Popped and poured. Opaque inky color. Plum, pepper, blue and black fruit notes. Integrated tannin; flavors of black fruit and plum, spice. Ripe, but not overly so; concentrated. Adds a tar note with air. 8-89 pts.
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Heavy Body, the syrupyness of the wine has faded now with just big fruit, nice red berrys no traces of oak all intergrated beautifully, after 2.5hrs it started to die
Conc: For the Price of $35 i was happy with the wine, but dying after 2.5hrs shows a short drinking window, better by itself then with the steak dinner
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I've had a few bottle of this recently. Two showed concentrated palate, and still vibrant flavours of earthy leather and expressive cherry . The last seemed more muted on the fruit and was not as expressive. My sense is that cork integrity had a play in this, but also the wine is soon to be on the decline.
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Big boy! Sweet fruit, dark cherry, notes of milk chocolate on the nose. Notes of leather, dark soil earth tones & black pepper spice, which translates onto the palate. Tannins still very youthful, firm gripping & chalky. Very chewy & long lasting on the finish. Medium acidity. Should age wonderfully. Syrah lovers dream.
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Very nice wine, drinking well now... Lots of fruit, very powerful, most definitely a distinctive Syrah caracter... Needs a big piece of game, like deer, with which it was a great match... Tanins nicely integrated, but still a few years ahead of it. WOTN, just ahead of Rauzan-Ségla 1998.
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Opened and poured. A beautiful boquet of deep black fruit with a deep dark color. Polished tannins and crisp acids integrate with the dark fruit flavors and a chalky edge leading to a long elegant finish. Done in a Northern Rhone style, this is a full bodied well rounded wine. Far from an Australian fruit bomb, it has a nice delicate structure. The wine is drinking great right now, but has many more years of life ahead of it. If this were tasted blind I would never guess it came from California.
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90-91. Very enjoyable and balanced. Very N Rhone like made in a very french style for CA. Well made. Only missing a bit more depth and compleixity for a higher score.
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Super black and intense with blackberry, melted graphite, grilled meat and smoke. The palate is very focused with good acid and fine tannins on the finish. If anything, I could have used a bit more forward fruit. Still, this mineral laden wine was very compelling.
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This wine had a gorgeous nose but the flavors never came to together. Disjointed and not particularly pleasant with a slight taste of camphor. Not an obviously bad bottle but not as good as others have found it.
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Consistant with my last notes. I was being pretty down on this at first with its muted fragrance and slightly off flavors. I had completely forgotten about how much air this bottle needs right now. Once it sat decanting for awhile it turned into a fantastic wine.
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It was a medium-bodied superripe because of the high pH yet balanced with sweet dark fruits of blackberry and blueberry with soft yet integrated tannins. Enjoyed this one!
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This is the second time I've had this wine in the past month. Each time I wasn't really drinking it to evaluate as I was just interested in having a glass of wine [or two or three :-) ] but each time this was very consistant. Extremely closed for the first hour, but shortly after it opens up into a nice, mellow, drinkable syrah. A little hot on the alcohol side [15+%] but overall fairly integrated. And who knows what James Laube was smoking when he tasted this, but 75 points is way way wrong.
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Consistent with past bottle. Stiill holding up extremely well. Dark inky, almost black in color. Aromas of black fruit, pepper, spice, and oak. Big and bold in the mouth with an elegant mouthfell and a long, lingering finish.
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This is my WOTM (Wine of the Month) so far. Wow, delicious and interesting. I love it when you hit a wine just a the start of its power curve, and this one is there. After an hour in the decanter, the initial wall of tannins had subsided, but in another year or so, this will be a pop-and-pour masterpiece. I am not a huge blueberry syrah or shiraz fan, so I was happy to note the absence of blueberry and a great mix of black fruit, white pepper, smokey notes, and a blend of almost sweet herbs and spices. Still bright enough to register as a CA syrah, but not too fruit-forward or simple. Just a joy to drink and balanced enough to go with food (mind you, nothing dainty!).
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very nice syrah. Opaque, rich dark fruits, great balance, licorice with hints of leather. Good structure, ample tannins, needs a little air, would improve with a couple years.
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Dark inky color. Hint of pepper, spice, and oak. Seriously bold flavors with excellent balance. Long finish, excellent syrah, showing why this grape is becoming a major player. Great fruit without being over extracted. Bold wine with 15.22% alcohol but well balanced so you wouldn't know it.
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Dain Wines Barrel Samples (and others) (Springfield, MO): Garnet/inky black color. Nose of pepper, spice, tar, bacon, and smoked game. This is a seriously sexy wine with huge mouth-filling flavors and a rich dark chocolate finish. This wine will last for years!
