Syrah

Opened as part of my #BrownsSuckWinesDont program where I punish myself watching the Cleveland Browns and reward myself with interesting wines.  A new discovery for me, this was very good.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, and slight black olives.  On the palate, this is juicy with great fruit.  A very lively wine.  Pop and pour it continued to get better until the last glass about 10 hours later.  I would hold these for now as there is good upside potential or at least give it plenty of air.  

Opened while watching the Cleveland Browns lose again.  I needed something strong that wouldn't make me try to hard.  While this fit the bill, in fact, this will be a couple or few points better in a five years.  Purple inc olor.  The nose has black raspberries, white pepper, slight roasted meats and spice.  On the palate, black raspberries and roasted meats carry thru.  A bit of spice.  Deep but tightly packed.  Juicy acidity.  Delicious.  Nice finish.  

As to be expected, this is quite young and tight.  Yet, the nose is so precise it should develop beautifully.  Black raspberries, black pepper, roasted meats and violets.  On the palate, this took some time to open.  Vigorous tannins.  Black raspberry fruit tightly packed.  Deep.  Long finish.  Don't open for a few years without a long decant.  

My favorite of the 12, 13 and 14 trio of these wines (though all are good).  This also seems to be the one with the most upside potential.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is dusty with black raspberries, black pepper and slightly roasted meats.  On the palate this is flat out delicious.  Deep with black raspberries, black cherries, juicy acidity and some chocolate.  Long finish.  Tightly packed it explodes in the glass.  Great wine.  

Inky purple in color.  The nose has cedar, black raspberries and black pepper.  On the palate, jammy black raspberries with some black cherries and chocolate.  Good acidity.  This is a very rich and open Syrah but still quite young.  it will be interesting to see how these develop with ten or twenty years on them.  I think they will be just fine and not too dissimilar from the better Northern Rhone reds.  Time will tell.  

The cork broke on opening so this was decanted thru a filter.  It was interesting to drink side by side with the Cailloux Vineyard which was pop and pour.  This opened up first as expected but then the played back and forth over the evening.  In the end, I liked this a tad more though they were basically even.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cedar, black raspberries and rocks.  On the palate, this is complex with black raspberries, slight cedar, a bit of pepper and slight earthy notes.  Nice texture.  Good balance.  Also drinking much younger than its 15 years would lead on

Its not often I get to enjoy a wine this old from Washington so this was a treat.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black rapsberries, spice, slight violet, minerals and slight bacon fat.  On the palate, this has plums, black olives and black raspberries.  Still drinking youthfully, it didnt seem 15 years old.  Maybe seven.  Deep and complex but delicious and gulpable.  Nice finish.  I am not sure this gets better but it should continue to mature.  very impressive wine.  

Inky purple in color.  The nose has boysenberries, black pepper and slight bacon fat.  On the palate, this is not as boisterous as other vintages.  Still, nothing under ripe or green.  Boysenberries layered with damp earth and char.  Lovely texture.  Long finish.  This worked well with food or on its own.  Saxum did an excellent job with the difficult 2011 vintage.  This seems to be drinking a bit earlier than is typical although it is still young.  

Great showing for this.  Still quite youthful.  Purple in color, to the rim.  On the nose, this has black raspberries, slight black pepper, hints of roasted meats and slight charcoal.  Grat rich texture.  Pure black raspberry fruit with great intensity.  Layers of fruit with earth.  Long finish.  Just a fantastic wine with at least a decade or two left.  

Very nice. A new producer for me.  Ruby/purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, cigar box, slight bacon note and slight earthiness.  On the palate, this has a nice acidity.  Boysenberry fruit.  Very clean.  Good finish.  Worked better with food.