Winery - Olsen Estates
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A strong effort from Olsen Estates, this 100% Syrah has fine varietal character, in a rough and tumble style. Cured meats, herbs, earth and hints of sea salt mingle with the wild berry fruit flavors. It’s balanced and fresh, with lingering and nuanced flavors threading through the gulpable finish.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This bright and fruity take on the southern Rhône grape is packed with fresh, tangy raspberry flavor, tight and balanced.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This smooth and supple wine has been aged in 65% new oak, yet does not seem at all oaky. A solid core of black fruits is annotated with streaks of coffee, licorice and gun metal. The finish is persistent, with a hint of citrus. Recently bottled, the wine may merit a higher score with a bit more bottle age.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
This is pure Petit Verdot, substantial and muscular. Scents of violets and purple fruits bring extra nuances of mushroom and moist earth. There is a hint of animal, and a tight core of purple fruits. Tannins are supple and well-managed.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The best of Olsen’s 2008 reds, this 100% Merlot is generous and forward, with rich cherry and raspberry fruit. Spicy in the nose and in the mouth, it is lightly herbal, adding texture and length, and has the concentration and depth to develop nicely over the next decade.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Fully botrytised, 46% residual sugar, from 30-year-old vines, this is an unctuous, TBA-style dessert wine. Honeyed and decadently rich, it soaks its peach and apricot fruit in a thick wash of honey and caramel, streaked with mocha and lightly scented with jasmine highlights. Should age for decades.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A six-grape Rhône blend, this does not lose focus or intensity. It strikes the palate head-on with flavors of dried leaf, prune, cooked cherry, cinnamon and mocha. But despite the raisin/prune flavors, it does not seem overripe or in any way over the hill. Rather, these superripe flavors have somehow been tamed, the alcohol is just over 14%, and the wine leaves a sinuous, sensuous trail of flavor as it moves through the palate.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
Smooth and supple, almost silky, this dense and delightful Syrah begins with a smoky, meaty run of sweet cherry and berry flavors, then quickly adds interesting nuances of herb and leaf and earth. The cherry fruit triumphs, along with cut tobacco and a whiff of clove, as it weaves through a long finish.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
The fruit is forward and lush, the grapes nicely blended and complementary, yielding a complex, mouthfilling wine with a riot of tropical, stone and citrus fruit flavors. There is a trace of new oak and a lingering finish that brings in vanilla, butter and coconut.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
* Expert NoteJanuary 12, 2012
A wonderful follow-up to the debut vintage, this generous Chardonnay brings green apples, stone fruits and suggestions of pineapple, with a judicious use of new oak that refrains from becoming more than a pleasing nuance. Excellent balance, with a firm, lingering finish that brings in butterscotch and ripe, sweet lemon.
0 out of 0 people thought this note was helpful.
