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1999 Havens Hudson Vineyard Carneros Syrah $$$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Wow with vibrant cherry, minerals, floral and smoke aroma
Taste: Violets, cinnamon, spices, smoke and cherry
Finish: Medium and has a nice floral character
Evaluation: Not bad for sampling it in 09 89 points
2000 Domaine De La Terre Rogue Ascent Sierra Foothills Syrah $$$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Elegant with earth, coffee, barnyard, floral
Taste: Balanced wine with coffee, spices, pepper, peppers, and some fruit
Finish: Medium and mainly earth components. Tannins have mellowed out over the years
Evaluation: This wine mellowed out over 3 days and is drinking really well right now 92 points
2001
2001 Blue Rock Alexander Valley Syrah $$$
Color: Dark Purple
Nose: Wow! Coffee, perfume, blackberries, boysenberries, violets
Taste: Spices, coffee, blackberries, violets, blueberries
Finish: Medium and concentrated with exotic spices, blueberries, coffee, violets
Evaluation: $10 closeout bin 93 points
2001 Blue Rock Alexander Valley Syrah $$$
Color: Dark Purple
Nose: White pepper, blackberry, ink, charcoal, perfume and raspberries
Taste: Balanced palate with white pepper, charcoal, violets, spice and raspberries
Finish: Medium and concentrated
Evaluation: 92 points
2001 Blue Rock Syrah - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (12/19/2010)
Still drinking well with blackberries, floral, spices and lost of them and oak. Tannins still present and this wine should have another five plus years of enjoyment. (91 points)
2001 Blue Rock Syrah - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (3/4/2011)
Second bottle in as many days and this one was better with blackberries, blueberries, spice and minerals. The palate was similar to the nose and possesses a medium finish. (90 points)
2001 Blue Rock Syrah - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (3/3/2011)
Medium purple. Spice, cherry, floral and blueberries. Medium finish and drink now. (89 points)
2002
2002 Blue Rock Syrah - USA, California, Sonoma County, Alexander Valley (12/19/2010)
My last bottle and drinking well but not as impressive as the 01. Blackberries, cherry, minerals and floral notes. Medium finish and I would drink up as I don't see this having the aging potential of the 01. (89 points)
2002 Blue Rock Alexander Valley Syrah $$$
Color: Dark Purple
Nose: Black pepper, eucalypts, blackberries
Taste: Very Aussie like with eucalypts, blackberries, pepper and spice
Finish: Medium and concentrated
Evaluation: Solid but not as good as the 2001 90 points
2002 Shafer Relentless Napa Valley Syrah $$$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Big with pepper, spice, plum, cherry, oak
Taste: Wow. Best US Syrah to date with pepper, spice, plum, cherry, oak, vanilla
Finish: Long and satisfying. Complexity is amazing.
Evaluation: This wine will improve with age and is a great value at $55. 95 points
2002 Domaine De La Terre Rogue Ascent Sierra Foothills Syrah $$$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Spice, blackberries, pepper
Taste: OK with spice, blackberries, pepper and earth
Finish: Medium
Evaluation: Sampled in 09 with the 2000 and the 2000 is much better 88 points
2003
2003 C G di Arie Sierra Foothills Syrah $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Inky purple marker, ripe fruits, plum, spice
Taste: Plum, licorice, spice
Finish: Black pepper, spice, and plum
Evaluation: Wonderful wine and should improve with some cellaring. 94 points
2003 Alesia Sonoma Coast Syrah
Nose: Currant with plum, pepper and spice
Taste: Spice and currants interweaving nicely
Finish: Black pepper and spices with a medium finish
Evaluation: A very solid US syrah. Should be even better with some bottle aging. 92 points
2003 Gravity Hills Paso Robles Syrah $$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Mineral, smoke, good fruit
Taste: Nice fruit balanced out with smoke and earth
Finish: Medium
Evaluation: Better then most at $10 88 points
2003 Rosenblum England Shaw Solano County Syrah $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Blueberry, Grape jam
Taste: Fruit dominated with blueberry, black raspberry, and blackberries
Finish: Full flavored fruit forward syrah with a medium finish
Evaluation: A good example of a fruit forward syrah. 89 points
2004
2004 Ojai Stolpman Vineyard Syrah $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Pepper, spice, plum, smoke
Taste: Well integrated wine with pepper, spice, plum, smoke, oak and tannins were not to noticeable
Finish: Medium with pepper, smoke, spice, and oak
Evaluation: Well made and not over the top. Elegant Syrah drinking well now. 92 points
2004 Roar Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah $$$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: White pepper, violets, charcoal, mushrooms
Taste: Tar, minerals, white pepper, spice, charcoal
Finish: Medium and concentrated
Evaluation: Super solid wine 94 points
2004 Stolpman Hilltop Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara Syrah $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Plum, dark fruit, spice
Taste: White pepper, spice
Finish: Multi layered with spice, pepper and violets
Evaluation: 91 points
2004 Stolpman Estate Santa Ynez Valley Syrah $$$
Color: Dark Purple
Nose: Intense floral, white pepper, spice, crushed rocks
Taste: Floral! Powerful pepper, spice, crushed rocks, alcohol present
Finish: Cinnamon, floral, crushed rock, spice, on this medium finish.
