Dark purple-red with the slightest fading at the rim. Violets and roast meats on the nose. Plush on the palate but with the slightest bit of bite. Blackberries and cherries. Sharp tannins, bit overly acidic. decent balance. Finishes long and dark fruited with a bit of anise and sharp spice. Good but not what I expected. This is not typical of my experience with aged Lagier Meredith Syrahs which tend to hold their age very well. Still pleasure here, but if you have any (I still do) you may want to try one and see where it stands. I'll try one in a year or so. I'm hoping this is just a bit of an off bottle. Otherwise, I'd drink up.
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"Edge lightening suggests age. Slight bricking. Nose has lots of fruit, dark and jam-like, some age as well. Full mouthfeel with dark fruits, spices, and oak. Hard to tell what's going on in the palate, definitely still tight. Finish is all spiced plum. Nice acidity with integrated tannins."
As the night went on this wine shed its oak and baby fat and started to show some more fruit. It is unbelievable that this is 20 years old. Other tasters had this as 2018-19. Like other notes suggest, this can go quite awhile longer.
Drink now with a good 2-3h decant to give it a chance to show its stuff. Very primary still.
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"Touch of fading and about 1mm of bricking. Bing cherry tobacco, vanilla, some VA. Smooth malolactic mouthfeel. Medium body, good structure and mouthfeel. Some tart purple fruits and flowers become noticeable later on in the night. Seems old world and about 7-10 years old. 91pts."
Very surprised at the age here. It has held up great and is in its drinking window, undoubtedly from its elevation. Definitely more old world in style but still fairly fruit forward. Love the structure and it did not fade over ~4 hours.
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Drinking well, this looks and tastes much younger than its years. Well integrated tannins, dark fruit and some olive and earth notes. I see no reason to think this couldn't go much longer, and even develop further.
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Tasted blind. Red fruit, dark berries, and a hint of smoke on the nose. Quite lush palate without being overly ripe with well integrated tannins, dark fruit, and medium acidity. Good finish. This felt younger than almost 20 years and has held up really well. Also suffered a bit from being poured after the 2016 O Diviso, but it was a nice wine!
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Deep garnet, almost no color development; nose is a melange of creosote, crushed dark berries, garrigue, hint of violet/lavendar; deep, intensely flavored, dark boysenberry, blackberry, pomegranate, more of that garrigue, dried herbs, lovely spice, anise, excellent acidity, tannins are here, but subsumed by the fruit intensity. A fabulous California Syrah, in the early phase of what would seem another couple of decades long drinking window. On first opening, was a bit more red fruited, somewhat leaner, with a slightly tart note. Give this a few hours decant before drinking. My guess is that it will be even better tomorrow.
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Opened for our youngest daughter's 18th bday...slow oxed in bottle for an hour...tons of caked on bottle sediment. A very harmonious bottle...well integrated and showing much better than the last bottle 9yrs ago. Wonderful dark berried fruits...plum, cassis, blackberry...ripe and rustic, with a refreshing streak of acidity lifting the dark fruit. Has a smooth softness from age...very complex notes of olive, smoked meat, camphor, leather...sneaky white pepper spice, violet florals, and dried autumn leaves...not in your face style...more subtle...a true joy to drink!
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Layered aromas of black olives, frosting, roasting herbed leg of lamb, and higher-toned fruit. Rich in a subtly powerful way, with wild blackberries, a California chaparral/tingly mid-palate, just a ripping old school California syrah.
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Lagier Meredith Syrah never seems to reach full maturity. That's true for this bottle, which still has vivid blackberry fruit, though it also has some of those maturing elements. Dried herbs, old leather and roasted meat supplement the fruit, yet it's still that fruit which takes center stage. Good showing, if surprising with its youthfulness.
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1/19. A spectacular Syrah. Despite the half and alcohol at 14.7% in fines a balance that leans towards the fruit but there’s enough structure to make it very interesting. The nicest thing about the wine is the bouquet which is reminiscent of a fine coat roti with the graphite tar meat and berries that are the standard for the region. A great cross between high-altitude California and Rhône. As another 2 to 5 years of potential and I’m looking forward to the next bottle
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WCC US Syrah Blind (Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY): [Double-decanted around 5pm.] Interesting, complex nose. Ripe juicy delicious red fruit and unsweetened chocolate. Long finish. A bit more subtle than 1 or 3.
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Two years ago I wrote about this wine, and mentioned blackberry fruit and roasted meat. Well flash forward two years and those elements are still going strong in the wine. It's wilder now, with more warm herbs and a spicy accent. Balance is good, with structural tannin on the back end, so allied with the still strong fruit, there seems to be plenty of time left for this bottling. Fourteen years since the vintage, this is strong evidence for the site that Carole and Steve so ably tend atop Mt. Veeder.
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Decanted 2hrs, drank over 2 days. Dark purple to black. Opaque and oil slick shine. Bright and youthful looking, no rim variation or signs of bricking/oxidation. Dark black and blue fruits, cola, pepper spice, forest floor, dark cocoa. Full on attack, crushed blue and black berries, good med+ weight on the mid palate, nice acidity, medicinal cherry notes, long finish, soft and plush, fruit, tannins, alcohol,acidity all well balanced. Charcuterie, violets, mint. Wine is drinking very well, this has some time to go also. Youthful, complex and well balanced
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The aromas and flavors match showing dark fruit, black pepper, potpourri and meat. Drinking well now but no rush - integrated medium+ acid/tannins make for a nicely balanced wine.
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Fantastic old school Syrah - black olive and slow-cooked meat galore on the nose, peppery cherry on the palate, great weight and grip...the type of wine you would showcase to an Old World 'snob' who feels California wines don't age. This is aging so gracefully, has so much life and energy left in it...
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Dark cherry, bacon fat, and plenty of acidity. This could go out years, but it is delicious. These wines take forever to age, and each time I open a bottle, I am reminded of our visit with Carole Meredith and Steve Lagier and tasting their wines overlooking the beautiful vineyard.
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Pop and pour and served with food (beef tacos, in case you were wondering). Followed for about 4 hours both with the food and then on its own. Dark inky black color. Wonderful nose of black cherries, some black olives and touch of violet. Enticing. Deep and rich wine showing black fruits and some bacon with a streak of acidity that lightens the richness of the wine. I did not get any port notes like the 2001 L-M syrah tasted last night.
Came back to this the following night after refrigerating what remained in the bottle from the previous evening. Let it warm up a bit to about 68 degrees F. Even better on the second night; the black cherries were well balanced by the acidity and herbal notes in the wine. Very good.
