Decanted 30 minutes. Dark ruby color, long legs. Fragrant nose of stewed plums. Very primary but in a good way. Good acidity and good structure. Lots of plums, some dark cherries, smoked meat. Well-integrated tannins, tertiary flavors developing with hints of mushroom and undersoil. This is very good and in an excellent spot. Fruit/forward but not in an overt way.
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At our friends Michael and Leslie's house served with the main course of Roasted Duck in a cherry sauce. Opened and decanted at least two hours. This is a big wine. Nose of dark fruit and spices. The palate is dark plums, dark cherry, smoked meat and spice leading to a long smooth finish. An excellent pairing and an excellent wine.
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deep purple-red color, roasted game and licorice on the nose, dark fruits, cola, on the palate a large and deep primary fruit quickly leading into excessive oak and heat, short finish.
*, drink up.
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What an amazing wine. Extremely dark color, nose was phenomenal, spice, smoked meat. Soft and supple in the mouth and finish lasted a while. Also hard to believe the ABV on this was 15.9%. Have one more bottle left.
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Pop and pour. Silky Napa Syrah with lots of dusty rock and light spice on the nose and balanced dark fruit in the palate with supple tannins. These are quite elegant and refined Syrahs for when you're not in the mood to fight with your wine.
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Drinking really nice right now, it’s big, bold, very dark and as normally happens, Syrah take different notes depending where they came from. Finish is long and food makes the wine shine brighter!
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Plums and blue fruit, salty, meaty. Super dark core of fruit and umami on the palate. Rich without being excessive or sweet. Incredible wine. 2005's from CA are aging beautifully.
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Acker Auction - April 2018 (Marea in NYC): Don't think we drink enough Colgin Syrahs. They are really great. Have this nice balance of the fruit and the herbal. Some lavendar and violets here. At first it's a bit hot, but then it seems to calm down and is really quite nice. Can tell the Rhone influence and still it's a new world wine.
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90 min decant. Very similar to a Christophe Baron wine and very different from other Northern Cali Syrahs. But a touch too sweet which was almost overpowering.
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I have to say that this was a brilliant wine. Well balanced a fantastic Syrah nose. Definitely ready to drink and will not get better but will hold for many many years.
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An intense spectrum of both fruit, earth, plant. A very intriguing and well structured Syrah. Extremely well-made with a very good structure and complexity. A touch of heat on the nose burning the nostrils a bit but given the 16% alcohol to be expected. Deep and rich Ruby purple color. Nose shows classic immediate black berry, Mountain Berry, fern, black pepper, smoke, and intense forest elements. The pallet is very rich and ever evolving. More Garrique, mountain herbs, stones, black pepper, dried earth, dried flower and root. A very big wine completely new world, yet very representative of what Syrah can exude.
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A stunning effort from star producer Colgin, the IX Estate Syrah exhibits a massive attack of dark Syrah fruit. The nose is utterly complex with bacon fat, violets, dried flowers, cacao, leather, smoky alder wood and classy spice. There is a slight dryness most likely coming from the oak, but the structure and balance is still amazing. This is absolutely a powerful wine, but it also shows off an elegant side which I find rather intriguing.
Tasted in a flight with 2005 Colgin IX Estate Syrah, 2005 Ojai Special Bottling Bien Nacido Syrah, 2005 Noon Shiraz and 2005 Kaesler Old Bastard Shiraz.
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Beautiful wine. Nose of dark fruits, flowers, a little saddle leather. Medium/full bodied. Moderate tannins, well integrated, smooth, beautiful mouthfeel with more of the nose accentuated on the palate. Long finish.
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A solid Syrah that is becoming more integrated. Deep blue fruits on the front end followed by a bit of spice on the finish - but no residual heat because the alcohol is soft and settled. Ready now or in the next two/three years.
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A big ripe syrah that stands out from many California syrah's.
The wine looks Inky colored. It smells like Blackberry, Blueberry, Mineral, Violet, and Meaty. It tastes like Blackberry, Violet, Meaty, and Chocolate. The body is Full. The wine has Fleshy texture. The wine finishes Long.
If you can find this wine, I highly recommend it!
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Big wine, showy and very New World, but lots of interesting spice and texture on the finish. Good mostly red fruit, with very good balance that's unusual for a New world Syrah. Opened a couple of hours before serving,but not decanted.
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Massive with smoke, meat and dark fruits. Decanted for 4 hours, but needs more time to completely integrate but a ton of things going on in this bottle.
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Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): A sinful elixir. Cloudy purple ruby red color. Super funkadelic on the nose. Shroomy, menthol, anise. Very big. Some super chocolate, malty vanilla action as well. Spicy dark all spice, jerky and really smokey - absolutely New World Syrah in style. Rich and well endowed. Masculine, earthy. Some unique Indian curry spice on the back end. Stunning but not a surprise at this price point and from this remarkable producer. One of my favorite New World Syrahs hands down.
