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March 6th, 2013
90+ Point Scores from Wine Spectator
Outstanding California Wines New reviews of Syrah, Zinfandel, Chardonnay and more from across the Golden State, each priced under $40 2010 Landy Sweetwater Springs Petite Sirah - 93 pts Wine Spectator.  A huge wine, not for the faint of heart. Offers vivid aromatics of coffee and campf...

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Tasting Notes Archive

2001 Philary Vineyard Syrah

"This is our third year producing wine from this vineyard. This steep hillside vineyard on Atlas Peak Road overlooks Napa Valley and will remind you of the Northern Rhone. A beautiful vineyard that is surrounded by olive trees, herbs de Provence and lavender. This wine was aged in three new heavy toasted Burgundy shaped barrels."  -Jeff Cohn

Tasting Notes

Deep, dark and mysterious are only a few of the words one could use to describe this incredible concentrated wine that has both the aromatic and flavor profile of wild blackberry jam, lavender, smoked game, rosemary, minerals and olives.

Varietals: 100% Syrah
Appellation: Napa Valley
Alcohol: 14.2%

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Flamboyant notes of tapenade, smoked meats, blackberry liquer, plums, and a hint of balsam emerge from this beautiful Syrah. Although it was aged in 100% new French oak, the wine has sucked up the wook as if it had never existed. Unbelievably rich, full-bodied, and harmonious, it pushes the envelope on all levels. Drink this big, pedal-to-the-metal Syrah over the next 10-12 years.
A ripe, opulent style with rich berry, currant and raspberry fruit, but also a supple texture and a long, graceful finish. Drink now through 2011. 36 cases made.
Intense and distinctive, with loads of spice and pepper. Rich and fleshy on the palate, with ripe plum, currant and wild berry flavors joining. Tannins are ripe and fleshy on a long finish. Drink now through 2010.
From a steep, rocky, Napa vineyard, this wine has an opaque saturated purple color in addition to a backward but promising nose of smoke, blackberries, and spice. This closed Syrah requires considerable aeration, but it is exceptionally concentrated, tannic, and among the most primordial wines of this portfolio. Give it 2-3 years of bottle age, and drink it over the following 10-12 years.
Medium-dark purplish ruby; attractive, forward, intense, jammy, peppery, dark currant and blackberry fruit aroma with notes of charred oak; full body; big, dense, herbal, jammy, viscous, mouth-filling, very concentrated, very ripe blackberry and sweet raspberry fruit flavors with overtones of creamy oak; full tannin; hard finish; lingering aftertaste. Very highly recommended.
A big wine, that comes from rocky soils located at a 1.000 foot elevation. Its blue/black color (reminiscent of vintage port) is followed by a bouquet of mountain herbs intermixed with gamey scents intertwined with blackberry, raspberry, and crushed rock-like characteristics. It cuts a wide swath across the palate, revealing a seamless integration of wood, acidity, tannin, and alcohol as well as a blockbuster finish. This exotic beast is surprisingly accessible, but promises to be even better in another 2-3 years. It should last for 10-12+ years.
A beefy, spicy, densely flavored style, with stewed plum, wild berry, exotic spices and toasty oak that isn't overdone, but ideally integrated. Shows spicy cola and pretty wood shadings on a finish that soars. Drink now through 2009.
Another gorgeous offering, the 2001 Philary Vineyard Syrah reveals an inky/purple color as well as aromas of ink, smoke, and black fruits. This dense, full-bodied, chewy, huge, thick, impressive Syrah should drink well for 10-12 years.
The most concentrated is the Amarone-like 2000 Syrah Philary Vineyard. This huge, brooding effort offers a mouthful of black fruits intermixed with smoke, earth, and licorice. Powerful, dense, and chewy, with excellent purity, it is a substantial Syrah from this light vintage. Drink it over the next 7-8 years.
Dark purplish ruby; very attractive, intense, plumy, jammy, peppery, very ripe blackberry fruit aroma; full body; big, dense, highly extracted, peppery, jammy, slightly sweet, very ripe black cherry and blackberry fruit flavors; full tannin; lingering aftertaste. Needs several more years of bottle aging to resolve the tannin. Very highly recommended.
This dense, big bodied bottling wanders perilously close to ripeness and comes up a little too hot for its own good. Its finishing heat noted, it is still an exotic, concentrated, many layered wine whose impressions of plums, pepper, loamy soil and chocolate make for a most fascinating drink that will hit its peak in three to four years.