A little too concentrated for our tastes. Lots of dark stone fruit and bacon. Chocolatey petroleum on the nose. Might have been slightly flawed considering some of the other reviews. I love Saxon Brown's Zins but this Syrah didn't quite do it for me.
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Decanted 1 to 2 hours. Not your typical syrah. Refined, balanced; not a chewy / spicy fruit bomb like some other California syrahs. Watermelon jollyrancher, along with pomegranate and hints of violet and mocha. Nice long, grippy finish.
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Had over 2 days, decanted for an hour and had 2 glasses during the evening and finished the bottle the following day without much difference in taste/nose. Thought this was bright and fresh, very good nose, cherries and strawberries. Slightly lighter in color and texture than your typical syrah, thought it had a nice velvety finish. Thoroughly enjoyed and would like to have again
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Lighter hue than the Santa Barbara Tensley Vineyard Syrah I had previously. Light floral bouquet with strawberries and cherries. On the palette the wine was cool and rereshing with great acidity and fruit to match. Tannins were very soft which was not surprising given the cool climate to which the Flora Ranch belongs. Notes of chocolate began to develop with time. Was disappointed with the length of the wine, as it dropped off for me after mid palette. I think this is a thoroughly enjoyable wine but probably a little too fully priced for me at $36. I'd gladly pay $30 for it.
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Went on Greg dal Piaz's recco on this. I asked him for a cool climate Cali Syrah and this surely delivered. Great complex nose of pebbles,moss, white pepper and dark plums. THe palate showed elegance, structure, restraint and beauty. Great under current of red fruits and tight tannins. Deft acid level. Nice decent finish. This was surely a crowd pleaser on the table. One that I wish were a magnum than a 750 as I hated to see it go.
Thanks Greg.
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As per yesterday's review, I finished the remaining wine. Good news: apparently finished its last rock and roll set and went into a more of a Steely Dan approach to music. Which I like. Bad News: At times was more acidic and one dimensional (which is to be expected I guess). The finish was shorter in some respects but did resonate in other respects. Confused? So am I. Conclusion: Sill not a Syrah fan
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First time having a Syrah from this producer. Did not decant and had just a glass . Not a huge fan of this varietal. Just feel like it's a cab sav w/o the the elegance. Thankfully,Jeff Gaffner toned it down. Some of the fellas could take a cue Down Under. (That may be a bit Smug on my part) Great appearance and texture. Alas, all fruit forward. In music parlance, this puppy is all Rock and Roll. Add a point if you like AC DC in your wine. I'll try a 2nd glass tomorrow to see if it rounds into anything worth mentioning. (2 views)
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opaque color, the nose is not particularly fruit driven with strong notes of soil, creosote, roasted plum, spicy oak, coffee beans, roast beef, and a light sweet almost spearmint note that adds freshness, this continues to remind me of Cornas done by Guigal in LaLa style. - fairly opulently styled in the mouth yet not over the top, rich with ripe tannins and good acidity, plum, mineral, and gently bitter root vegetable notes dominate the entry before the midpalate turns more soil driven with a mysterious toasty grain note and a unique green herb freshness that sets this apart from typical cali syrah, a slight pepperiness becomes more pronounced with time, competing with blackberry notes for domiance and comes to be the dominant feature of the long finish which is slightly drying yet exceptionally savory. Alot of wine and in need of some grilled, assertive beast, wild boar perhaps but on it own intriguing and unique. I guess this wine strength and weakness is it's exceptionally savoriness which will be off putting to some but is what makes it appealing to me.
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7/4/2016 - HitAnyKey Likes this wine: 88 Points
Very earthy, great balance, subdued tannins. Went perfectly with direct from farm grilled lamb ribs.
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9/20/2013 - javadrinker wrote: 86 Points
A little too concentrated for our tastes. Lots of dark stone fruit and bacon. Chocolatey petroleum on the nose. Might have been slightly flawed considering some of the other reviews. I love Saxon Brown's Zins but this Syrah didn't quite do it for me.