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Dark, rich, meaty syrah fruits. Blackberry, graphite, floral, and a deep profile that tends more to earthy notes than most Cali syrah. Great purity. Raw, somewhat grainy tannins. Very nice.
ELEGANT SYRAH WITH WITH DEEP FRUITIS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR, BLACK CHERRIES, RASPBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, AND A TOUCH OF SPICE. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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Opened for 4 hours before drinking. Dark purple color. A very smooth, elegant Syrah with nice balance. Flavors of stewed plums, licorice and crushed stones. Finish falls off the shelf quickly. Similar flavor profile to the 2005 Kongsgaard Syrah. Hold 2-3 years before drinking.
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Decanted for roughly 2 hours. Very dark, inky color. Intense aromas of black fruit (plum and berry) with almost overpowering pepper. A bit of roasted game as well. On the palate the dark fruits seemed almost a bit overripe and the pepper somewhat dominated the mouth. Had a nice core of minerality and good acidity on the finish. Overall a good wine, but not the greatest Colgin Syrah I've had.
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A Beautiful Syrah...definately more savory with bacon and game.....but balanced with beautiful black fruit....still needs a lot of time but definately more approachable than a 2006 Amon Ra...
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Surprise SQN Birthday Dinner (Chicago, IL): Beautiful rich nose has sappy red fruits and exotic spices. Palate is full, bodied big and rich exploding with lush red and black fruits. Floral notes, herbs and spice and complexity. Long and full flavored. Served blind this was in equal company with the SQN wines.
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Tasted at the Vintages auction gala tasting. I enjoyed this wine which had a very deep colour. The taste was very flowery with a slight soapy tinge to it. I would not have picked this as a syrah as it was not overly spicy as recent syrahs tend to be.
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Dark purple in the glass, this had a big, expansive nose from the get-go. Definitely a "crowd pleaser" type of wine, it's hard not to like these. That said, these seems to be a notch below the '03 and the '04--a bit more monolithic, a bit more in-your-face, with less of the superb balance of the '03 in particular. I also didn't get the typical bacon fat, that I like in Syrah in general and have gotten with Colgins in particular. Well done, and will be interesting to see how it evolves. Hopefully a couple more years and it will settle down and show more of what makes these great wines.
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4/29/2022 - Condrieu82 Likes this wine: 93 Points
Decanted 30 minutes. Dark ruby color, long legs. Fragrant nose of stewed plums. Very primary but in a good way. Good acidity and good structure. Lots of plums, some dark cherries, smoked meat. Well-integrated tannins, tertiary flavors developing with hints of mushroom and undersoil. This is very good and in an excellent spot. Fruit/forward but not in an overt way.
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11/20/2021 - markcic wrote: 95 Points
At our friends Michael and Leslie's house served with the main course of Roasted Duck in a cherry sauce. Opened and decanted at least two hours. This is a big wine. Nose of dark fruit and spices. The palate is dark plums, dark cherry, smoked meat and spice leading to a long smooth finish. An excellent pairing and an excellent wine.
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10/29/2021 - Elpaninaro wrote:
deep purple-red color, roasted game and licorice on the nose, dark fruits, cola, on the palate a large and deep primary fruit quickly leading into excessive oak and heat, short finish.
*, drink up.
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10/1/2021 - Acohen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great dark blueberry with bacon, pepper and olive notes
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7/3/2021 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 93 Points
Still garnet and opaque. Moderately pronounced syrah aromas, very balanced and rich dark fruit flavors. Excellent and at its peak.
Ric
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6/23/2021 - Ex-Ray Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still garnet and opaque. Moderately pronounced syrah aromas, very balanced and rich dark fruit flavors. Excellent and at its peak.
Ric
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3/20/2021 - Jmigliano5 Likes this wine: 97 Points
What an amazing wine. Extremely dark color, nose was phenomenal, spice, smoked meat. Soft and supple in the mouth and finish lasted a while. Also hard to believe the ABV on this was 15.9%. Have one more bottle left.
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9/12/2020 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 97 Points
Similar to prior notes; outstanding & ready to drink
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8/29/2020 - bonedocnine Likes this wine: 94 Points
this wine is drinking wine really well right now
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3/7/2020 - Quiet Lion Likes this wine: 93 Points
Pop and pour. Silky Napa Syrah with lots of dusty rock and light spice on the nose and balanced dark fruit in the palate with supple tannins. These are quite elegant and refined Syrahs for when you're not in the mood to fight with your wine.
