Shay A

9.4

One of the bottles from my annual WWC hosting, opened alongside a 2020 Chateau Beaucastel Blanc.

46% Grenache Blanc/31% roussanne/23% Chenin Blanc.

More expressive and dialed up compared to the Beaucastel (not a big surprise). Medium gold in the glass. Bright and juicy roussanne notes of orange marmalade and apricot, alongside white peaches and a powder-sugar funnel-cake type aromatic. The Chenin gives this a good spine of acidity to prevent the rich and full-bodied entry from being flabby. Honey-roasted nuts, honeycomb, lemon cream, underripe pineapple and a savory/waxy finish. The warmth comes out at the finish, but it’s not substantial. Really nice with 1-2hrs of air. — 3 months ago

Roberto Carli

9.7

Wow!! Dark austere profile with serious dark fruit behind dense herbal/tea/earth minerality. The palate is nuts though, fruit opens up, shows a touch of red, tingling acidity is off the charts — 10 months ago

CA Haynam

9.0

Inky black. Moderate fruity aroma. Dark fruit flavors of blackberry and blueberry. Nice — 3 years ago

Donald Williams

9.6

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a Syrah this good. — 7 months ago

with Bonnie

Kamall

8.9

Earthy and smoky. Aged well — 8 months ago

Shay A

9.5

I’ve got lots of love for these wines, but I always struggle with when to open. They are fantastic young and equally fantastic with age. Jeb said of this wine, “the greatest GSM blend from California, ever.”, and stamped it with a perfect score. Strong praise, and while I’m not there, I don’t regret opening this.

Consumed from decanter the first 2-3hrs before decanting back to bottle and finishing the remaining third later in the evening. Much better later in the day. Wound up tight initially. Classical high end Paso with this distinct airy-jammyness. So much going on with squeezed blackberries, peppercorn, lots of kirsch. Some garrigue. Mouth coating and a total wave of flavor on the palate…black fruit, cherry cordial, cherry drizzled smoked meats. It’s both supremely juicy and hauntingly tannic at the finish. Even with time to open, the ABV makes itself known, but you know that going in. If you like the style, it’s hard to beat. — 2 years ago

Chris MacLean

9.2

This seems more integrated than the Hyland Vineyard, same vintage. Anyone have insight? — 8 months ago

with Sarah

Ken Venezio

9.5

Exceptional blend. Mostly Syrah but the Grenache shines. Bold red with great depth. Lovely floral nose of violets and berries. Big winner tonight. — 10 months ago

Jason Gelman

9.0

heavy pencil shavings and cigar smoke on the nose. black olive and green bell pepper too. color is definitely what you’d expect in a 20 year old wine. palate is consistent with nose, very bordeaux-lite. heavy cigar box. a lot of olive and herb tapenade character. some black pepper on the finish too. very savory overall. — 3 years ago

CA Haynam

9.3

Fruit forward and jammy with light tannins — 3 years ago