90 min decant; really nice right off the pop once it warmed a bit from cellar temp. Blackberry, oak, vanilla, hints of dark chocolate and coffee. Tannins took a firm grip of the second half of the bottle on day 2 (vacu-sealed and left on the counter at 65*), but still quite nice. No rush on these...drink 2025-2038.
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As previous reviews noted, really balanced and smooth wine. Popped and poured. Neither a fruit bomb nor extremely spicy Syrah. Just a pleasant ride. Opened up further after an hour or two. Very nice example of US Syrah.
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This was ‘wow’ from the get go. Balanced fruit and dark but less brooding. Tilts towards a savory style of syrah. Different in presentation from other Lillians which I have typically decanted.
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We did a side by side tasting of the 2017 Lillian and the 2018 Lillian.
Both were decanted although the 2017 was decanted an hour longer. Both are nice representations of Syrah and well made but not impressive. We have been a fan of Lillian and Antica Terra, but these two Syrah’s were not complex and a tad underwhelming.
Nice dark fruit and hints of smoke on the nose and palate. Both were decently balanced as well, but the flavor profile was lacking IMO.
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Wine is better than when I first tried it 6 months ago. Richer and more expressive blueberry floral flavors. A year of bottle age really helped. Very very good wine!
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Rich, delicious lovely floral blue fruit with mushroom flavors, excellent structure, ample finish, wine opened up after about 1 hour, interestingly less dark, stylistically more like Cayuse without the flunk
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I opened a bottle of my case out of curiosity and was surprised by how well it is drinking at an early stage. Its going to be magnificent and is very approachable and enjoyable now.
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Opened and finished off my previously Coravined bottle. Had evolved a tiny bit in two months, but not enough. This wine would benefit from several more years in the bottle. I wouldn't open til 2025+.
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Seems a bit too young to really represent its potential. Coravin'd a glass and plan to wait a while before popping the remaining bottle. Didn't immediately present as Syrah to me but more like a Grenache. Lighter bodied and more red fruit forward than I would have expected from the earlier Liliians (2004-2010) which is what I normally drink from this producer. Still nice, just needs some time to evolve.
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Very interesting Syrah, young and opened for science. Real bright red and blue fruited notes on the nose, a hint of savory. Things seemed a bit disjointed at this time though in the palate. Same fruit profile with a complex mix of gravel, smoke, a small bit of brine, someone mentioned charcoal and I feel like I got some of that too. Lighter bodied than I expected. Not overwhelming tannins but this had some decent acidity. Enjoyed but I really have to think about it at this point. Not a bad thing but it’ll be interesting to see where this goes. Of note, I drank this over the course of 3 days and things were more out together day 2-3
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My second vintage of Lillian. Found it to be much less elegant than the 2017. Quality, and may need more time in bottle. Did not find anything particularly extraordinary about it at this point.
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1/9/2024 - RPerro Likes this wine: 93 Points
90 min decant; really nice right off the pop once it warmed a bit from cellar temp. Blackberry, oak, vanilla, hints of dark chocolate and coffee. Tannins took a firm grip of the second half of the bottle on day 2 (vacu-sealed and left on the counter at 65*), but still quite nice. No rush on these...drink 2025-2038.
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12/22/2023 - Acalder9 Likes this wine: 93 Points
As previous reviews noted, really balanced and smooth wine. Popped and poured. Neither a fruit bomb nor extremely spicy Syrah. Just a pleasant ride. Opened up further after an hour or two. Very nice example of US Syrah.
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8/12/2023 - Mtnmd1 Likes this wine: 93 Points
This was ‘wow’ from the get go. Balanced fruit and dark but less brooding. Tilts towards a savory style of syrah. Different in presentation from other Lillians which I have typically decanted.
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3/3/2023 - brouigu1 Likes this wine: 90 Points
We did a side by side tasting of the 2017 Lillian and the 2018 Lillian.
Both were decanted although the 2017 was decanted an hour longer. Both are nice representations of Syrah and well made but not impressive. We have been a fan of Lillian and Antica Terra, but these two Syrah’s were not complex and a tad underwhelming.
Nice dark fruit and hints of smoke on the nose and palate. Both were decently balanced as well, but the flavor profile was lacking IMO.
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12/22/2022 - Amerique wrote: 93 Points
Wine is better than when I first tried it 6 months ago. Richer and more expressive blueberry floral flavors. A year of bottle age really helped. Very very good wine!
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7/1/2022 - Amerique wrote: 93 Points
Rich, delicious lovely floral blue fruit with mushroom flavors, excellent structure, ample finish, wine opened up after about 1 hour, interestingly less dark, stylistically more like Cayuse without the flunk
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5/25/2022 - jrt Likes this wine: 92 Points
I opened a bottle of my case out of curiosity and was surprised by how well it is drinking at an early stage. Its going to be magnificent and is very approachable and enjoyable now.
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2/7/2022 - tcarter Likes this wine: 92 Points
Opened and finished off my previously Coravined bottle. Had evolved a tiny bit in two months, but not enough. This wine would benefit from several more years in the bottle. I wouldn't open til 2025+.
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12/19/2021 - tcarter Likes this wine: 92 Points
Seems a bit too young to really represent its potential. Coravin'd a glass and plan to wait a while before popping the remaining bottle. Didn't immediately present as Syrah to me but more like a Grenache. Lighter bodied and more red fruit forward than I would have expected from the earlier Liliians (2004-2010) which is what I normally drink from this producer. Still nice, just needs some time to evolve.
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12/19/2021 - BobbaWA Likes this wine: 91 Points
Very old world style - I'd have guessed this to be French or Italian. Got better and longer with more air. Earth, stone, minerals come through.
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12/19/2021 - Rywyine Likes this wine:
Very interesting Syrah, young and opened for science. Real bright red and blue fruited notes on the nose, a hint of savory. Things seemed a bit disjointed at this time though in the palate. Same fruit profile with a complex mix of gravel, smoke, a small bit of brine, someone mentioned charcoal and I feel like I got some of that too. Lighter bodied than I expected. Not overwhelming tannins but this had some decent acidity. Enjoyed but I really have to think about it at this point. Not a bad thing but it’ll be interesting to see where this goes. Of note, I drank this over the course of 3 days and things were more out together day 2-3
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8/13/2021 - Sauvyfan Likes this wine: 91 Points
My second vintage of Lillian. Found it to be much less elegant than the 2017. Quality, and may need more time in bottle. Did not find anything particularly extraordinary about it at this point.
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8/12/2021 - Sonoma-W Likes this wine: 94 Points
Great strawberry / blueberry fruit. Low to medium tannins. very drinkable -- a disappearing bottle
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8/4/2021 - BobbaWA Likes this wine: 94 Points
Rich, layers of flavor. Mocha, yet flora and earthy.
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4/17/2021 - Sonoma-W Likes this wine: 94 Points
Outstanding syrah -- intense, a bit of chocolate and charcoal, good fruit.
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