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2/8/2020 - gteran76 Likes this wine: 94 Points
Drinking really nice right now, it’s big, bold, very dark and as normally happens, Syrah take different notes depending where they came from. Finish is long and food makes the wine shine brighter!
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2/8/2020 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Similar to prior note after a 1 hour double decant; likely at peak & ready to drink
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12/8/2019 - jsmorris707 Likes this wine: 96 Points
Double decanted for an hour, deep ruby, bacon & blue fruit, med. tannins, long finish; outstanding & ready to drink, no rush.
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12/6/2019 - DangerMouse81 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Plums and blue fruit, salty, meaty. Super dark core of fruit and umami on the palate. Rich without being excessive or sweet. Incredible wine. 2005's from CA are aging beautifully.
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10/13/2019 - mnh wrote: 94 Points
Great bottle. Slightly past its peak
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8/9/2019 - Ex-Ray Does not like this wine: 80 Points
Chemical aroma, unpleasant, may be an off bottle.
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4/7/2018 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Acker Auction - April 2018 (Marea in NYC): Don't think we drink enough Colgin Syrahs. They are really great. Have this nice balance of the fruit and the herbal. Some lavendar and violets here. At first it's a bit hot, but then it seems to calm down and is really quite nice. Can tell the Rhone influence and still it's a new world wine.
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3/21/2018 - wineguy75 Likes this wine: 93 Points
90 min decant. Very similar to a Christophe Baron wine and very different from other Northern Cali Syrahs. But a touch too sweet which was almost overpowering.
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12/31/2017 - Acohen Likes this wine: 94 Points
Super intense, even after 4 hour decant, with deep blueberry, currant and some olive on the finish. Rich and lingering
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10/8/2017 - Altino wrote: 83 Points
Another american syrup. Lots of sugar and alcohol! I am sic of it!!! I prefer more freshness, complexity and elegance.
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1/28/2017 - robertek wrote: 96 Points
I have to say that this was a brilliant wine. Well balanced a fantastic Syrah nose. Definitely ready to drink and will not get better but will hold for many many years.
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9/16/2016 - T.E.D. wrote: 93 Points
An intense spectrum of both fruit, earth, plant. A very intriguing and well structured Syrah. Extremely well-made with a very good structure and complexity. A touch of heat on the nose burning the nostrils a bit but given the 16% alcohol to be expected. Deep and rich Ruby purple color. Nose shows classic immediate black berry, Mountain Berry, fern, black pepper, smoke, and intense forest elements. The pallet is very rich and ever evolving. More Garrique, mountain herbs, stones, black pepper, dried earth, dried flower and root. A very big wine completely new world, yet very representative of what Syrah can exude.
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3/18/2016 - GFischmann Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great
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3/11/2016 - GFischmann wrote: 95 Points
Wonderful balance
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12/3/2015 - Christoffer78 Likes this wine: 97 Points
A stunning effort from star producer Colgin, the IX Estate Syrah exhibits a massive attack of dark Syrah fruit. The nose is utterly complex with bacon fat, violets, dried flowers, cacao, leather, smoky alder wood and classy spice. There is a slight dryness most likely coming from the oak, but the structure and balance is still amazing. This is absolutely a powerful wine, but it also shows off an elegant side which I find rather intriguing.
Tasted in a flight with 2005 Colgin IX Estate Syrah, 2005 Ojai Special Bottling Bien Nacido Syrah, 2005 Noon Shiraz and 2005 Kaesler Old Bastard Shiraz.
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11/13/2015 - K28226 Likes this wine: 95 Points
Really, really drinking well.
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9/19/2014 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:
Charleston III - the Weekend; 9/18/2014-9/20/2014 (Charleston SC - various locations incl. Red Drum, Halls, Circa 1886, and Kings Courtyard Inn): This wine was one of the surprises of the night for me. With a line-up of SQN, Grange, Frog I didn't expect it would hold it's own, but it was one of my favorites of the night. Lots of great flavors, very rich wine, finish just kept going and going. I get some unripe blackberry and some forest floor and some nice spiciness. Really enjoyed this. Looking forward to seeing how it fares on day 2.
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4/16/2014 - vumansky wrote: 95 Points
still needs time
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10/28/2013 - Geoff Likes this wine: 95 Points
Beautiful wine. Nose of dark fruits, flowers, a little saddle leather. Medium/full bodied. Moderate tannins, well integrated, smooth, beautiful mouthfeel with more of the nose accentuated on the palate. Long finish.
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6/6/2013 - PASimon wrote: 92 Points
A solid Syrah that is becoming more integrated. Deep blue fruits on the front end followed by a bit of spice on the finish - but no residual heat because the alcohol is soft and settled. Ready now or in the next two/three years.
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12/17/2012 - Biogregw Likes this wine: 95 Points
A big ripe syrah that stands out from many California syrah's.