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($40) This wine has a wonderful nose of sweet black fruit and toasted bread oak. The palate is somewhat more austere with a tannic(?) structure impeding the fruit. Good though.
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Very good syrah, dense and but not over-extracted. Wouldn't hold onto for too long. Not thinking they will decline, but is it going to get any better? Syrah-lovers get some!
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12/18/2015 - AllRed wrote: 88 Points
Popped and poured. Opaque inky color. Plum, pepper, blue and black fruit notes. Integrated tannin; flavors of black fruit and plum, spice. Ripe, but not overly so; concentrated. Adds a tar note with air. 8-89 pts.
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6/3/2014 - Weston3220 Likes this wine: 90 Points
Took 20 mins to open Up
Heavy Body, the syrupyness of the wine has faded now with just big fruit, nice red berrys no traces of oak all intergrated beautifully, after 2.5hrs it started to die
Conc: For the Price of $35 i was happy with the wine, but dying after 2.5hrs shows a short drinking window, better by itself then with the steak dinner
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5/16/2014 - MidLifeVices wrote:
I've had a few bottle of this recently. Two showed concentrated palate, and still vibrant flavours of earthy leather and expressive cherry . The last seemed more muted on the fruit and was not as expressive. My sense is that cork integrity had a play in this, but also the wine is soon to be on the decline.
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5/11/2014 - Chateau du Fey 1994 wrote:
Consistent notes from before. Lots of black liquorice and blackberry. Ready to drink!
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3/30/2014 - Chateau du Fey 1994 wrote: 90 Points
A very pleasant surprise. Great QPR. Drinking very well now.
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12/15/2013 - FlavioSFL Likes this wine: 93 Points
Big boy! Sweet fruit, dark cherry, notes of milk chocolate on the nose. Notes of leather, dark soil earth tones & black pepper spice, which translates onto the palate. Tannins still very youthful, firm gripping & chalky. Very chewy & long lasting on the finish. Medium acidity. Should age wonderfully. Syrah lovers dream.
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3/2/2012 - moudy wrote: 90 Points
Astringent, earthy, with a lithe red fruit and leather. For $30 - would have been happy. But, for $60 - a bit disappointing
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10/4/2010 - pabernatchez wrote: 92 Points
Very nice wine, drinking well now... Lots of fruit, very powerful, most definitely a distinctive Syrah caracter... Needs a big piece of game, like deer, with which it was a great match...
Tanins nicely integrated, but still a few years ahead of it. WOTN, just ahead of Rauzan-Ségla 1998.
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3/19/2010 - pickhardt wrote: 87 Points
OK, but I didn't really like the fruit that much.
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3/15/2010 - pdemaio wrote: 91 Points
very nice for a cali syrah. full boddied. Not completely integrated, but for $30, I couldn't complain.
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10/8/2009 - hld1970 wrote: 90 Points
Nice dark fruit and chewy tannins. Paired with homemade pesto pasta.
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8/2/2009 - winegr wrote: 90 Points
90-91. Smooth and well balanced with some oak. Combo CA and rhone style. Nicely made, but not overly complex.
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3/20/2009 - PSirah Tampa wrote: 92 Points
Opened and poured. A beautiful boquet of deep black fruit with a deep dark color. Polished tannins and crisp acids integrate with the dark fruit flavors and a chalky edge leading to a long elegant finish. Done in a Northern Rhone style, this is a full bodied well rounded wine. Far from an Australian fruit bomb, it has a nice delicate structure. The wine is drinking great right now, but has many more years of life ahead of it. If this were tasted blind I would never guess it came from California.
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12/25/2008 - winegr wrote: 90 Points
90-91. Very enjoyable and balanced. Very N Rhone like made in a very french style for CA. Well made. Only missing a bit more depth and compleixity for a higher score.
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7/15/2008 - rmodak wrote: 90 Points
Super black and intense with blackberry, melted graphite, grilled meat and smoke. The palate is very focused with good acid and fine tannins on the finish. If anything, I could have used a bit more forward fruit. Still, this mineral laden wine was very compelling.
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3/19/2008 - Topper wrote: 87 Points
This wine had a gorgeous nose but the flavors never came to together. Disjointed and not particularly pleasant with a slight taste of camphor. Not an obviously bad bottle but not as good as others have found it.
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2/16/2008 - Schu wrote: 91 Points
Consistant with my last notes. I was being pretty down on this at first with its muted fragrance and slightly off flavors. I had completely forgotten about how much air this bottle needs right now. Once it sat decanting for awhile it turned into a fantastic wine.