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Popped and poured. Followed over 3 hours. Beserker Day purchase
Youthful purple color without bricking. Reticent aromas with some VA and acetones that were initially detracting. These subsided gradually over time. The wines were better in standard Riedel bordeaux/Zalto Universal glasses than the Zalto bordeaux - due to VA/acetones.
Palate showed youthful savory purple fruit with lots of umami character. Not similar to the Rocks, and more akin to my limited experience with some N Rhones (Rostaing, Guigal, Gonon), the medium viscosity flavor profile was thick with character and herbs. Finished long with mild VA and acetone.
Great bottle of wine, albeit marred by some volatiles. Contrasting to other taster's notes, our consensus was that this bottle could've gone 3-5 more years easily.
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Enjoy this producer but I think this is starting on the downhill. Little fruit left, nice soft tannins. Didn't improve over the course of the meal. Put through venturi. Certainly still a nice wine but drink up.
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Excellent wine. Bought as part of Berserkers Day. First one in the vertical that we pulled out. Drinking perfectly right now. Popped and poured. More old world in nature (aka, not overly fruit forward and a decent amount of earth). Very well done as always from this producer.
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Popped and poured. This is a dark plum colored wine. On the nose, I get black cherry, blackberry, and a bit of firepit. In the mouth, this tastes of a black fruit pie with a bit of spice sprinkled on top, all of which leaves a lingering and complex flavor on the finish. This wine is showing its age a bit, and I think it is time to drink up. Nevertheless, it should continue to hold pleasure for a few more years. 92 points.
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The nose showed intense, ripe blackberry and spice up front followed by notes of crushed blueberry, tobacco, green olive, violet florals and hints of animal musk. It was like velvety on the palate, yet fresh and lively throughout, as ripe black fruits and spice flooded the senses with sweet herbs and hints cherry liquor. The finish showed spiced cherry and blackberry fruit with mineral tones lingering long.
This was singing after an hour in the decanter.
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The nose had a good bit of fruit at first, but after an hour or two in decanter it really shined. Lucious dark fruit, smoky cured meat, spices, licorice, brambles.
Medium acid. Medium plus tannin, we'll developed and soft.
Blackberry and spices on the palate. Beautiful wine. Better now than the 2001.
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Been a long while since I visited this vintage. Wow, it's still going strong. Young and fresh, still that silky mountain fruit driving the bus. purple, magenta core, crushed berry, juicy acidity. Full flavored but a light mouthfeel. Really enjoyable, and lots of life ahead. Even 12 years in, I would say hands off for a little while longer.
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Needs an hour to open up, and then rich, deep, spicy Syrah fruit comes out to play. Fruit-forward to be sure but well balanced with acids and ample tannins. Seems young still, with tantalizing hints of pepper and herby typicity underneath, but for now it's about deep, juicy and cool fruit. I like the grip here. Could improve still, would be fun to try again in 5-10 years. Very nice.
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Purple red color. Aromas of black cherry, pepper and wood spices. Ripe, somewhat elegant fruit in the mouth with excellent depth and length. The wine is firmly in its peak drinking period as the ample tannins are well-integrated and the wine is now beautifully balanced.
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Beautiful wine. So much more perfume than you would expect with the age. Dark fruits, pepper, and great lift. Medium bodied with elegance. A true syrah for the dinner table with hints of meat. Lots of life left here. 92+.
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Lagier Meredith Vertical (1999 thru 2010) + (Loren's Home): Another bottle recently purchased from the winery. The nose is quite tight. Eventually opening to show black raspberries and some coffee notes. Delicious, hedonistic wine. Perhaps not the complexity but it drinks so young. Some tannins still present. did not develop much over the evening.
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Just starting to show a little age, but still very young for a 10 year old CA Syrah. The nose was interesting with some bacon, pepper, olive, cherry and leather. Full bodied with some nice meaty and savory components. Long finish.
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Full bodied. Drank younger than it's years. blue fruits, olive, a hint of meat on the nose Sufficient structure to make one think it is no rush to drink up. Throwing fine sediment easily missed in decanting.
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Decanted off a small amount of sediment to reveal an inky purple color fading to ruby at the edges. Tasted within 30 minutes. Vigorous swirling reveals ripe fruits on the nose. Not one of those highly acidic coastal Syrahs, this speaks to Napa mountain fruit and is well balanced. Fascinating on the attack, with spicy black pepper hitting simultaneous with purple/blue fruits, and transitioning into cured meat on the midpalate. Finish shows very fine-grained tannin. Delicious now but no rush on this, still showing fresh and vibrant with plenty of structure for aging.
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PnP, 3 nights. Similar to the '01 I opened a couple months ago, but this version has fuller fruit (darker, richer) and more aromatic and flavor depth (meatier, spicier, olives/anise). Like the '01 this has plenty of grippy tannins and some balancing acidity, but I think this one could be held for a awhile as there is just so much fruit.
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Intense, very dark and deep blackberry/boysenberry fruit, still very youthful and barely starting to show secondary development; a nicely complex wine, with fabulous balance, some fine tannins, drinks beautifully now but should continue to rise to its peak sometime in the next decade I would estimate. Glad to have several more to hold for years to come.
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Very dark and brooding syrah. French in style with complex aromas of earth, olive tapenade, black fruit, and smoke. Would be hard to pick as a CA syrah. Nice mature wine likely at its peak now. Enjoy.
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Kinda expected more, especially at this age. The nose leaps out of the glass with smoke, graphite, charcoal, and tart berries. Medium weight, this sits tart (cool climate/mtn Syrah) on the tongue, with tart blackberry, pepper, beef blood and vanilla on the finish. Overall, nice but expected a little more. "Frenchies" will like this, very Crozes Hermitage in style.
-- Consumed at at cellar temp: 60°-65° F. Friends don't let friends drink red wine at room temp!
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Popped and poured ans served at cellar temp. Great nose of coffee, olives, meat, and black currants. Palate was well integrated with fine tannins, smooth and concentrated dark fruits and great depth. Long finish of fruit, rock, and roasted espresso. Gain complexity and depth in the glass as it warmed and saw air. Probably at peak, but wont in danger of fading anytime soon. Reminded me of Grange a little, in its seamless concentration and balance.
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Dark cloudy plum color; aromatically challenged...a little dark berry cassis, mulch, sweet kirsch, faint white pepper. It needed a little time to open(1hr+)...has some great fresh acidity to go along with dark, but bright tasting berry fruit...almost like grenache to me, as it seemed delicate and floral. Awesome smoothness and creme to it....spice does sneak in every now and then...some camphor, graphite, smoked ribs, even some celery leaves. Age has given it softness, and some rustic plum and cassis...but I really like this wine for how fresh and lite(relative to ooze monsters) it is. More subtle in flavors...but well complexed. Nice wine!
