Gorgeous at 11 years. Dark fruits. Balance. Longggg finish. — 3 months ago
Top 3 new world producer of nearly a 100% Ganache and or Syrah.
This w/ a 4 1/2 hour decant after a meal falls into black plum pudding.
Ripe, nectar driven; blackberries, plum pudding, dark cherries, black raspberries, poached strawberries, blueberry pie, dark berry cola, black licorice, dry stem, dark rich forest floor with leaves & dry twigs, pipe tobacco, dry crushed rocks, limestone minerals, dry herbs, dark, mid spice, some black pepper, top soil, steeped tea, some me baking spices, baking spices, fresh herbaceous notes, dark, red, purple, blue, withering flowers, perfect acidity and a well balanced, knitted, softly tensioned, elegant finish that lasts two-minutes.
Aged in 300-liter puncheons for 43 months. — 6 months ago
A very fine Grenache, my favorite grape. Pushing quality of Cayuse . I’m buying more when available. — 3 years ago
A bit of air is needed for it to show the savory meaty quality. The juice is well balanced and not showing any heat even @ 15.6 abv — 4 months ago
For planning purposes of something in the future, I tasted 2014 central coast Syrahs from high end producers blind. Along with the Lillian (my bottle), there was SQN, Andremily, Torrin Akasha, Booker Fracture, Alban Reva and Alban Lorraine.
First off, I love these wines. The price in comparison to the others is impressive, and it always delivers. I double decanted this about two hours prior to the blind tasting. Dark purple in the glass, with aromatics of both sweet oak as well as whole cluster stem inclusion. Loads of dark floral notes, ripe blackberries, cherry jerky and that kiss of sweet oak. The palate remained the same from opening through the end of the blind tasting…a distinctly fuzzy profile on the palate with gorgeous mid palate depth and richness of blue and black fruits with plenty of herbal flair and spice. It toes the line between cool climate Syrah with their signature black peppercorn and iron, as well as big central coast Rhône style with its rich and textural palate. No rush on opening, but it sure is great now.
Out of the 7 in the lineup, this was the “cheapest”, and tied for 3rd place (with the Andremily being the runaway favorite, Alban Lorraine taking second, and this tying the SQN). — 3 years ago
Victor Aul
Tropical with nice bright acidity. — 2 months ago