty syrah. Had some Orion tones that would bring the white pepper and peaches, but this was far more masculine of a wine than most Orions. It was well balanced, not hot at all and no rough edges.W ill age easily another 10 yrs but still fun to drink at this stage
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The star of the evening, decanted for about two hours, by the time we drank it with a cheese platter, it was fully ready to drink, rich, deep flavors, a bit of mint or eucalyptus, but not in a distracting way. Everyone wanted to get on the emailing list for this wine... It will get get better with time, but it is excellent now.
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Decanted for a couple of hours. Over dinner, we tasted it with full Christmas fare. It had an odd aroma. I couldn't find the right words, but my daughter, who has a good sense for wine flavors, identified the nose -- do you remember as a kid the pink gooey stuff that you could stick a straw into and blow plasticy bubbles? That's the smell -- three of us at the table agreed. Fortunately, the taste was much better -- red fruits, but not earthy, dark overtones. Lighter than I expected. Was it just this bottle? something different this time compared to the last bottle.
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very surprising. I am a big Orion fan and this did not disappoint. The youngest Orion I had tasted before was the 2000. I thought this was going to be a monster, but it was sleek, rich and very complex. This is where Orion stands above many of the others, it is built to last. Too many new syrahs are just rich opulent wines that taste good but cannot last. This wine will be great in another 4-5 years, but you can tell newer wines are not made to age like they had in the past
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Never had this before, but it is quite a stunner, even though I'm not a big Syrah fan. The nose is just super-intense with tobacco, earth, dark berries, menthol. The taste is highly structured and balanced with its long beginning, middle and end just a continuous sense of fat fruit, deep dark fruit, nice acidity to contrast with the fatness, tobacco and chocolate, and soft tannins just trailing along at the end.
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Black. Menthol and eucalyptus on the nose – this smells like cherry cough medicine. Much more pleasant on the palate – this is young and needs time. I have no idea where this baby will be in 5 to 6 years, but right now, an oddity. (87?)
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11/19/2023 - PVJC Likes this wine: 96 Points
From magnum. Opened a couple hours ahead but didn't decant. Excellent with short ribs. I think this was drinking better than the last bottle of this we had almost 4 years ago.
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11/13/2021 - jonnyoro wrote: 97 Points
We last had this wine in 2016… and honestly, it’s just starting to enter a real drinking window. Still primordial in color, the fruit, tannins, and acid are integrating nicely. Yes there is a slight eucalyptus note on the nose but with air, not really detectable in the flavors- if anything a very slight menthol note on the finish. This is a bold wine with great notes of cherry, blueberry, some floral characteristics, nectarine and tar- not monolithic, it’s very complex… concentrated with real texture, this will go on forever (like the finish).
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7/30/2020 - IJC Likes this wine:
Outstanding.
From the moment the cork came out (pristine, with the thinnest edge of dark stain at the tip), the wine announced itself, concentrated notes of violet, dark cherry, blackberry, and yes, the infamous eucalyptus above it all, in a higher register.
Such an intensity of flavors, and yet, all in harmony, each supporting the other, and each seemingly stepping to the fore for a few bars of solo, then back into the ensemble. The tannins, so beautifully integrated, giving just the right tart, acidic balance.
Served at cellar temperature, directly from the bottle, without decanting - perfection.
There may be plenty of life left in other bottles, but one would not do wrong to drink this now.
Rated +3 on a scale of -1 to +3.
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2/8/2020 - PVJC Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 2 hours. Very good, paired well with pot roast. No sense that it will get any better with time, nor that it's fading. Not as big/weighty as I recalled, maybe has mellowed a bit with age ... well-rounded & full on the palate, medium to medium+ body. Telltale Eucalypus definitely noticeable but not too much.
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12/31/2017 - Night Train Likes this wine: 92 Points
Only has another ten years or so of useful life ahead of it. Needs to breathe a good two or three hours (or decant). Stunningly complex - I won't even try to list all the stuff I detected on the nose and on the palate. However (and it pains me to say this), it's more interesting and thought provoking than it is enjoyable.