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SQN, Lagier, Pride, Mordoree, Red Car; 8/22/2010-8/23/2010: The oldest since vintage of this wine I have tried. It showed no signs of age and was outstanding. Still tight and in need of more cellar time before maturity. Lots of black raspberries, some leather, some earth. A bit of black pepper. Great texture and pin point acidity. Plenty of structure to allow it to mature out on. I need to let mine age more.
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Thursday Night Tasting at Tooch's (Washington, DC): this is a young wine that would be better in three to five years. dark purple color. the nose opened up with time to show blueberries, earth and nice kick of pepper. on the palate, nice blackberry fruit with some meaty bloody notes, which added complexity. oak is well-integrated. very nice wine.
Wow, what a great place this wine is in right now. Red and black fruits, and flowers just flow from the glass. On the palate the red and black fruits are there, but the flowers take center stage as well as just a slight bit of smoked pork and then finishes with laser like acidity.
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What a nose on this wine! Blackberry, tea leaves, white pepper, and flinty minerality on the nose. Firm and well-structured in the mouth, more blackberry and cassis and some woody herb notes. Medium length finish, preserving some gorgeous flavors. Love the style of this wine.
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Dark purple color. Beautiful nose of blue/black fruits along with some minerals, white pepper and spice. Could have been mistaken for a Northern rhone syrah based on the nose alone. A good dose of ripe blueberry and blackberry on the palate but not overdone or jammy, with some nice minerality and the oak treatment was just perfect. Medium bodied, silky mouthfeel and smooth finish with no detectable heat. This wine showed extremely better compared to the one I opened 16 months ago and is in a very good place right now. The tannin backbone is strong enough to keep this wine drinking for the next few years but there is no reason not to drink it now.
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Decanted for 2 hrs and back in the bottle for a day. Delightful nose of perfectly ripe blackberry, scorched earth, wild flowers, savory grilled herbs and ginger. Succulent blackberry on the medium-weighted palate, along with charcoal and a slatey minerality. The lingering finish shows lots of mineral energy and spice. Excepting a little sweetness on the mid-palate this could pass for a Rhone and promises another 4-5 years of positive development.
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beautiful nose of spice and dark fruit. first taste was ncie but the finish was hot after approx 1hr was opening up and mellowing out. very nice wine. another 4yrs or so of life left in this bottle
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Nose of chocolate blueberry and toast. Dark color in the glass with a soft mouthfeel and fine tannins on the finish. Flavors of blueberry and baking chocolate. Well-integrated oak, but this one didn't seem to have the spicy edge that I like to taste in syrah.
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great colour and the nose had alot of fruit immediatley after opening. a little hot on the finish at first but rounded out after an hr. more rhone like qualities than your typical cally syrah.
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14.7% alcohol... The nose is expressive, but not typically Cali in style...there is a lot of minerality, like what you'd expect from slate, considerable earth, blackberry compote...a large wine that dances quite well around the edges, all that fruit is there, but again the focus is the killer minerality. I love this wine. This reminds me of Priorat or mineral-Rhone from a cooler vintage...nice stuff.
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Inky purple colour. Huge nose shows lots of blueberry pie, some bacon fat and spices. Palate has bright red and dark fruits with some meaty and spicy notes, decent acidity and a medium length finish. Nice, but a little below my expectation.
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A little disappointed with this showing. Had big expectations based on pedigree. The wine was opened for around 4 hours but not decanted. Really dark purple color upon pouring. Gobs of black fruits and fruit jam reduction on the nose. Based on nose alone, I thought this wine was going to rock. However, it fell apart on the mouthfeel and finish. Not a whole lot of flavors on the palate other than some oak and plums and a really short finish. The wine was still somewhat closed so additional air or bottle age may help but my guess is that this vintage just didn't have it.
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good not great but good...wood was a bit more apparent that would prefer and had neither the bright fruit nor the secondary flavors to clearly indentify style...only bottle so do not know how this will develop. In summary fine but not overly interesting.
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Very nice, but not quite as rich as I expected. A very nice balance of blue and black fruits and hints of spice. A good, light touch with oak as well. I was expecting a bigger, fuller bodied Syrah and will keep my other bottles sleeping for a while longer.
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What a fresh and rich nose - blackberry, camphor, licorice, bacon, white pepper and an interesting note of caramel apple. Medium weight, mineral driven palate red/black fruit. Still a little tannic. On day two, there was more juicy fruit, licorice, a banana note and a strong floral element. I found I liked this better the first day. A wine that holds ones interest and stays clear of the heavy sweetness found in many CA Syrahs.
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Lots of pepper and dark fruit. Very dense, yet manages to be elegant and light on its feet, with nice acidity to balance it out. Finishes with fine, gritty tannins. A bit monolithic on day one, this became smoother and more complex on day two.
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Vegas Vacation Wines; 11/6/2006-11/11/2006 (Las Vegas, NV): Elegantly styled syrah. Deep purple color. Aromoa/flavors of blackberry, black cherry, earth, and white pepper. Well layered. Nicely integrated tannins and well structured wine with nice big mouth and long, lingerning finish. Great example of a mountain syrah, deep concentrated flavors and fine grained tannins yield a beautiful syrah.
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Young California Syrah (Chez Shaffer - Highland Park IL): Tasted blind. Red and black fruit aromas with a nice floral touch. Good fruit, overall good balance. Held up to its 14.7% to start, but faded slightly after a couple of hours compared to other Syrahs tasted tonight.
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Wineflock Intro/Retro - California Syrah (The Shaffer's): Group #12, My #10. Deep opaque inky purple. Big rich aroma of tight black fruit with a hint of heat. Big concentrated black fruit with a reasonably long finish, but kind of fell apart in the glass.
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Notes of blueberry and a hint of forest floor early on. On the palate some mild tannin and oak. After a while the fruit disappeared unlike my previous LM experiences. Maybe an off bottle? Next day note: Still lacking in typical fruit, but wine is softer and more approachable and quite food-friendly.
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This bottling shows that candied or crystalline quality to the berry fruit that I also tasted in the '03 and the '04. Not in the same tier as these two recent vintages but with adequate stuffing no doubt. Loads of flavor today but I think this still wants to figure itself out in the bottle.
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14.7% alc...deep and opaque color, really extracted...smells gorgeous, flinty or metallic, deep and rich fruit, but never alcoholic or fruity, really dark and shy by day 2...glorious texture, balance, balance and more balance, though it could use some time to shed all that backbone! Has everything one could want in Syrah, texture, richness and backbone without one whisper of heat. This will be a fun wine to watch develope. ***** out of *****.