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8/13/2009 - umass98som wrote: 89 Points
Decanted 1 to 2 hours. Not your typical syrah. Refined, balanced; not a chewy / spicy fruit bomb like some other California syrahs. Watermelon jollyrancher, along with pomegranate and hints of violet and mocha. Nice long, grippy finish.
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1/31/2009 - MikeTrom wrote: 91 Points
Had over 2 days, decanted for an hour and had 2 glasses during the evening and finished the bottle the following day without much difference in taste/nose. Thought this was bright and fresh, very good nose, cherries and strawberries. Slightly lighter in color and texture than your typical syrah, thought it had a nice velvety finish. Thoroughly enjoyed and would like to have again
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3/10/2008 - duggarm@outlook.com wrote: 90 Points
Lighter hue than the Santa Barbara Tensley Vineyard Syrah I had previously. Light floral bouquet with strawberries and cherries. On the palette the wine was cool and rereshing with great acidity and fruit to match. Tannins were very soft which was not surprising given the cool climate to which the Flora Ranch belongs. Notes of chocolate began to develop with time. Was disappointed with the length of the wine, as it dropped off for me after mid palette. I think this is a thoroughly enjoyable wine but probably a little too fully priced for me at $36. I'd gladly pay $30 for it.
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3/8/2008 - vickib wrote: 89 Points
Sweet fruit, fragrance of violets which lingered in the finish. It was delicious with a flank steak.
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12/4/2007 - King Cab wrote: 90 Points
Went on Greg dal Piaz's recco on this. I asked him for a cool climate Cali Syrah and this surely delivered. Great complex nose of pebbles,moss, white pepper and dark plums. THe palate showed elegance, structure, restraint and beauty. Great under current of red fruits and tight tannins. Deft acid level. Nice decent finish. This was surely a crowd pleaser on the table. One that I wish were a magnum than a 750 as I hated to see it go.
Thanks Greg.
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11/7/2007 - Philly-O wrote: 87 Points
As per yesterday's review, I finished the remaining wine. Good news: apparently finished its last rock and roll set and went into a more of a Steely Dan approach to music. Which I like. Bad News: At times was more acidic and one dimensional (which is to be expected I guess). The finish was shorter in some respects but did resonate in other respects. Confused? So am I. Conclusion: Sill not a Syrah fan
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11/6/2007 - Philly-O wrote: 87 Points
First time having a Syrah from this producer. Did not decant and had just a glass . Not a huge fan of this varietal. Just feel like it's a cab sav w/o the the elegance. Thankfully,Jeff Gaffner toned it down. Some of the fellas could take a cue Down Under. (That may be a bit Smug on my part) Great appearance and texture. Alas, all fruit forward. In music parlance, this puppy is all Rock and Roll. Add a point if you like AC DC in your wine. I'll try a 2nd glass tomorrow to see if it rounds into anything worth mentioning. (2 views)
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7/24/2007 - Gregory Dal Piaz wrote: 92 Points
opaque color, the nose is not particularly fruit driven with strong notes of soil, creosote, roasted plum, spicy oak, coffee beans, roast beef, and a light sweet almost spearmint note that adds freshness, this continues to remind me of Cornas done by Guigal in LaLa style. - fairly opulently styled in the mouth yet not over the top, rich with ripe tannins and good acidity, plum, mineral, and gently bitter root vegetable notes dominate the entry before the midpalate turns more soil driven with a mysterious toasty grain note and a unique green herb freshness that sets this apart from typical cali syrah, a slight pepperiness becomes more pronounced with time, competing with blackberry notes for domiance and comes to be the dominant feature of the long finish which is slightly drying yet exceptionally savory. Alot of wine and in need of some grilled, assertive beast, wild boar perhaps but on it own intriguing and unique. I guess this wine strength and weakness is it's exceptionally savoriness which will be off putting to some but is what makes it appealing to me.
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3/14/2007 - dougsmith wrote: 91 Points
David Bowler Spring 2007 Portfolio Tasting (New York City): Deep ruby color. More new-world nose of cola, bright cassis and violets. On the palate this is quite full bodied with good presence.
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