Joe Rice

9.1

By the glass at the winery. Dark fruit, not stewed, plenty of oak spice, even more to the forefront than the 890. A bit more time to integrate. — 11 years ago

Joel Tan

9.0

Musky tones, just amazing smell. Lighter on the palate, sappy and still plenty of acidity perfect for all the meats at dinner — 12 years ago

David Kelly

9.2

Big, dark, concentrated, and dense. Jammy and overripe fruit. Smoky, barbecue and tar notes. Pepper, clove and cardamom. Dried potpourri. Low acid and plenty of alcohol. — 12 years ago

Donald Patz

Owner/Winemaker Patz & Hall

9.5

Beautiful. Still plenty of life — 13 years ago

Max Reichwage

9.2

Really special, still plenty of life, eternal tannins and acidity — 11 years ago

Rick Galiardo

9.4

Bordeaux wine dinner; 6/18/15: Pichon Lalande 1990 - Lighter color than others, I think passing its prime. A little dry on the finish but perfectly nice still. Gruaud Larose 1989 - Very classic nose and palate of cedar and pine notes. Most silky palate of the bunch. Two at the table thought it was wine of the night. Not as much to my taste but very much classy Gruaud. Cos 1986 - Funky barnyard nose. Deep palate with still strong tannin, but plenty of fruit coming through. Liked it but there was some brett there that to me, hurt. Lynch Bages 1985 - For me, the wine of the night, largely due to the truly stunning nose. A tad dry on the palate but still long finish of dark fruit. — 11 years ago

Gary Westby

Champagne & Sherry buyer K&L Wines

9.8

Effortless claret, light to medium bodied, with delicate black currant fruit that soared with Doug's fabulous tri-tip. Not for score lovers, this wine has plenty of herbal intrigue for the table and no extra fat. — 13 years ago

Matthew Beckman

9.3

Lovely nose of cherry and tobacco...plenty of time left for this but approachable now. My wine of the night — 11 years ago

Alan Dickinson

9.0

A little rough in the aromatics. Cork was suspect, looked and smelled a bit funky. wine was otherwise youthful in the mouth with raspberry, tar, spice and plenty of lively acid. Have a few more '89s and think its time. overall a beautiful wine still but perhaps in aromatic decline. - 1989 vintage — 12 years ago

Rob Lateiner

9.6

Chave Rouge 06. Plenty of heat and a little oak too it seems (could be wrong). Oak will integrate, heat is surprising. Serious peppered beef and teriyaki jerky. Some black red fruit - black cherry. Hints of jello tease overripeness but this remains sharp and poignant. The pure jello influenced fruit makes me think few stems here, too. Oak seems to present itself not as vanilla thankfully but in a beautiful hazelnut quality that matches the fruit perfectly and uniquely to syrah. Again, this could be something else other than oak. This definitely shows some jello/jelly, no doubt. Totally ripe red cherry actually. Importantly, this has no heaviness in terms of weight or thickness yet is pungently aromatic as first, smoked, peppered meat and second as fruit. This wine makes me think of, all in the same vein, concrete vats, minerality and tiny berries. The teriyaki quality makes me think these are high toast barrels? This should continue to integrate better and better over the coming years. I can't say I ever got the "bacon fat" thing before in N Rhone but this really has Benton's bacon fat to it. Amazing all this umami while still maintaining a bright ripe red-fruited cherry core. Prefer the '06 Jamet right now for its lower alcohol but certainly love the transparency and uniqueness of flavor here. This is likely a bit more structured than the Jamet. Again, I think time will treat this well. This is dried meat while the Jamet was about the long pepper spice. So interesting how different these expressions of syrah are. — 12 years ago