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Decanted for three hours, returned to bottle and frig to take to dinner that night, and in the excitement of the day, was promptly forgotten about until we got to the restaurant. The next day, the wine showed a dark purple. Dark fruit on a slightly wound up nose, with hints of exotic and baking spice. What followed was cool mountain fruit, blackberry, dark cherry, but with damp soil, rose wood and spice. Great elegant balance, the tannins were less than obtrusive in this restrained, yet powerful wine. Would have been great with dinner last night.
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Massive black cherry on the nose and palate. Very little noticable tannins. Not the blackberry, eartth dark fruit of the 01, but a massive red and dark fruit explosion that isn't overly extracted. I can't wait for this wine to age. The balance and richness makes this an excellent accompaniment to a variety of meats from lamb to veal to filet.
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Decanted 3 hours. Dark purple in the glass. Beginning to open up a bit after being in the decanter, but still pretty tight. I get very dark fruits mixed with some spice and hints of alcohol. Others have described notes of scorched earth; I guess I can see this, but there is also a bit of a sweet element intermixed with it all. To me, this doesn't have the pure extraction and funk of Alban or the excitement of Pax, but it is still quite good. Overall well balanced and way too young. I think this has the elements to significantly improve over the next 5+ years.
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Just when I'm about ready to write off California syrahs as 'not-my-style', along comes a wine like this that really impresses me. Although over 15% alcohol, the thing that struck me about this wine was it's balance - everything is in it's proper place. Beautiful, complex nose full of crushed red berries, violets, iodine, and - something I guess I have to describe as scorched earth. Deep, round, and silky on the palate, with a very long, building finish. A deft use of oak, and great acidity keep this wine lively despite it's size. One of those distinct wines that I feel like I would easily recognize if tasted again.
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My experience does not resemble the other notes here. This wine opened with some yeasty aromas. They were followed by dark fruit and baking spices. The finish was moderately tannic. It is definitely a baby and seemed to be off right now or I had a bad bottle.
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Thick purple. Aromas of classic syrah including earth, blueberry, hints of mocha and vanilla. I find this more restrained and dignified on the palate with multiple layers starting with blue and black berry flavors as well as earth, then hints of peppery spice on the midpalate, followed by bitter chocolate/bacon fat and moderate tannins. This is more elegant and restrained that most Cali Syrah/Cab with incredible structure. It will be interesting to see how this evolves over the night. Will save my remaining bottle for 3-5 years.
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Blind Red Hot and Blue Wines: Blind 17 - Peppery and rootbeer qualities. Dill. Mesquite beans. Rich, acidic brightness. We're rushing at this point…I don't have any notes on the palate.
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4/17/2024 - HandmadeHomemade wrote: flawed
VA was way out front on this. I am chalking it off to a off bottle, I had some high hopes here.
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3/8/2024 - Charlie C Likes this wine: 88 Points
Dark purple-red with the slightest fading at the rim. Violets and roast meats on the nose. Plush on the palate but with the slightest bit of bite. Blackberries and cherries. Sharp tannins, bit overly acidic. decent balance. Finishes long and dark fruited with a bit of anise and sharp spice. Good but not what I expected. This is not typical of my experience with aged Lagier Meredith Syrahs which tend to hold their age very well. Still pleasure here, but if you have any (I still do) you may want to try one and see where it stands. I'll try one in a year or so. I'm hoping this is just a bit of an off bottle. Otherwise, I'd drink up.
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1/29/2023 - Rbhan12 Likes this wine: 91 Points
Part of a syrah blind tasting.
"Edge lightening suggests age. Slight bricking. Nose has lots of fruit, dark and jam-like, some age as well. Full mouthfeel with dark fruits, spices, and oak. Hard to tell what's going on in the palate, definitely still tight. Finish is all spiced plum. Nice acidity with integrated tannins."
As the night went on this wine shed its oak and baby fat and started to show some more fruit. It is unbelievable that this is 20 years old. Other tasters had this as 2018-19. Like other notes suggest, this can go quite awhile longer.
Drink now with a good 2-3h decant to give it a chance to show its stuff. Very primary still.
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1/27/2023 - Acove Likes this wine: 91 Points
Syrah Blind Tasting: Part of Syrah blind tasting:
"Touch of fading and about 1mm of bricking. Bing cherry tobacco, vanilla, some VA. Smooth malolactic mouthfeel. Medium body, good structure and mouthfeel. Some tart purple fruits and flowers become noticeable later on in the night. Seems old world and about 7-10 years old. 91pts."
Very surprised at the age here. It has held up great and is in its drinking window, undoubtedly from its elevation. Definitely more old world in style but still fairly fruit forward. Love the structure and it did not fade over ~4 hours.
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4/25/2021 - thalver wrote:
Drinking well, this looks and tastes much younger than its years. Well integrated tannins, dark fruit and some olive and earth notes. I see no reason to think this couldn't go much longer, and even develop further.
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4/20/2021 - glou.sf Likes this wine: 92 Points
Tasted blind. Red fruit, dark berries, and a hint of smoke on the nose. Quite lush palate without being overly ripe with well integrated tannins, dark fruit, and medium acidity. Good finish. This felt younger than almost 20 years and has held up really well. Also suffered a bit from being poured after the 2016 O Diviso, but it was a nice wine!
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4/4/2021 - alanr wrote: 94 Points
Deep garnet, almost no color development; nose is a melange of creosote, crushed dark berries, garrigue, hint of violet/lavendar; deep, intensely flavored, dark boysenberry, blackberry, pomegranate, more of that garrigue, dried herbs, lovely spice, anise, excellent acidity, tannins are here, but subsumed by the fruit intensity. A fabulous California Syrah, in the early phase of what would seem another couple of decades long drinking window. On first opening, was a bit more red fruited, somewhat leaner, with a slightly tart note. Give this a few hours decant before drinking. My guess is that it will be even better tomorrow.
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12/2/2020 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 94 Points
Opened for our youngest daughter's 18th bday...slow oxed in bottle for an hour...tons of caked on bottle sediment. A very harmonious bottle...well integrated and showing much better than the last bottle 9yrs ago. Wonderful dark berried fruits...plum, cassis, blackberry...ripe and rustic, with a refreshing streak of acidity lifting the dark fruit. Has a smooth softness from age...very complex notes of olive, smoked meat, camphor, leather...sneaky white pepper spice, violet florals, and dried autumn leaves...not in your face style...more subtle...a true joy to drink!
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8/27/2020 - Erik R. wrote: 94 Points
Layered aromas of black olives, frosting, roasting herbed leg of lamb, and higher-toned fruit. Rich in a subtly powerful way, with wild blackberries, a California chaparral/tingly mid-palate, just a ripping old school California syrah.
