2008 Shane Syrah The Unknown

Community Tasting Notes (27) Avg Score: 90.6 points

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View tenorselbow's profile
  • Report Issue

  10/21/2022 - tenorselbow wrote: 94 Points

  I do love this wine. We also have some Judge vineyard from the same vintage but not up to this level. I think the winemaker mentioned that he started adding viognier in later vintages but I wouldn't be surprised if (judging by the nose) this had some too.
  Nose of mineral bath salts, chocolate orange, caramel and Play-doh. Generous mouth of carbon paper, dried leaves and blueberry extract. Long finish of aniseed and woodshed. Excellent pairing with ramp-marinated steak.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View tenorselbow's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/4/2022 - tenorselbow wrote: 93 Points

  Very moreish. Lovely nose of raspberry essence, sherbet and newly-rained on earth. Substantial mouth of milk chocolate, ruby red grapefruit, blueberries and eucalyptus bark. Long finish of licorice, Maltesers and plum skins. I think I can even detect some toasted oak halfway through the finish.
  Virtually no sediment leading me to believe that is not going to develop much further.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View toddmk's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/30/2021 - toddmk Likes this wine: 91 Points

  This wine has gotten better since I last drank it several years ago. Still has 1 or 2 years left but in fully mature stage and definitely not getting any better.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View cobbpa's profile
  • Report Issue

  4/2/2017 - cobbpa wrote: 91 Points

  Really enjoyed this. A few hours of bottle air helped. Good herb tones, a touch of meatiness, and dark black fruits throughout. Nice structure & balanced finish had our group guessing Cote Rotie blind. After ~6 hours of air it started to lean more toward fruit & showed its California side, but the whole ride was enjoyable.

  1 person found this helpful, do you? Yes - No / Comments (1)

• Options

  • Post a Comment
  • View Meerlust's profile
  • Report Issue

  1/16/2016 - Meerlust wrote: 89 Points

  Inky, dark purple color. The nose is very complex with a very old world profile of gunflint, smoke, animale, meaty, violets, and plums. This is a classic syrah on the palate - blackberry, plum, smoked meat, violets, spice, and minerals. Structurally, there are ample, sandpapery tannins that create a rustic mouthfeel, but the acidity is well managed and supports the fruit beautifully. Overall, Shane Finley did an excellent job of creating a cool climate syrah with character and complexity. It needs food to help tame the tannins, but it is well made in a rustic, masculine way.

  Do you find this review helpful? Yes - No / Comment

View all 27 Community Tasting Notes

Professional reviews have copyrights and you can view them here for your personal use only as private content. To view pro reviews you must either subscribe to a pre-integrated publication or manually enter reviews below. Learn more.