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9/8/2017 - H*3 wrote: 92 Points
Drinking great with plenty of life left
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9/3/2017 - MC wrote:
Similar to my last note. This was a big hit and drinking well. A-
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7/21/2017 - MC wrote:
Popped and poured. Drinking really well right out of the bottle. Didn't get to come back to it but very dark, concentrated fruit with a nice long finish. Holding well but would be drinking now. A-
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9/30/2016 - psusfca Likes this wine: 95 Points
This was from a magnum. Aged but still a baby. I opened this 4 hours before serving and it was singing. Just a touch of herbal. Great length on the palate. The wine was really complete. Complex but with a bit of what's that. I have one more magnum of this vintage and will hold it for 4-5 years if I can. As a comparison, I opened a 2001 Orion 750 to follow this. Popped and poured. It was delicious but needed some air. These wines are so age worthy.
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12/20/2015 - GrandeSerataFuori wrote: 93 Points
Best Orion yet for me. One interesting thing about this wine that it can smell or taste like so many things, nearly anything you can think of. Another is that it paired with EVERY food we ate tonight (less so with arugula salad but even that). Notes of olives, cooked collards, cumin, BBQ sauce & who knows what else. Most of all - Thackrey.
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10/25/2014 - NotNYC wrote: 95 Points
Outstanding complexity with nuanced layers. An Original.
Every once in while the glass is filled with something that isn't simply another nice wine- even calling it wine belies what lies within.
The nose: While savoring the depths my daughter asks, "When are you going take a sip?" Honestly the nose alone is reason enough to seek this out.
Mouthfeel is extraordinary. Full yet weightless. Silky almost unnoticeable tannins, so well integrated from age and provenance.
Life cycle- 10 years old & I suspect this is just beginning to express itself. Any earlier and it was likely a jammy chewy mess. A crime to open. Given present vitality guessing 2024-2030 would be just insane.
Length, depth, vitality, balance and complexity.
Serious juice.
Not a party wine, this deserves contemplation and withstands intense examination.
3 hour bottle breathe, then decanted for another hour of air. Served with a grass-fed Porterhouse from Olivier's Butchery, mushroom risotto and sautéed spinach.
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12/26/2013 - MC wrote:
I didn't get a chance to revisit this, but upon opening it was good, but a little less giving than the '02, which was much more enjoyable. Possible it opened up later so will defer to next time...
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8/5/2013 - petitblanc wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful, clear, deep, bright cherry color, very difficult to place the varietal blend based on this color, almost reminiscent of barbera or gamay. Similarly beguiling nose and palate of exotic spice, Penfolds-like eucalyptus and intense oak, blueberries, Rhone fruit and kirsch. Minimal acidity, pleasant tannins building late, and a kick of volatility and heat from the alcohol. A really interesting, cerebral wine that led to much opining around the table on this wine's true quality, and much speculation on the unknown grape blend. This is not a wine I would enjoy drinking every day, but in an era when most California cult wines taste predictably similar, this seems more like what a cult wine should be, idiosyncratic and fascinating. 14.4% abv
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6/10/2013 - jasonh Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark and inky. Still looks fresh. When great, this wine can be one of my very favorites but they can be variable. This was my first time trying the 2004 and it was impressive. Seemingly just starting to change. Clean aromas of berries and briar. Nice spice as well. Slight smell of VA. This looks so dark but it is actually more red fruited. This nears the edge of ripeness but just stays in check. I think this is doing fine but seems like it is on the edge of evolving into a beauty or heading down a road of imbalance and VA. I am hopeful for the former and will let my other bottle sleep.
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9/22/2012 - Night Train wrote: 92 Points
Big hit a party. Opened (not decanted) about an hour before tasting. At this point, it probably should be decanted. Assertive, plummy nose. Typical Orion flavor profile - plums, peaches, white pepper and an unmistakeable, but unidentifiable herbal component. Very rich, with a long, rich finish.
