Syrah

Inky purple in color.  The nose has cedar, black raspberries and black pepper.  On the palate, jammy black raspberries with some black cherries and chocolate.  Good acidity.  This is a very rich and open Syrah but still quite young.  it will be interesting to see how these develop with ten or twenty years on them.  I think they will be just fine and not too dissimilar from the better Northern Rhone reds.  Time will tell.  

The cork broke on opening so this was decanted thru a filter.  It was interesting to drink side by side with the Cailloux Vineyard which was pop and pour.  This opened up first as expected but then the played back and forth over the evening.  In the end, I liked this a tad more though they were basically even.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has cedar, black raspberries and rocks.  On the palate, this is complex with black raspberries, slight cedar, a bit of pepper and slight earthy notes.  Nice texture.  Good balance.  Also drinking much younger than its 15 years would lead on

Its not often I get to enjoy a wine this old from Washington so this was a treat.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black rapsberries, spice, slight violet, minerals and slight bacon fat.  On the palate, this has plums, black olives and black raspberries.  Still drinking youthfully, it didnt seem 15 years old.  Maybe seven.  Deep and complex but delicious and gulpable.  Nice finish.  I am not sure this gets better but it should continue to mature.  very impressive wine.  

Inky purple in color.  The nose has boysenberries, black pepper and slight bacon fat.  On the palate, this is not as boisterous as other vintages.  Still, nothing under ripe or green.  Boysenberries layered with damp earth and char.  Lovely texture.  Long finish.  This worked well with food or on its own.  Saxum did an excellent job with the difficult 2011 vintage.  This seems to be drinking a bit earlier than is typical although it is still young.  

Great showing for this.  Still quite youthful.  Purple in color, to the rim.  On the nose, this has black raspberries, slight black pepper, hints of roasted meats and slight charcoal.  Grat rich texture.  Pure black raspberry fruit with great intensity.  Layers of fruit with earth.  Long finish.  Just a fantastic wine with at least a decade or two left.  

Very nice. A new producer for me.  Ruby/purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, cigar box, slight bacon note and slight earthiness.  On the palate, this has a nice acidity.  Boysenberry fruit.  Very clean.  Good finish.  Worked better with food.  

Purple in color.  The nose is deep with black raspberries, roasted meats and black pepper.  On the palate, black raspberries and a nice underlying earthy/char.  Starting to show some layers but still young.  Moderate tannins.  Long finish.  This is really starting to hit its stride right now.  There is still some upside potential to get better in a few years.