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The 2013 Syrah Noir will find its greatest fans among readers who seek opulence and intensity, as the 100% new oak shapes the wine to a significant degree. There is no shortage of voluptuousness and intensity, but those qualities have been achieved with some loss of nuance. In this vintage the blend is 75% Colson Canyon and 25% Tensley Vineyard, the first appearance of the Tensley Vineyard in the Noir.
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Average Score
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
Josh Raynolds
More reviews and scores
There are 175 cases of the 2013 Syrah Noir, and while it use to be all from a small parcel in the Colson Canyon vineyard (limestone soils, tiny berries), it now includes a small part from Tensley Vineyard. Inky colored, chewy, thick and unctuous, with obvious residual sugar, it offers decadent amounts of sweet plums, blackberry, smoked meats and violets that give way to a full-bodied, concentrated, blockbuster wine that has plenty of ripe tannin and a big finish. This won't be for everyone, given the sweetness level, but it's nevertheless a thrilling drink.
(made with 50% whole clusters): Inky ruby. Highly perfumed scents of candied blackberry, cherry-cola, Asian spices and incense, with subtle pepper and mineral notes emerging with air. Juicy, penetrating and appealingly sweet, offering black and blue fruit flavors with a bright mineral underpinning. Impressively vibrant but concentrated as well, finishing with excellent clarity, silky tannins and a persistent note of spicecake.