2005 Joseph Swan Vineyards Syrah Great Oak Vineyard

Community Tasting Notes (17) Avg Score: 89.4 points

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  8/19/2022 - d'Yquembe Mutombo Likes this wine: 90 Points

  My expectations were very low when opening this bottle. I purchased this from the winery in 2012 and forgot about it in the cellar for years while I was drinking through newer vintages. This bottle still had years ahead of it and I'm going to have to rethink my aging strategy for the Swan syrahs. Great Syrah dark fruit profile tamed by age, brimming with minearlity and just starting to show some characteristic meaty/spicy notes of a good aged Rhone. The only thing keeping this from being a 92 point wine in my book was a touch too much alcohol than I like, but not to the point where it was a major detractor. Kudos to the Joseph Swan crew.

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  7/19/2019 - drrobvino wrote: 92 Points

  Tasted alongside 2008 Dumol Syrah (Jack Robert's Run at $75). The Swan was the favorite, and less than 1/2 the price!
  Clocking in at 14.1% abv, the Swan was lighter in color and higher in acidity than the Dumol, allowing the black fruit profile to be bolstered by underlying flavors like iron, black olives, a hint of bacon fat, and things that lean more decidedly to the more elegant Northern Rhone.
  Lovely, more food friendly, and very drinkable. This wine is at a beautiful place right now, drink up.

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  4/7/2016 - Frank Murray III wrote:

  Starting to show some aged character, just a whiff of it. Yet, still black cherry fruit here, quite a bit of tang, plenty of fruit and a tight finish. Plenty left for the next day or so...pretty lively still on Day 2, with the acidity being the energy that lives in this wine. Don't see any fade here and a rush to drink any if you have them remaining.

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  10/2/2015 - geeky? not sure wrote:

  My favorite of the series (05, 06, 07 Great Oaks) but not great. Started off nice as the fruit had settled down. But acidity began to dominate after an hour or so and it became shrill.

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  6/6/2013 - dsgris Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Inky dark ruby to purple, blue fruit toward iodine nose. Dry, acid driven, really tart fruit, red berries, drank with sharp cheddar, crackers and salumi, a little bitters and some funk, tannins are subservient to the acid at this point. The acid should keep this alive for a long time. 90 pts PN the PnP and going up with open time. I love the acid.

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