Evaluation: One of the most in your face wines I have tried this year. If the finish was a little longer and intense surely a top ten of the year but is top five in QPR. 93+ points
2004 Jeff Runquist “R” Petite Sirah $$$
Color: Dark Purple
Nose: Plum, cherry, smoke, earth tones
Taste: Spice, violets, smoke, pepper
Finish: A lot going on in the finish with floral notes, pepper, cinnamon, and moving into a buttery finish. The finish is pushing two minutes and is multi layered.
Evaluation: This is one of the more interesting wines I have had this year with so much complexity going on it is incredible that I paid around $25 for this wine. One of the best values of the year! 94 points
2004 Jeff Runquist Syrah $$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Spice, floral, fruits
Taste: Rich spice, floral, sour cherry, raspberry, buttery notes
Finish: Floral, earth and a buttery medium finish
Evaluation: An incredible, complex wine that is hard to beat at the $25 price. 93 points
2004 Rosenblum Cellars Vintners Cuvee California Syrah $
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Plum, spice, pepper
Taste: Spice and extremely thin. Watered down.
Finish: Short with a little spice and too much tannic qualities
Evaluation: Not what I consider quality Syrah. 80 points
2005
2005 David Bruce Central Coast Petite Sirah $$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Crushed rock, violets, grape jam
Taste: Violets, heavy oak, crushed rock, spice
Finish: Medium tannins, oak, vanilla, spice on a medium finish
Evaluation: A good wine that will improve as the tannins soften. 88 points
2005 Eaglepoint Ranch Mendocino County Petite Sirah $$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Mineral, pepper, cranberries
Taste: Lacking on concentration with mineral and cranberries
Finish: Medium
Evaluation: Average wine 85 points
2005 Granton Cellars Syrah Hurrah! Surrah! - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (2/4/2010)
Medium purple. Nose of cranbery, dirt, and floral. Taste is simple and finish not impressive. Drinkable for $5. (83 pts.)
2005 Jeff Runquist "R" Salmon Vineyard Petite Sirah $$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Spice, cranberry, mineral
Taste: Powerful with Cranberry, spice, crushed rock, violets, cinnamon,
Finish: Spice, cinnamon, crushed rock, violets, oak notes, buttery finish that is extremely long. Super Complex wine!
Evaluation: This wine is the best example of quality for under $30 for the second year in a row. I believe this will only get better with some aging. 93+
Excelsior Vintage
2006
2006 Bogle Vineyards California Petite Sirah $8.99
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Blackberry, spice
Taste: Blackberry, spice, floral
Finish: Medium
Evaluation: Good everyday wine 85 points
2006 Charles Shaw California Syrah $
Color: Light purple
Nose: Fruit and spice
Taste: Spice and red pepper
Finish: Smooth tannins, spice and red pepper
Evaluation: A good value for $3. 82 points
2006 Rosenblum Kick Ranch Sonoma Petite Sirah $$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Intense with blackberry, spices, minerals and smoke
Taste: A bit too much with strong overtones of minerals, spices and smoke quality
Finish: Medium and a bit of heat
Evaluation: A bit over the top for me 87 points
2006 Rosenblum Kick Ranch Reserve Sonoma Syrah $$$$
Color: Dark purple
Nose: Floral, coffee grounds, black pepper, dust, spices
Taste: Crushed rocks, gravel, smoke, walnuts, exotic spices
Finish: Long and super concentrated. This is a big wine with multiple layers of flavor
Evaluation: Powerful wine with some serious concentration 94 points
Five Days Later: Drinking great with coffee beans, floral, spices, raspberries, cinnamon, and blackberries. This is possibly the wine of the year for the $22 on sale 95 points
2006 Jeff Runquist "R" Salmon Vineyard Petite Sirah $$$
Color: Medium purple
Nose: Sweet fruits, floral, spice
Taste: Really improved in the glass with sweet fruits, floral and subtle spice
Finish: Medium with raspberries, floral, subtle spices
Evaluation: Nice wine for under $25 92 points
2007
2007 Carlisle Syrah Dry Creek Valley - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (1/27/2011)
Double Blind Tasting at Kevin's (Kevin's House): Dark purple. Nose of spice, cinnamon, raspberry and floral notes. A juicy wine on the palate but lacks some concentration. Medium finish. (90 points)
2007 Duxoup Syrah - USA, California, Sonoma County, Dry Creek Valley (12/16/2010)
Subtle nose of floral, raspberry, gravel and smoke. On the palate bright fruit, gravel, smoke, cherry and earth. Medium and pleasant finish. Just a really interesting wine. (91 points)