2011 Riverain Syrah Cardiac Hill Bennett Valley

Community Tasting Notes (22) Avg Score: 92 points

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  3/12/2021 - Outplaying Likes this wine:

  I was surprised to see it has been over 6 years since my last bottle. Smokey olives accenting the mix of tart, red and black fruit would have had me guessing northern Rhone if I had tasted this blind. The wine is soft, and the fruit has faded some. We enjoyed this with grilled Delmonico steaks. I agree with FMIII. I would drink this sooner rather than later to enjoy the remaining fruit.

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  9/30/2020 - Benj wrote: 93 Points

  Just a superb domestic Syrah. Quite lightweight, especially on opening. Took 2 hours for this to really shine with all the good stuff: olive, bacon, herbaceousness, slightly purple floral character, excellent clarity of fruit, superb but not overdone acidity, low alcohol, just gorgeous, very pretty. No rush at all. 12.8%

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  8/15/2020 - TLR Likes this wine: 97 Points

  Purchase on Berserker Day. Tried out my new Coravin. This is a really interesting wine that is not a crowd-pleaser. This is for wine nerdy and for all the right reasons. 12.8% alcohol built to last this is multi-dimensional with lots of herbal, soy, olive, and a dark brooding nature. great food wine Can't wait to revisit. Old world flavors in a new world wine.

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  3/8/2020 - Ron Slye wrote: 96 Points

  Wow. This may be one of the best domestic syrahs, maybe any syrah, I have had. Still very inky black. Lots of roasted meat, ash, violets, and umami on the nose. This is the sort of wine that I could just sniff all night. Lovely tight taste in the mouth, with a sweet ashiness that segues into a nice long finish. This is a lovely wine at the moment. Note to self -- wait at least five years for the next one, and don't touch the 2012s at all!

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  11/26/2019 - brigcampbell wrote:

  wow, 4 years since I last tasted. This was a 3L beast from FMIII, a gift from Steve. Really holding up nicely with the black olive note I enjoy so much and dark sticky tar. Fruit on the attack seems to be backing down compared to initial tastings.

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