The pour was deep, dark, and coated the glass with an alluring oily sheen. The nose held lots of chocolate, slightly smokey with a prominent chalky undertone. An overall fragrant bouquet of peppery and aged black fruits. The taste was medium-sweet with a very well rounded, powerfully smooth, full body. The initial attack was coating velvet, with punchy moments of a smokey black pepper, rounding out to a juicy black fruit crescendo. Overall, very well structured and balanced, a great wine with food, or on its own.
This pairing with plum chicken was up there! SPICE! It all melted together on the tongue to create this smokey, amazing Asian experience. The Chinese mustard flavor was really brought to the forefront with the aid of the wine, and that's exactly where it needed to be. The wine helped to take this dish and allow you to taste it all the way down your throat, while the food sort of punched up all the taste attacks, creating a well engineered roller coaster on the tongue. All in all, I would call this a perfect pairing!
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The color is a deep-dark ruby. The nose is a touch harsh at first with some alcohol burn, but mellows out and gets very earthy, displaying barnyard funk, cherry, dirty leather, and cherry cola. On tasting, it becomes a very complete experience from attack to finish, coating the mouth with an oily leathery feel. Loads of chocolate flavor is balanced with plum, cherry cola, and earthy pepper. Dry tannins round out the finish. Again, great balance from start to finish and a fine evolution over the course of the evening.
Paired with plum chicken, which toned down the drying effect of the wine, making the fruit in the Syrah shine through. The wine really kicked up the mustard flavor in the dish, and the pepper, from both the wine and the chicken, came bursting out through the nose. In the mid-palate, the chili sauce came out to play and gave a perfect spice transition from the attacking mustard to the finishing pepper.
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This is a truly deep, dark pour! With moderate aromas of dark, chocolately fruits, a tinge of sweet grass... it was nearly comparable to that scent of a first rain on cement. All in all, a bit elusive but very pleasant. The taste was medium sweet, with a very well structured, smooth attack that crescendoed to a lively sneak-like attack on the sides of the tongue, before calming back down and leaving with a subtle nod.
The wine did things that really made the meal shine. It added sweetness to balance out the spicy heat, while the cloves of the chili almost caramelized the entire food mix, which served to help all of the various flavors in the chili to shine through and actually be tasted.
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2007 Tapteil Syrah Spilya Vineyard
1/22/2012 - heggink1 wrote: 91 Points
Partner Review:
The pour was deep, dark, and coated the glass with an alluring oily sheen. The nose held lots of chocolate, slightly smokey with a prominent chalky undertone. An overall fragrant bouquet of peppery and aged black fruits. The taste was medium-sweet with a very well rounded, powerfully smooth, full body. The initial attack was coating velvet, with punchy moments of a smokey black pepper, rounding out to a juicy black fruit crescendo. Overall, very well structured and balanced, a great wine with food, or on its own.
This pairing with plum chicken was up there! SPICE! It all melted together on the tongue to create this smokey, amazing Asian experience. The Chinese mustard flavor was really brought to the forefront with the aid of the wine, and that's exactly where it needed to be. The wine helped to take this dish and allow you to taste it all the way down your throat, while the food sort of punched up all the taste attacks, creating a well engineered roller coaster on the tongue. All in all, I would call this a perfect pairing!
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2007 Tapteil Syrah Spilya Vineyard
1/22/2012 - heggink1 wrote: 91 Points
The color is a deep-dark ruby. The nose is a touch harsh at first with some alcohol burn, but mellows out and gets very earthy, displaying barnyard funk, cherry, dirty leather, and cherry cola. On tasting, it becomes a very complete experience from attack to finish, coating the mouth with an oily leathery feel. Loads of chocolate flavor is balanced with plum, cherry cola, and earthy pepper. Dry tannins round out the finish. Again, great balance from start to finish and a fine evolution over the course of the evening.
Paired with plum chicken, which toned down the drying effect of the wine, making the fruit in the Syrah shine through. The wine really kicked up the mustard flavor in the dish, and the pepper, from both the wine and the chicken, came bursting out through the nose. In the mid-palate, the chili sauce came out to play and gave a perfect spice transition from the attacking mustard to the finishing pepper.
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2007 Januik Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley
1/15/2012 - heggink1 wrote: 87 Points
Partner Review:
This is a truly deep, dark pour! With moderate aromas of dark, chocolately fruits, a tinge of sweet grass... it was nearly comparable to that scent of a first rain on cement. All in all, a bit elusive but very pleasant. The taste was medium sweet, with a very well structured, smooth attack that crescendoed to a lively sneak-like attack on the sides of the tongue, before calming back down and leaving with a subtle nod.
The wine did things that really made the meal shine. It added sweetness to balance out the spicy heat, while the cloves of the chili almost caramelized the entire food mix, which served to help all of the various flavors in the chili to shine through and actually be tasted.
Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment