Mourvedre/Monastrell

This is made from a Biodynamic vineyard from Rhone styles grapes.  It is a blend of Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache and Zinfandel.  It retails for around $45.  This was tasted over two days and significantly more open and better on Day 2.  It is young and in need of a good decant or more cellaring.  That said, it is very nice now.  Purple in color.  On the nose, there is boysenberry, black cherries, some black pepper and coffee grounds.  On the palate, this is concentrated but not a big wine.  Boysenberry and black cherry fruit.  Underlying peppery-ness and smoke.  Some medium tannins.  Good aci

2007 was the best vintage for Saxum up to now.  And, that is saying a lot.  This was just stunning.  It is in a great place right now, but, depending on the bottle, not quite at peak.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, roasted meats, black cherries, slight cedar and spice and bits of plums and peppers.  On the palate, this is lively yet weightless.  Almost seamless.  Delicious with energetic black raspberries, black cherries and underlying charred meats.  Long finish.  Great with heavier or spicy foods.  Each sip makes one want another.  

81% Syrah, 8% Petite Sirah, 6% Mourvèdre, 4% Touriga Nacional and 1% Graciano.  Inky purple in color.  This is very different for an SQN wine.  It does have 15.8% Alc but there is no sign of that.  The nose has black raspberries, blueberries, some roasted meats and herbs and black pepper.  On the palate, this is almost elegant.  It has a refined quality but also the intensity and concentration one expects.  Black raspberry and blueberry fruit on the palate with underlying coffee grounds and char.  Great texture.  Long finish.  This is still quite young and has some upside even as good as it

60% Grenache, 15% Syrah, 15% Mourvedre, 5% Cinsault, 5% Counoise.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is great with black raspberries, leather, plums, slight earthiness, char and some black cherries.  On the palate, this has a wonderful rich texture.  Medium tannins.  It is young but bursting with fruit without being over the top.  Black cherries, black raspberries, underlying earthiness and char.  Long finish.  This is a big wine and needs either big or spicy food.  It is still probably 7 years from maturity and will last another 10 after that (at least).  That said, it is delicious and enjoy

A collaboration between Gérard Bertrand, and Jon and Jesse Bon Jovi.  HW Wine Company is essentially a company that commissioned this wine to be made in France to celebrate the good life.  Light salmon pink in color.  The nose is all about watermelon and strawberries.  It has a nice texture.  Nice acidity.  This wine is really all about summer fruit.  Not a lot of depth or complexity but tasty and easy drinking.  While it is probably made as a summer sipper it went well with a summery watermelon salad. Fun wine.  

71% Syrah, 28% Mourvedre and 1% Viognier.  This is a gorgeous wine that is drinking great right now but still has some maturation to come.  Purple in color.  On of the cool things about Viognier is it make Syrah more opaque.  Another is that it has lifting aromatics which carry the Syrah and Mourvedre along with it.  In this case, just a gorgeous nose.  Black raspberries, roasted herbs, grilled meats, white pepper, musky earthiness all just explode from the glass.  On the palate, this has a lovely velvety texture.  Good balance.  Lots of black raspberry fruit with underlying earthiness.  It

This was an experiment Justin Smith did back in 2005.  He let the wine stay in barrels for 44 months before bottling it.  This extended ageing as it is called is interesting.  One might think the wine would be ready earlier but conversely, it seems to take even longer for the wines to be ready to drink.  This one is now in a great place and if you have one, consider popping the cork.  A GSM blend, but mostly Syrah.  Purple in color.  The nose is great with black raspberries, iodine, decayed meats, leather, slight bacon fat and an earthy/musk.  On the palate, this has a wonderful lightness a

From Magnum.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is great with black raspberries, plums, grilled meat, white pepper and char.  On the palate, this has an incredible texture.  Smooth and velvety yet powerful and muscular.  Notes of black raspberries, spice and slight charred earth.  This is deep and complex yet still has a long life left.  This vintage has opened and shut a few times since release but seem like it has settled and is open.  There is a lot of alcohol but it doesn't show up anywhere in the glass.  One of those wines that each sip makes you want to have another.  Spectacular wine. 

This is really in a nice place right now.  Mature but enough fresh fruit to keep it edgy.  Ruby in color, purple at the core.  The nose has opened up on this showing black cherries, cherries, and plums along with spice and slight dried floral notes.  On the palate, there is plenty of vibrant black cherry fruit.  Deep with layers that open up quickly.  Good acidity.  Nice balance.  No hurry but I think a few more years and it starts moving the other direction.  Works well with a wide variety of foods.  A great example of why cellaring top wines in ripe vintages might be a good strategy.  

Having had the 2006 just a few days prior to this, it was surprising how much younger and tighter this was.  It does seem like there was a bit of a style shift starting in 2007 and rather than the wines really opening up at age 5, it is now closer to 10.  This one took a few hours to really open and then was singing if still on the youthful side.  Inky purple in color.