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8/4/2020 - Birorganic Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still a baby. Another 10+ years ahead of it. Big fruit.
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2/10/2020 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Lagier Meredith Syrah never seems to reach full maturity. That's true for this bottle, which still has vivid blackberry fruit, though it also has some of those maturing elements. Dried herbs, old leather and roasted meat supplement the fruit, yet it's still that fruit which takes center stage. Good showing, if surprising with its youthfulness.
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1/27/2019 - mreidy wrote: 92 Points
1/19. A spectacular Syrah. Despite the half and alcohol at 14.7% in fines a balance that leans towards the fruit but there’s enough structure to make it very interesting. The nicest thing about the wine is the bouquet which is reminiscent of a fine coat roti with the graphite tar meat and berries that are the standard for the region. A great cross between high-altitude California and Rhône. As another 2 to 5 years of potential and I’m looking forward to the next bottle
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11/29/2018 - kenv Likes this wine: 93 Points
WCC US Syrah Blind (Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY): [Double-decanted around 5pm.] Interesting, complex nose. Ripe juicy delicious red fruit and unsweetened chocolate. Long finish. A bit more subtle than 1 or 3.
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7/17/2018 - andtheodor wrote: 92 Points
Blackberry and black olives, good savoriness, no undue ripeness or oak. Drinking very well now.
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11/3/2017 - jcha24 wrote:
Nice wine but don’t wait to drink it
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10/31/2017 - hsacks Likes this wine: 92 Points
Similar to the 2/12/14 bottle.
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12/15/2016 - Rieslingfan wrote:
Two years ago I wrote about this wine, and mentioned blackberry fruit and roasted meat. Well flash forward two years and those elements are still going strong in the wine. It's wilder now, with more warm herbs and a spicy accent. Balance is good, with structural tannin on the back end, so allied with the still strong fruit, there seems to be plenty of time left for this bottling. Fourteen years since the vintage, this is strong evidence for the site that Carole and Steve so ably tend atop Mt. Veeder.
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10/29/2016 - JKelly05 Likes this wine:
Decanted 2hrs, drank over 2 days.
Dark purple to black. Opaque and oil slick shine.
Bright and youthful looking, no rim variation or signs of bricking/oxidation.
Dark black and blue fruits, cola, pepper spice, forest floor, dark cocoa.
Full on attack, crushed blue and black berries, good med+ weight on the mid palate, nice acidity, medicinal cherry notes, long finish, soft and plush, fruit, tannins, alcohol,acidity all well balanced. Charcuterie, violets, mint.
Wine is drinking very well, this has some time to go also. Youthful, complex and well balanced
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10/21/2016 - hsacks Likes this wine: 93 Points
A touch richer and more complex than the 2/5/16 bottle.
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9/28/2016 - David_T Likes this wine: 91 Points
The aromas and flavors match showing dark fruit, black pepper, potpourri and meat. Drinking well now but no rush - integrated medium+ acid/tannins make for a nicely balanced wine.
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7/14/2016 - PSUSteve wrote:
PnP at the end of a long night so no formal notes. Ready to drink but plenty of time left. Pepper on the pallet stood out.
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4/13/2016 - Todd French Likes this wine:
Fantastic old school Syrah - black olive and slow-cooked meat galore on the nose, peppery cherry on the palate, great weight and grip...the type of wine you would showcase to an Old World 'snob' who feels California wines don't age. This is aging so gracefully, has so much life and energy left in it...
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2/5/2016 - hsacks Likes this wine: 92 Points
Still very fresh and similar to the 2/12/14 bottle.
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1/24/2016 - Diane (LI) wrote:
Dark cherry, bacon fat, and plenty of acidity. This could go out years, but it is delicious. These wines take forever to age, and each time I open a bottle, I am reminded of our visit with Carole Meredith and Steve Lagier and tasting their wines overlooking the beautiful vineyard.
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12/16/2015 - DaButtah Likes this wine: 92 Points
Beautiful. Berserkers Day purchase and an absolute steal.
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11/11/2015 - t_moderne wrote: 91 Points
Pop and pour and served with food (beef tacos, in case you were wondering). Followed for about 4 hours both with the food and then on its own.
Dark inky black color. Wonderful nose of black cherries, some black olives and touch of violet. Enticing.
Deep and rich wine showing black fruits and some bacon with a streak of acidity that lightens the richness of the wine. I did not get any port notes like the 2001 L-M syrah tasted last night.
Came back to this the following night after refrigerating what remained in the bottle from the previous evening. Let it warm up a bit to about 68 degrees F. Even better on the second night; the black cherries were well balanced by the acidity and herbal notes in the wine. Very good.
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11/3/2015 - arthrovine wrote: 93 Points
Popped and poured. Followed over 3 hours. Beserker Day purchase
Youthful purple color without bricking. Reticent aromas with some VA and acetones that were initially detracting. These subsided gradually over time. The wines were better in standard Riedel bordeaux/Zalto Universal glasses than the Zalto bordeaux - due to VA/acetones.
Palate showed youthful savory purple fruit with lots of umami character. Not similar to the Rocks, and more akin to my limited experience with some N Rhones (Rostaing, Guigal, Gonon), the medium viscosity flavor profile was thick with character and herbs. Finished long with mild VA and acetone.
Great bottle of wine, albeit marred by some volatiles. Contrasting to other taster's notes, our consensus was that this bottle could've gone 3-5 more years easily.
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10/29/2015 - cartime Likes this wine:
Drinking very well at this stage.
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9/7/2015 - ASG24 wrote:
Terrific bottle of wine.
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7/30/2015 - sancarlosdoc wrote: 88 Points
Enjoy this producer but I think this is starting on the downhill. Little fruit left, nice soft tannins. Didn't improve over the course of the meal. Put through venturi. Certainly still a nice wine but drink up.
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4/30/2015 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Excellent wine. Bought as part of Berserkers Day. First one in the vertical that we pulled out. Drinking perfectly right now. Popped and poured. More old world in nature (aka, not overly fruit forward and a decent amount of earth). Very well done as always from this producer.
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4/25/2015 - whitmanlholt Likes this wine: 92 Points
Popped and poured. This is a dark plum colored wine. On the nose, I get black cherry, blackberry, and a bit of firepit. In the mouth, this tastes of a black fruit pie with a bit of spice sprinkled on top, all of which leaves a lingering and complex flavor on the finish. This wine is showing its age a bit, and I think it is time to drink up. Nevertheless, it should continue to hold pleasure for a few more years. 92 points.