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7/11/2012 - jonnyoro wrote: 96 Points
wow this wine is terrific- a field blend of old vine reds- delicious, balanced, fresh, vibrant- a bit reticent on the nose- but jam packed with black and red fruit (currant, blueberry, cherries and a hint of fig and pepper with hints of balsamic)- mouthwatering; good middle middle and a long finish- so many people talk about mint or eucaplyptus in this wine but i don't get it in this one....
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2/19/2012 - dream wrote: 93 Points
I'm generally not a fan of California syrah but I have to say that this wine surprised me. Beautiful dark ruby color. Medium-weight and very fresh with lovely flavors of black currants and blueberries with hints of pepper and spice. There is a wonderul uplift of opulence to this wine and the texture and flavor profile reminds me very much of a Jamet Cote Rotie which is high praise in my book. Finishes with dry but smooth tannins. Beautifully balanced so it should age well but it's gorgeous now. This has the restraint and fineness that I look for in great wines. Wow!
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2/26/2011 - mariolanza wrote: 90 Points
Excellent dark aromas, very plummy but not overblown in any way. Tasted very Bordeaux like to me. Incredible deep blackcurrant and tobacco notes.
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1/23/2011 - zimmy07 wrote:
very solid showing. Very rich and meaty syrah. Had some Orion tones that would bring the white pepper and peaches, but this was far more masculine of a wine than most Orions. It was well balanced, not hot at all and no rough edges.W ill age easily another 10 yrs but still fun to drink at this stage
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7/19/2009 - wbq8f wrote: 92 Points
The star of the evening, decanted for about two hours, by the time we drank it with a cheese platter, it was fully ready to drink, rich, deep flavors, a bit of mint or eucalyptus, but not in a distracting way. Everyone wanted to get on the emailing list for this wine... It will get get better with time, but it is excellent now.
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12/25/2008 - wbq8f wrote: 88 Points
Decanted for a couple of hours. Over dinner, we tasted it with full Christmas fare. It had an odd aroma. I couldn't find the right words, but my daughter, who has a good sense for wine flavors, identified the nose -- do you remember as a kid the pink gooey stuff that you could stick a straw into and blow plasticy bubbles? That's the smell -- three of us at the table agreed. Fortunately, the taste was much better -- red fruits, but not earthy, dark overtones. Lighter than I expected. Was it just this bottle? something different this time compared to the last bottle.
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11/5/2008 - zimmy07 wrote: flawed
really lean with no fruit. bad bottle
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4/3/2008 - zimmy07 wrote: 92 Points
very surprising. I am a big Orion fan and this did not disappoint. The youngest Orion I had tasted before was the 2000. I thought this was going to be a monster, but it was sleek, rich and very complex. This is where Orion stands above many of the others, it is built to last. Too many new syrahs are just rich opulent wines that taste good but cannot last. This wine will be great in another 4-5 years, but you can tell newer wines are not made to age like they had in the past
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12/26/2007 - wbq8f wrote: 90 Points
Big, rich fruity flavor, a real blockbuster.fully ready to drink, but should last for years. Not great complexity; just pure pleasure.
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10/30/2007 - JWG wrote: 95 Points
Never had this before, but it is quite a stunner, even though I'm not a big Syrah fan. The nose is just super-intense with tobacco, earth, dark berries, menthol.
The taste is highly structured and balanced with its long beginning, middle and end just a continuous sense of fat fruit, deep dark fruit, nice acidity to contrast with the fatness, tobacco and chocolate, and soft tannins just trailing along at the end.
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6/17/2007 - dbkitc wrote: 87 Points
Black. Menthol and eucalyptus on the nose – this smells like cherry cough medicine. Much more pleasant on the palate – this is young and needs time. I have no idea where this baby will be in 5 to 6 years, but right now, an oddity. (87?)
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