The wine looks Inky colored. It smells like Blackberry, Blueberry, Mineral, Violet, and Meaty. It tastes like Blackberry, Violet, Meaty, and Chocolate. The body is Full. The wine has Fleshy texture. The wine finishes Long.
If you can find this wine, I highly recommend it!
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9/10/2011 - psmith wrote:
Ripe blackberry fruit and vanilla, with floral notes. Dense, but firm, grainy tannins. Very nice.
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9/10/2011 - Burgundy Al wrote: 90 Points
Another Saturday at Knightsbridge - mostly blind (Northbrook, IL): Almost identical notes to a bottle tasted earlier this year, this time it just seemed a little riper and hotter.
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4/18/2011 - Burgundy Al wrote: 91 Points
Big wine, showy and very New World, but lots of interesting spice and texture on the finish. Good mostly red fruit, with very good balance that's unusual for a New world Syrah. Opened a couple of hours before serving,but not decanted.
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6/28/2010 - Knicksfan wrote: 97 Points
3 hour decant - sublime. Can only imagine what this will turn into in a few years. Loved it. Power packed dark fruit and earth. Wow
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6/20/2010 - Acohen wrote: 93 Points
Massive with smoke, meat and dark fruits. Decanted for 4 hours, but needs more time to completely integrate but a ton of things going on in this bottle.
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6/19/2010 - wallstreet wrote:
I wasn't crazy about this. Alot of alcohol, this wine needs 10 years to show well.
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5/1/2010 - beezer6 wrote: 95 Points
Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)): A sinful elixir. Cloudy purple ruby red color. Super funkadelic on the nose.
Shroomy, menthol, anise. Very big. Some super chocolate, malty vanilla action as well. Spicy dark all spice, jerky and really smokey - absolutely New World Syrah in style.
Rich and well endowed. Masculine, earthy. Some unique Indian curry spice on the back end.
Stunning but not a surprise at this price point and from this remarkable producer. One of my favorite New World Syrahs hands down.
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5/1/2010 - psmith wrote:
Dark, rich, meaty syrah fruits. Blackberry, graphite, floral, and a deep profile that tends more to earthy notes than most Cali syrah. Great purity. Raw, somewhat grainy tannins. Very nice.
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3/9/2010 - buckeye76 wrote: 94 Points
ELEGANT SYRAH WITH WITH DEEP FRUITIS IN THE NOSE AND FLAVOR, BLACK CHERRIES, RASPBERRIES, BLUEBERRIES, AND A TOUCH OF SPICE. NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH.
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8/7/2009 - rthun wrote: 93 Points
Opened for 4 hours before drinking. Dark purple color. A very smooth, elegant Syrah with nice balance. Flavors of stewed plums, licorice and crushed stones. Finish falls off the shelf quickly. Similar flavor profile to the 2005 Kongsgaard Syrah. Hold 2-3 years before drinking.
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7/31/2009 - MatthewF wrote:
Decanted for roughly 2 hours. Very dark, inky color. Intense aromas of black fruit (plum and berry) with almost overpowering pepper. A bit of roasted game as well. On the palate the dark fruits seemed almost a bit overripe and the pepper somewhat dominated the mouth. Had a nice core of minerality and good acidity on the finish. Overall a good wine, but not the greatest Colgin Syrah I've had.
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4/23/2009 - wine_junkie wrote: 97 Points
A Beautiful Syrah...definately more savory with bacon and game.....but balanced with beautiful black fruit....still needs a lot of time but definately more approachable than a 2006 Amon Ra...
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3/7/2009 - Nanda wrote: 95 Points
Surprise SQN Birthday Dinner (Chicago, IL): Beautiful rich nose has sappy red fruits and exotic spices. Palate is full, bodied big and rich exploding with lush red and black fruits. Floral notes, herbs and spice and complexity. Long and full flavored. Served blind this was in equal company with the SQN wines.
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10/22/2008 - Rosengoo Likes this wine:
Tasted at the Vintages auction gala tasting. I enjoyed this wine which had a very deep colour. The taste was very flowery with a slight soapy tinge to it. I would not have picked this as a syrah as it was not overly spicy as recent syrahs tend to be.
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9/7/2008 - MarkC wrote: 94 Points
Dark purple in the glass, this had a big, expansive nose from the get-go. Definitely a "crowd pleaser" type of wine, it's hard not to like these. That said, these seems to be a notch below the '03 and the '04--a bit more monolithic, a bit more in-your-face, with less of the superb balance of the '03 in particular. I also didn't get the typical bacon fat, that I like in Syrah in general and have gotten with Colgins in particular. Well done, and will be interesting to see how it evolves. Hopefully a couple more years and it will settle down and show more of what makes these great wines.
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