Griffin's Lair Sonoma Coast Syrah

14’s are tasting great…actually thought this one might show more- maybe needs more age.

This bottle gushes out flavors like a Viking gushes blood on a battlefield.

Dark sanguine hues set the tone for iron rich aromas featuring tar, bacon grease, dark chocolate and old leather. As it opens up there are some pomegranate and vanilla cola flavors to compliment pepper, espresso, and blood. Big structure but still smooth.

Heavy metal Syrah right here.

Thank you @Mason Balistreri, you are missed. This one is for you.

Now this is a very interesting and unique Syrah from Sonoma.

Stinky nose with lots of tar, chocolates and wood.

Full bodied and bold with nice complexity and very fruity on the palate.

Showing black currants, plums, cooked cherries, cedar, vanilla, spices, espresso, cola, vegetables, dark chocolates, tar, earth, peppercorn, bitter herbs and barnyard.

Powerful and rich. Very extracted and fruit forward.

This is definitely one of those "in your face" kind of wines. Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it.

Feels very young for a 9 year old.

I paired it with a charcuterie board of meats and cheeses.

A small production of only 13 barrels. Unfiltered and unfined.

13.8% alcohol by volume.

92 points.

13.8% alcohol by volume.

$65.

End of life for this particular bottle. Had a slight hint of cork taint but the wine once in decanter was really good. Fully. A la Pax Mahle style back then.

Nose has cedar-y blueberry-blackberry jam, crushed raspberry, newly paved highway, light metallic undertones with minor alcohol heat.

Palate has blackberry jam, white pepper, dried blueberry, blueberry sauce and big chalky tannins. Massive structure, no doubt, this wine needs another 10+ minimum. Yet, delicious tonight. 5h decant.

Right out of the bottle this was awesome. Beautiful smokey fruit integrated with structured tannin. After a few hours decant it seemed to shut down. Popped again the 3rd night and it finished savory. Great now... but guessing there is great reward with patience.

Stoic wine. Reductive nose at first. Opens up to smoldering wood and wild blackberry. Give this sucker 2 hrs of air.

No one in Colorado drinks more Pax than I do. From the "glou-glou" Wind Gap label to the 100 point Hillside Syrah, I love these wines. My favorite vineyard is Griffin's Lair and I think I've had every single vintage. The older bottles can be quite big, intense; while some of the newest have converged toward the leaner Wind Gap style, but either way the terroir has always shined through any stylistic trappings to reveal some of the best Syrah in California.

This 2012 is a perfect example of just how good it can get. More "Cornas" than "Cote Rotie", it's not as elegant as the most famous French Syrahs, but it doesn't have to be! Instead, the power is simply stunning. There's absolutely no fat. No extra ripeness. No over blown oak. No decadent opulence or gimmicky fruit. This is pure, unadulterated wine that gives everything great about Syrah in a sublime fashion. Unique to this vintage is amazing tannin structure, making me think this will be the longest lived vintage I've tasted.

I know that Pax recently got a 100 point score from Galloni on his Hillside Syrah - and Iove that wine too - but how did this only get 94 points? I understand the ideological importance of awarding a perfect score to a low alcohol, lighter extracted wine, but I'm afraid it's going to discourage this classic style. I love powerful syrah and I hope it never goes away. To me, this is basically perfect.


#PaxWine #NaturalWine #Sonoma #PetalumaGap

New Cali.

2013. Vintage still in a bruiser stage. Definitely see this aging gracefully for many years