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4/19/2015 - Eric Guido Likes this wine: 93 Points
The nose showed intense, ripe blackberry and spice up front followed by notes of crushed blueberry, tobacco, green olive, violet florals and hints of animal musk. It was like velvety on the palate, yet fresh and lively throughout, as ripe black fruits and spice flooded the senses with sweet herbs and hints cherry liquor. The finish showed spiced cherry and blackberry fruit with mineral tones lingering long.
This was singing after an hour in the decanter.
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4/12/2015 - BrentM Likes this wine: 92 Points
Dark purple color with a garnet rim.
The nose had a good bit of fruit at first, but after an hour or two in decanter it really shined. Lucious dark fruit, smoky cured meat, spices, licorice, brambles.
Medium acid. Medium plus tannin, we'll developed and soft.
Blackberry and spices on the palate. Beautiful wine. Better now than the 2001.
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12/26/2014 - Rieslingfan wrote:
From the very start this was all about roasted meat, blackberry and minerals. Just delicious, and with plenty of time to spare for additional aging.
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12/6/2014 - btock Likes this wine: 93 Points
Been a long while since I visited this vintage. Wow, it's still going strong. Young and fresh, still that silky mountain fruit driving the bus. purple, magenta core, crushed berry, juicy acidity. Full flavored but a light mouthfeel. Really enjoyable, and lots of life ahead. Even 12 years in, I would say hands off for a little while longer.
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2/21/2014 - blanquito wrote: 91 Points
Needs an hour to open up, and then rich, deep, spicy Syrah fruit comes out to play. Fruit-forward to be sure but well balanced with acids and ample tannins. Seems young still, with tantalizing hints of pepper and herby typicity underneath, but for now it's about deep, juicy and cool fruit. I like the grip here. Could improve still, would be fun to try again in 5-10 years. Very nice.
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2/12/2014 - hsacks Likes this wine: 92 Points
Purple red color. Aromas of black cherry, pepper and wood spices. Ripe, somewhat elegant fruit in the mouth with excellent depth and length. The wine is firmly in its peak drinking period as the ample tannins are well-integrated and the wine is now beautifully balanced.
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10/13/2013 - kenhoeve wrote: 92 Points
Beautiful wine. So much more perfume than you would expect with the age. Dark fruits, pepper, and great lift. Medium bodied with elegance. A true syrah for the dinner table with hints of meat. Lots of life left here. 92+.
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6/6/2013 - AccaDacca Likes this wine: 91 Points
Wonderfully mature new world syrah. Dark fruit, pepper with soft tannins. Continued to open while enjoyed with filet mignon. Pleasure.
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5/3/2013 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 91 Points
Lagier Meredith Vertical (1999 thru 2010) + (Loren's Home): Another bottle recently purchased from the winery. The nose is quite tight. Eventually opening to show black raspberries and some coffee notes. Delicious, hedonistic wine. Perhaps not the complexity but it drinks so young. Some tannins still present. did not develop much over the evening.
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3/26/2013 - Wrmcbratney Likes this wine:
Just starting to show a little age, but still very young for a 10 year old CA Syrah. The nose was interesting with some bacon, pepper, olive, cherry and leather. Full bodied with some nice meaty and savory components. Long finish.
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3/9/2013 - thalver wrote:
Full bodied. Drank younger than it's years. blue fruits, olive, a hint of meat on the nose Sufficient structure to make one think it is no rush to drink up. Throwing fine sediment easily missed in decanting.
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2/10/2013 - MotoMannequin Likes this wine:
Decanted off a small amount of sediment to reveal an inky purple color fading to ruby at the edges. Tasted within 30 minutes. Vigorous swirling reveals ripe fruits on the nose. Not one of those highly acidic coastal Syrahs, this speaks to Napa mountain fruit and is well balanced. Fascinating on the attack, with spicy black pepper hitting simultaneous with purple/blue fruits, and transitioning into cured meat on the midpalate. Finish shows very fine-grained tannin. Delicious now but no rush on this, still showing fresh and vibrant with plenty of structure for aging.
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1/31/2013 - thomaskeil wrote: 92 Points
PnP, 3 nights. Similar to the '01 I opened a couple months ago, but this version has fuller fruit (darker, richer) and more aromatic and flavor depth (meatier, spicier, olives/anise). Like the '01 this has plenty of grippy tannins and some balancing acidity, but I think this one could be held for a awhile as there is just so much fruit.
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12/25/2012 - alanr wrote: 93 Points
Intense, very dark and deep blackberry/boysenberry fruit, still very youthful and barely starting to show secondary development; a nicely complex wine, with fabulous balance, some fine tannins, drinks beautifully now but should continue to rise to its peak sometime in the next decade I would estimate. Glad to have several more to hold for years to come.
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12/18/2011 - Beachgrub wrote: 92 Points
Very dark and brooding syrah. French in style with complex aromas of earth, olive tapenade, black fruit, and smoke. Would be hard to pick as a CA syrah. Nice mature wine likely at its peak now. Enjoy.
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12/14/2011 - Gestalted wrote: 90 Points
Kinda expected more, especially at this age. The nose leaps out of the glass with smoke, graphite, charcoal, and tart berries. Medium weight, this sits tart (cool climate/mtn Syrah) on the tongue, with tart blackberry, pepper, beef blood and vanilla on the finish. Overall, nice but expected a little more. "Frenchies" will like this, very Crozes Hermitage in style.
--
Consumed at at cellar temp: 60°-65° F. Friends don't let friends drink red wine at room temp!
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11/29/2011 - Nutty08 wrote: 93 Points
Popped and poured ans served at cellar temp. Great nose of coffee, olives, meat, and black currants. Palate was well integrated with fine tannins, smooth and concentrated dark fruits and great depth. Long finish of fruit, rock, and roasted espresso. Gain complexity and depth in the glass as it warmed and saw air. Probably at peak, but wont in danger of fading anytime soon. Reminded me of Grange a little, in its seamless concentration and balance.
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9/11/2011 - Mrbuzz Likes this wine: 93 Points
Dark cloudy plum color; aromatically challenged...a little dark berry cassis, mulch, sweet kirsch, faint white pepper. It needed a little time to open(1hr+)...has some great fresh acidity to go along with dark, but bright tasting berry fruit...almost like grenache to me, as it seemed delicate and floral. Awesome smoothness and creme to it....spice does sneak in every now and then...some camphor, graphite, smoked ribs, even some celery leaves. Age has given it softness, and some rustic plum and cassis...but I really like this wine for how fresh and lite(relative to ooze monsters) it is. More subtle in flavors...but well complexed. Nice wine!
