2019 Saxum Syrah Booker Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Willow Creek, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
96
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$110.00USD

This is a blend of 79% Syrah and 21% Mataro (Mourvedre) from Paso Robles.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose is great with black raspberries, plums, black pepper, roasted meats, earthy and char.  Full bodied.  Lush texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this has lively acidity.  Loads of black raspberry fruit with earthiness, black pepper and char.  Long finish.  This drinks great on its own and will work with big roasted meat, fowl or veggie dishes.  Drink over the next fifteen to twenty years. 

2019 Booker Vineyard Syrah Fracture, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2019
Score: 
96
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$70.00USD

Great showing for this wine.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, roasted earth, black pepper, and roasted meats.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great plush texture.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Black raspberries, black pepper, spice and char.  Long finish.  This is young but obviously deep and with time with show complexity.  Very nice on its own, this will need big good for now.  BBQ Brisket should work very well.  Drink over the next ten to fifteen years.

2012 Carlisle Syrah James Berry Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2012
Score: 
90
Grade: 
A-

This was very good but maybe just a bit below other bottles previously consumed.  It seemed a bit closed down which is unusual for a Syrah like this, but does happen.  That said, it was still very good.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose seems a bit roasted with black raspberries, black olives and slight brown sugar.  medium to full bodied.  On the palate, roasted black raspberry fruit with some char and black pepper.  Good finish.  This drinks nicely on its own and would be a nice match for a beef stew or chili.  The roasted fruit makes me question how pristine the storage

2013 Saxum Syrah Booker Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Willow Creek, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2013
Score: 
96
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$247.00USD

This is a blend of 67% Syrah and 33% Mourvedre from Paso Robles.  Of course, Booker makes its own wines but they also sell some fruit to Saxum.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is nice but there is some volatile acidity.  Whether it is too much is a matter of personal taste.  Very earthy with black raspberries, roasted meats and char.  Full bodied.  Great, rich texture.  On the palate, black raspberries, black pepper, some earthiness and char.  Long finish.  This is drinking well right now.  Well stored bottles should have another decade or so.  It drinks great on its own

2021 Tablas Creek Esprit Blanc de Tablas, USA, California, Paso Robles, Adelaida District, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$50.00USD

White Rhone wines can be so hard to know where they are as they age.  This wine is very good, but much bigger, riper and blowsier at the moment (or at least this bottle was) than expected.   It is a blend of 70% Roussanne, 17% Picpoul Blanc, 10% Grenache Blanc, 2% Bourboulenc and 1% Clairette Blanche.  Medium golden with a few green swirls, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with lemon, vanilla, baked apples and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  Moderate acidity.  Nice texture.  On the palate, lemons, vanilla and spices.  Good finish.  This is nice on its own but would be better with the rig

Kosta Browne 2021 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, Gary’s Vineyard

Vintage: 
2021
Score: 
94
Grade: 
A
Current Price: 
$175.00USD

What’s unusual about this iteration of Pinot from Kosta Browne is that it really straddles the line between an earthy mineral driven Pinot noir, and a more traditional California style of bright strawberry and bright red fruits. Perhaps that’s no surprise as the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA has enough diverse soils to produce intriguing fruit and diurnal swings due to its close proximity to the Pacific Ocean. This Pinot works and works very well.

2020 Saxum White James Berry Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Willow Creek, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2020
Score: 
97
Grade: 
A+
Current Price: 
$185.00USD

This is a very serious white from "Rhone" varietal producer, Saxum on California's Central coast.  One of the best white wines in the world being produced today.  It is a blend of 53% Grenache Blanc, 29% Roussanne, 15% Chenin Blanc, and 3% Chardonnay.  Light to medium gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great.  Enticing and complex.

2018 TH Estate Wines 5 Blocks Cuvée, USA, California, Paso Robles, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2018
Score: 
93
Grade: 
A

From Terry Hoage, this is a blend of 66% Syrah, 23% Mourvèdre and 11% Grenache.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is deep with black raspberries, roasted meats, black pepper, black cherries and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this has big fruit; black raspberries, black cherries, black pepper and char.  Good energy.  Long finish.  This is drinking well on its own and will work with bigger food flavors.  It went well with spicy Indian style food.  Drink over the next ten years.  

2013 Torrin James Berry Vineyard, USA, California, Paso Robles, Willow Creek, Wine Review

Vintage: 
2013
Score: 
97
Grade: 
A+

This is a 50/50 blend of Grenache and Syrah from one of the truly great vineyards in California.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, some black cherries, black pepper, spice, roasted meats and herbs.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Great energy and acidity.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Not quite at peak but mature.  Flavors of black raspberries and black cherries with some spice, minerality and char.  Long finish.  Drink over the next ten years.  Great on its own, this went well with a bowl of vegetarian Chili.  

Pages