This was one of the red wines I served for my annual WWC hosting, alongside a 2016 Pellegrin Sauvage, 2017 Chacra CyC, and a 2013 Myriad 100% WC Las Madres Syrah.
I was fortunate to have the 2014 of this a few weeks back and it was extremely sexy and ready for business. This was a bit more closed off, even after almost 2hrs in the glass before most got to it. Dark and inky in the glass. Sported a bit of northwest funk on the nose, but fairly tame. More smoked meat/bacon fat as opposed to the Cayuse/Rocks type funk, and even some Andes mint. Richness carried over to the palate with jerky, licorice, coffee grounds, and peppercorn crusted blackberries and black cherries. A wonderful wine, but hold another few years for it to really strut. — 9 months ago
Popped yesterday. A little sparkle upon opening and pleasant if a bit disjointed acidity and fruit. Open on the counter overnight and this has settled. On the nose: black cherry, bramble, savory herbs. On the palate: soft red and black fruit, lovely minerality, good acidity and a bit of prickle. Some chalky tannin on the finish. This seems to be a solid food wine, with the strucure to improve some with age; definitely not a fruit bomb. — a month ago
The best rose. Also perfect for people who think they don’t like rose because they’ve only tried shitty rose. It has the mouth feel of a medium bodied red — 7 months ago
Bright, zippy, refreshing. Strawberries, a hint of salinity, and tart but not overwhelmingly citrusy. Wonderful warm weather wine, great with a watermelon feta salad. — a year ago
Way too young and tight; decanted and improved but there’s a lot buried. Have 3 more, will wait a few years. — 4 months ago
Really nice Pinot with lots of flavor, nice bite, good balance. Full and long. Tasted 6 December 2021 — 6 months ago
This was one of the red wines I served for my annual WWC hosting, alongside a 2016 Pellegrin Gamay, 2017 Chacra CyC, and 2015 Force Majeure estate Syrah.
As all wines are tasted blind, I totally get the guesses of Cayuse-like Syrah. The 100% whole cluster use here is undeniably distinct. For the most part, it seems to be a love it or hate it style (I love it). By the time we all got to this, it had been in the glass 1-2hrs. Deep purple, with massive stemmy/green aromatics that hit you in the face. Wintergreen notes, too. On the palate, it’s funky, herbal, spice driven notes wrapped around underripe blackberries and rhubarb. This is a floral, savory, spicy Syrah at 8yrs that seems crazy youthful. Likely hangs in this window for a while. Bravo, Mike Smith. — 9 months ago
Marc Ouellette
The radiant opaque garnet red color puts a smile on your face followed by various fragrances ranging from earthy herbs, shale, wet minerals, rose and sandalwood. On the palet - refined soft tannins, earthy dark cacao and more minerals. — a month ago