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6/1/2011 - winelover1 wrote: 87 Points
I've had better syrah however the fruit was still good and i believe that the bottle maybe was flawed because the cork looked a bit wrong to me.
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12/27/2010 - elamasters wrote:
Still very youthful. Very nice.
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10/7/2010 - clarktoews wrote: 93 Points
wow!!, what a great wine. all of the flavours have melded together beautifully with a hint of spice as well.
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8/22/2010 - Loren Sonkin wrote: 95 Points
SQN, Lagier, Pride, Mordoree, Red Car; 8/22/2010-8/23/2010: The oldest since vintage of this wine I have tried. It showed no signs of age and was outstanding. Still tight and in need of more cellar time before maturity. Lots of black raspberries, some leather, some earth. A bit of black pepper. Great texture and pin point acidity. Plenty of structure to allow it to mature out on. I need to let mine age more.
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8/8/2010 - clarktoews wrote: 91 Points
needed some time open(approx 1hr) but still is aging really nicely. lots of spice and dark fruit. great weight on the palette. nice well rounded wine
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3/11/2010 - isaacjamesbaker wrote: 90 Points
Thursday Night Tasting at Tooch's (Washington, DC): this is a young wine that would be better in three to five years. dark purple color. the nose opened up with time to show blueberries, earth and nice kick of pepper. on the palate, nice blackberry fruit with some meaty bloody notes, which added complexity. oak is well-integrated. very nice wine.
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1/30/2010 - stufis wrote: 92 Points
Consistent with the other notes. in a nice spot, and will do much better in 2-4 more years.
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1/10/2010 - glaze3 wrote:
Wow, what a great place this wine is in right now. Red and black fruits, and flowers just flow from the glass. On the palate the red and black fruits are there, but the flowers take center stage as well as just a slight bit of smoked pork and then finishes with laser like acidity.
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8/23/2009 - pgm wrote: 93 Points
What a nose on this wine! Blackberry, tea leaves, white pepper, and flinty minerality on the nose. Firm and well-structured in the mouth, more blackberry and cassis and some woody herb notes. Medium length finish, preserving some gorgeous flavors.
Love the style of this wine.
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8/8/2009 - Rich S wrote: 92 Points
Dark purple color. Beautiful nose of blue/black fruits along with some minerals, white pepper and spice. Could have been mistaken for a Northern rhone syrah based on the nose alone. A good dose of ripe blueberry and blackberry on the palate but not overdone or jammy, with some nice minerality and the oak treatment was just perfect. Medium bodied, silky mouthfeel and smooth finish with no detectable heat. This wine showed extremely better compared to the one I opened 16 months ago and is in a very good place right now. The tannin backbone is strong enough to keep this wine drinking for the next few years but there is no reason not to drink it now.
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3/27/2009 - pgordon62 wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for 2 hrs and back in the bottle for a day. Delightful nose of perfectly ripe blackberry, scorched earth, wild flowers, savory grilled herbs and ginger. Succulent blackberry on the medium-weighted palate, along with charcoal and a slatey minerality. The lingering finish shows lots of mineral energy and spice. Excepting a little sweetness on the mid-palate this could pass for a Rhone and promises another 4-5 years of positive development.
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2/9/2009 - clarktoews wrote: 91 Points
beautiful nose of spice and dark fruit. first taste was ncie but the finish was hot after approx 1hr was opening up and mellowing out. very nice wine. another 4yrs or so of life left in this bottle
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12/4/2008 - amgryger wrote:
Nose of chocolate blueberry and toast. Dark color in the glass with a soft mouthfeel and fine tannins on the finish. Flavors of blueberry and baking chocolate. Well-integrated oak, but this one didn't seem to have the spicy edge that I like to taste in syrah.
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10/6/2008 - clarktoews wrote: 92 Points
great colour and the nose had alot of fruit immediatley after opening. a little hot on the finish at first but rounded out after an hr. more rhone like qualities than your typical cally syrah.
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9/24/2008 - CO CHRIS wrote:
14.7% alcohol...
The nose is expressive, but not typically Cali in style...there is a lot of minerality, like what you'd expect from slate, considerable earth, blackberry compote...a large wine that dances quite well around the edges, all that fruit is there, but again the focus is the killer minerality. I love this wine. This reminds me of Priorat or mineral-Rhone from a cooler vintage...nice stuff.
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9/21/2008 - rowen wrote:
Disappointing at this point in time relative to expectations from prior vintages.
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3/28/2008 - salil wrote: 87 Points
Inky purple colour. Huge nose shows lots of blueberry pie, some bacon fat and spices. Palate has bright red and dark fruits with some meaty and spicy notes, decent acidity and a medium length finish. Nice, but a little below my expectation.
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2/16/2008 - redbaron wrote: 90 Points
Nice full bodied mountain grown syrah. Blackberry, white pepper and oak influences. Rather short finish.
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2/9/2008 - Rich S wrote: 86 Points
A little disappointed with this showing. Had big expectations based on pedigree. The wine was opened for around 4 hours but not decanted. Really dark purple color upon pouring. Gobs of black fruits and fruit jam reduction on the nose. Based on nose alone, I thought this wine was going to rock. However, it fell apart on the mouthfeel and finish. Not a whole lot of flavors on the palate other than some oak and plums and a really short finish. The wine was still somewhat closed so additional air or bottle age may help but my guess is that this vintage just didn't have it.
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1/13/2008 - JBVino wrote:
good not great but good...wood was a bit more apparent that would prefer and had neither the bright fruit nor the secondary flavors to clearly indentify style...only bottle so do not know how this will develop. In summary fine but not overly interesting.
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8/17/2007 - pepeelvis wrote:
dirty syrah, cedar flavors follow cherry. Good but way over priced and not a lot of aging potential. QPR C-
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8/9/2007 - ken-yyz wrote: 90 Points
Very nice, but not quite as rich as I expected. A very nice balance of blue and black fruits and hints of spice. A good, light touch with oak as well. I was expecting a bigger, fuller bodied Syrah and will keep my other bottles sleeping for a while longer.
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2/23/2007 - pgordon62 wrote: 92 Points
What a fresh and rich nose - blackberry, camphor, licorice, bacon, white pepper and an interesting note of caramel apple. Medium weight, mineral driven palate red/black fruit. Still a little tannic. On day two, there was more juicy fruit, licorice, a banana note and a strong floral element. I found I liked this better the first day. A wine that holds ones interest and stays clear of the heavy sweetness found in many CA Syrahs.
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2/17/2007 - irish87 wrote: 92 Points
Smooth, balanced, integrated. Black cherry, great mouthfeel. Comng into its own. Needs to breath next time.