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2/16/2008 - sstitt wrote: 90 Points
It was a medium-bodied superripe because of the high pH yet balanced with sweet dark fruits of blackberry and blueberry with soft yet integrated tannins. Enjoyed this one!
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1/7/2008 - Schu wrote: 91 Points
This is the second time I've had this wine in the past month. Each time I wasn't really drinking it to evaluate as I was just interested in having a glass of wine [or two or three :-) ] but each time this was very consistant. Extremely closed for the first hour, but shortly after it opens up into a nice, mellow, drinkable syrah. A little hot on the alcohol side [15+%] but overall fairly integrated. And who knows what James Laube was smoking when he tasted this, but 75 points is way way wrong.
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12/31/2007 - GolferChris wrote: 93 Points
Consistent with past bottle. Stiill holding up extremely well. Dark inky, almost black in color. Aromas of black fruit, pepper, spice, and oak. Big and bold in the mouth with an elegant mouthfell and a long, lingering finish.
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12/16/2006 - jbposell wrote: 93 Points
This is my WOTM (Wine of the Month) so far. Wow, delicious and interesting. I love it when you hit a wine just a the start of its power curve, and this one is there. After an hour in the decanter, the initial wall of tannins had subsided, but in another year or so, this will be a pop-and-pour masterpiece. I am not a huge blueberry syrah or shiraz fan, so I was happy to note the absence of blueberry and a great mix of black fruit, white pepper, smokey notes, and a blend of almost sweet herbs and spices. Still bright enough to register as a CA syrah, but not too fruit-forward or simple. Just a joy to drink and balanced enough to go with food (mind you, nothing dainty!).
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10/16/2006 - tskrueger wrote: 92 Points
Dinner at Melbees (Kansas City, MO): This showed really well. No real notes from memory, but I think this wine is really begininng to hit its' stride.
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9/15/2006 - Nanda wrote: 94 Points
Wine Flock: California Syrah - An Introspective / Retrospective Tasting (The Shaffer's - Highland Park, IL): A singing and unique nose of black fruits, earth, smoke and cinnamon. A seamless palate features lush fruit on the attack. Ripe fruits on the mid-palate and a long spicy fruit finish. Thiw was a wine I enjoyed because it appeared mature/settled-down/complex beyond its actual years (group #5, my #1).
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9/9/2006 - AllRed wrote: 92 Points
Poured at a retailer tasting. Opaque. Smoke, meaty and dark fruit aromas on the nose. Smoky dark fruit framed by sweet tannins.
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9/4/2006 - Paul-Richard wrote: 88 Points
rich, black fruit, white pepper, some espresso, licorice, tar. Too hot.
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8/6/2006 - rmodak wrote: 90 Points
Dark purple color, smoky blackberry, graphite, violets, relatively high acid (oddly enough) and tannic finish. A bit chunky, but should improve.
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7/3/2006 - Paul-Richard wrote: 90 Points
very nice syrah. Opaque, rich dark fruits, great balance, licorice with hints of leather. Good structure, ample tannins, needs a little air, would improve with a couple years.
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4/25/2006 - Paul-Richard wrote: 91 Points
rich nose of dark fruits, leather and stones; sweet black fruits, grippy tannins, nice length, stones and earth with hints of licorice. Lovely wine.
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9/27/2005 - GolferChris wrote: 93 Points
Dark inky color. Hint of pepper, spice, and oak. Seriously bold flavors with excellent balance. Long finish, excellent syrah, showing why this grape is becoming a major player. Great fruit without being over extracted. Bold wine with 15.22% alcohol but well balanced so you wouldn't know it.
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6/18/2005 - mdstenner wrote: 93 Points
Dain Wines Barrel Samples (and others) (Springfield, MO): Garnet/inky black color. Nose of pepper, spice, tar, bacon, and smoked game. This is a seriously sexy wine with huge mouth-filling flavors and a rich dark chocolate finish. This wine will last for years!
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3/14/2005 - Ali wrote: 86 Points
Dissappointing, as L'Aventure wines are usually excellent. The 2002 is not very complex. Tastes like a $10 syrah, costs $40.
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3/5/2005 - OneLastSyrah wrote:
($40) This wine has a wonderful nose of sweet black fruit and toasted bread oak. The palate is somewhat more austere with a tannic(?) structure impeding the fruit. Good though.
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10/28/2004 - Mattswines wrote: 92 Points
Very good syrah, dense and but not over-extracted. Wouldn't hold onto for too long. Not thinking they will decline, but is it going to get any better? Syrah-lovers get some!
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