This is a big, bold syrah blend that needs a lot of decanting. Without decant or vinturi it is borderline undrinkable, very disjointed and hot. But with some air and a pass or two trough the vinturi, as well as some chilling it becomes very good. Nose is pretty faint but there is some dark fruit and earth/leather. There is very good mouthfeel and nice balance between the heat, fruit and faint tannins. Glad I have acouple more bottles.
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Popped and poured. Nose is pretty weak and does not tell me much. But it's a good drinker, pretty well balanced between the fruit, a good dose of earth and leather, some heat and soft tannins. According to CT, this is my first bottle but I am pretty sure I've had it before when it was pretty disjointed and not very enjoyable. But if that's true then the bottle age has treated it well and it's become a much better wine.
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Nice purple color right out to the rim. Nose is layered; forest notes with spicy pepper. Taste takes a bit to open up, so let it sit 20 minutes or so if you can. Taste improved (smoothed out) noticeably over just 5 minutes. Red cherry and raspberry lead the taste and then some rich, but slightly bitter tannins take over. Finish lingers nicely, but some of the sourness lingers as well, but it fades the longer the wine rests. Given the nice price for the bottle, I could have rated higher, but I try to rate independent of price. I was not disappointed with my purchase.
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There was a time that I loved (and sought out) big, high alcohol fruit bombs. As is often the case, tastes change and I now hesitate just a bit over wines like that. So I had an initial concern about this 14.3% syrah/petite sirah blend. It's big indeed, but it is not the over-the-top, tasting like raisins/port/after dinner drink posing as wine. Fortunately, this had PLENTY of fruit, but enough structure and balance that it was just flat out NICE. Had this with a pot roast and it paired beautifully. I decanted it and it was in perfect shape for drinking now, despite the fact that the syrah/petite sirah blend would normally lead me to believe that I should hold it for a while. Quite honestly, it would be a shame to let this fruit drift away. I will buy more of this.
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Awkward taste at first, but opened up a bit after sitting for an hour. It left me wanting more definitive tastes, but has hints of fruit, chocolate, and perhaps pepper. Initially very tannin heavy until it had a chance to breathe a while.
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8/22/2010 - oldsailor wrote: 89 Points
This is a big, bold syrah blend that needs a lot of decanting. Without decant or vinturi it is borderline undrinkable, very disjointed and hot. But with some air and a pass or two trough the vinturi, as well as some chilling it becomes very good. Nose is pretty faint but there is some dark fruit and earth/leather. There is very good mouthfeel and nice balance between the heat, fruit and faint tannins. Glad I have acouple more bottles.
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5/13/2010 - oldsailor wrote: 88 Points
Popped and poured. Nose is pretty weak and does not tell me much. But it's a good drinker, pretty well balanced between the fruit, a good dose of earth and leather, some heat and soft tannins. According to CT, this is my first bottle but I am pretty sure I've had it before when it was pretty disjointed and not very enjoyable. But if that's true then the bottle age has treated it well and it's become a much better wine.
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10/20/2009 - Grenik wrote: 87 Points
Nice purple color right out to the rim. Nose is layered; forest notes with spicy pepper. Taste takes a bit to open up, so let it sit 20 minutes or so if you can. Taste improved (smoothed out) noticeably over just 5 minutes. Red cherry and raspberry lead the taste and then some rich, but slightly bitter tannins take over. Finish lingers nicely, but some of the sourness lingers as well, but it fades the longer the wine rests. Given the nice price for the bottle, I could have rated higher, but I try to rate independent of price. I was not disappointed with my purchase.
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7/12/2007 - steveabb wrote: 90 Points
There was a time that I loved (and sought out) big, high alcohol fruit bombs. As is often the case, tastes change and I now hesitate just a bit over wines like that. So I had an initial concern about this 14.3% syrah/petite sirah blend. It's big indeed, but it is not the over-the-top, tasting like raisins/port/after dinner drink posing as wine. Fortunately, this had PLENTY of fruit, but enough structure and balance that it was just flat out NICE. Had this with a pot roast and it paired beautifully. I decanted it and it was in perfect shape for drinking now, despite the fact that the syrah/petite sirah blend would normally lead me to believe that I should hold it for a while. Quite honestly, it would be a shame to let this fruit drift away. I will buy more of this.
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6/14/2007 - Farm wrote: 83 Points
Awkward taste at first, but opened up a bit after sitting for an hour. It left me wanting more definitive tastes, but has hints of fruit, chocolate, and perhaps pepper. Initially very tannin heavy until it had a chance to breathe a while.
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