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11/27/2006 - jwwinec wrote: 91 Points
Lots of pepper and dark fruit. Very dense, yet manages to be elegant and light on its feet, with nice acidity to balance it out. Finishes with fine, gritty tannins. A bit monolithic on day one, this became smoother and more complex on day two.
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11/12/2006 - sdatl wrote: 92 Points
Very sleek, elegant and savory, with pepper, dark cherry, and even chocolate flavors with still-tight tannins; needs air time or aging to smooth out
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11/7/2006 - GolferChris wrote: 92 Points
Vegas Vacation Wines; 11/6/2006-11/11/2006 (Las Vegas, NV): Elegantly styled syrah. Deep purple color. Aromoa/flavors of blackberry, black cherry, earth, and white pepper. Well layered. Nicely integrated tannins and well structured wine with nice big mouth and long, lingerning finish. Great example of a mountain syrah, deep concentrated flavors and fine grained tannins yield a beautiful syrah.
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9/15/2006 - Burgundy Al wrote: 89 Points
Young California Syrah (Chez Shaffer - Highland Park IL): Tasted blind. Red and black fruit aromas with a nice floral touch. Good fruit, overall good balance. Held up to its 14.7% to start, but faded slightly after a couple of hours compared to other Syrahs tasted tonight.
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9/15/2006 - winefool wrote: 88 Points
Wineflock Intro/Retro - California Syrah (The Shaffer's): Group #12, My #10. Deep opaque inky purple. Big rich aroma of tight black fruit with a hint of heat. Big concentrated black fruit with a reasonably long finish, but kind of fell apart in the glass.
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9/15/2006 - mattowan wrote: 89 Points
Notes of blueberry and a hint of forest floor early on. On the palate some mild tannin and oak. After a while the fruit disappeared unlike my previous LM experiences. Maybe an off bottle? Next day note: Still lacking in typical fruit, but wine is softer and more approachable and quite food-friendly.
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9/15/2006 - Nanda wrote: 88 Points
Wine Flock: California Syrah - An Introspective / Retrospective Tasting (The Shaffer's - Highland Park, IL): Funky aromas of dark fruit, blue cheese (?) and earth. The palate features raspberry and chocolote. Rich fruit and firm acids on the attack and midpalate but the finish fades fast. Not a complete or seamless wine yet. Many thought this was fading, I hope/expect that it's just in a dumb stage (group #11, my #10).
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9/6/2006 - JK wrote:
This bottling shows that candied or crystalline quality to the berry fruit that I also tasted in the '03 and the '04. Not in the same tier as these two recent vintages but with adequate stuffing no doubt. Loads of flavor today but I think this still wants to figure itself out in the bottle.
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2/4/2006 - CO CHRIS wrote:
14.7% alc...deep and opaque color, really extracted...smells gorgeous, flinty or metallic, deep and rich fruit, but never alcoholic or fruity, really dark and shy by day 2...glorious texture, balance, balance and more balance, though it could use some time to shed all that backbone! Has everything one could want in Syrah, texture, richness and backbone without one whisper of heat. This will be a fun wine to watch develope. ***** out of *****.
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1/13/2006 - Erik R. wrote: 92 Points
Decanted for three hours, returned to bottle and frig to take to dinner that night, and in the excitement of the day, was promptly forgotten about until we got to the restaurant. The next day, the wine showed a dark purple. Dark fruit on a slightly wound up nose, with hints of exotic and baking spice. What followed was cool mountain fruit, blackberry, dark cherry, but with damp soil, rose wood and spice. Great elegant balance, the tannins were less than obtrusive in this restrained, yet powerful wine. Would have been great with dinner last night.
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11/14/2005 - mattowan wrote: 94 Points
Massive black cherry on the nose and palate. Very little noticable tannins. Not the blackberry, eartth dark fruit of the 01, but a massive red and dark fruit explosion that isn't overly extracted. I can't wait for this wine to age. The balance and richness makes this an excellent accompaniment to a variety of meats from lamb to veal to filet.
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10/9/2005 - jerhardt wrote: 90 Points
Decanted 3 hours. Dark purple in the glass. Beginning to open up a bit after being in the decanter, but still pretty tight. I get very dark fruits mixed with some spice and hints of alcohol. Others have described notes of scorched earth; I guess I can see this, but there is also a bit of a sweet element intermixed with it all. To me, this doesn't have the pure extraction and funk of Alban or the excitement of Pax, but it is still quite good. Overall well balanced and way too young. I think this has the elements to significantly improve over the next 5+ years.
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8/18/2005 - Spencer wrote: 92 Points
Slightly reductive on the nose at first, but this soon passed. Another great bottle of this wine.
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7/11/2005 - Spencer wrote: 93 Points
Just when I'm about ready to write off California syrahs as 'not-my-style', along comes a wine like this that really impresses me. Although over 15% alcohol, the thing that struck me about this wine was it's balance - everything is in it's proper place. Beautiful, complex nose full of crushed red berries, violets, iodine, and - something I guess I have to describe as scorched earth. Deep, round, and silky on the palate, with a very long, building finish. A deft use of oak, and great acidity keep this wine lively despite it's size. One of those distinct wines that I feel like I would easily recognize if tasted again.
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6/26/2005 - JasonD wrote: 84 Points
My experience does not resemble the other notes here. This wine opened with some yeasty aromas. They were followed by dark fruit and baking spices. The finish was moderately tannic. It is definitely a baby and seemed to be off right now or I had a bad bottle.
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5/24/2005 - wvisser wrote: 91 Points
cassis/violets/spicy/pepper/just great nose/wonderful balance and acidity/long finish/very nice/will last a long time and will try another in a year
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4/22/2005 - onholiday wrote: 92 Points
Thick purple. Aromas of classic syrah including earth, blueberry, hints of mocha and vanilla. I find this more restrained and dignified on the palate with multiple layers starting with blue and black berry flavors as well as earth, then hints of peppery spice on the midpalate, followed by bitter chocolate/bacon fat and moderate tannins. This is more elegant and restrained that most Cali Syrah/Cab with incredible structure. It will be interesting to see how this evolves over the night. Will save my remaining bottle for 3-5 years.
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4/15/2005 - jrj wrote: 91 Points
@ Modinis. Smokey and sweet. A bit of mint? Young and should improve but not overly tannic now.
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2/27/2005 - ssouth wrote: 92 Points
A bit restrained but still rich and well balanced. Great fruit. Tannins aren't prominent
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11/4/2004 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
Blind Red Hot and Blue Wines: Blind 17 - Peppery and rootbeer qualities. Dill. Mesquite beans. Rich, acidic brightness. We're rushing at this point…I don't have any notes on the palate.
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