Scott E. Becker

9.0

[Tasted on December 5, 2024 at Home]

Wine is Cuvée Pierrine from Allen Vineyard in Russian River Valley. Purchased wine at Donelan tasting organized by Ned and Beth on May 8, 2024. Apple and pear fruit, with creaminess and spice. — 16 days ago

Stuart Dershaw

9.3

Wine still holds up well. Great spice tones with blackberry hints that compliments a great tasting experience! — 7 months ago

Mike R

9.4

Highly recommend - great Cali Syrah — 3 years ago

Stuart Peisner

9.0

Great red blend very smooth fruit throughout — 4 years ago

Scott E. Becker

9.0

[Tasted on November 17, 2024 at Home with Linda]

Cherry, raspberry and strawberry fruit, with tobaccco, earth, spice, cedar and smoke. — a month ago

Scott E. Becker

9.1

[Tasted on October 11, 2024 at Home with Jay, Eric and Lillie]

Wine is Annabelle’s Block Pinot Noir from Klopp Ranch in Russian River Valley. Purchased wine at Donelan tasting organized by Ned and Beth on May 8, 2024. Tart black cherry, boysenberry and black currant fruit, with nice acidity, spice and chalky note. — 2 months ago

Jim McCusker

9.4

Reached pretty far back in the cellar for this one. Pax Mahl was making some terrific wines out of his eponymous winery (Obsidian and Griffin’s Lair were my favorites), until some sort of flare-up between him and Joe Donelan eventually resulted in them splitting the vineyard accesses between them and shutting down the winery. After 15 years, this wine is still going strong. Great example of a cooler climate north coast syrah. — 4 years ago

with Vanessa

Stuart Pollack

9.4

Beautiful high alcohol warm-climate Syrah. Fruity and jammy. Blueberry followed by a spicy finish. Great with Chinese beef and peppers. — 2 months ago

Stuart Pollack

9.2

Let this beast breathe for at least one hour. As with other Donelan wines, this is a Northern Rhône style Syrah. This wine is a little too intense and less elegant than Donelan’s Obsidian Syrah but also less expensive . But it is still an excellent Syrah. It needs lamb or steak and will not pair with much else. — 6 months ago

Shay A

9.4

I opened this with some friends and it was alongside a 2003 Saxum Bone Rock (good, drink up), 2013 Donelan Obsidian (wow! Cayuse like), a 2013 SQN Le Supplement (massive and spectacular), and a 2016 The Third Twin Nuestra (feral, wild, cerebral).

While this was a fantastic bottle, I think it’s going to get slightly better (it bulked up and added a touch more of everything on day two). Undeniably Cayuse in style, but more northern Rhône Syrah than new world Syrah. Aromatically you are hit with that classic funk that Cayuse is known for...black olive, iron, mineral, and fox fur. Not sure of the whole cluster use here but it comes across as fairly strong/green with fruit notes of underripe black cherry. The splash of Viognier that Cayuse utilizes for their Cailloux makes this so perfumed. On the palate, it really shines showing iron, teriyaki, and olive tapenade. The savoriness of these wines meshes well with the fruit as age sets in and the fruit returns towards the back of the palate...blackberry, mulberry, and spicy rhubarb pie. Fantastic now, possibly outstanding in the next 2-3yrs. If opening soon, decant a couple hours and you’ll be golden. — 4 years ago

with Weston, Jeff and 2 others