Syrah 'The Great Places - August James'

Score

98

"Voluminous yet elegant, and built around a core of subtle power, this remarkable syrah is intricately woven with threads of warm figs, purple berries, cured olives, tar and nervy spices. Iodine and crushed flowers on the sticky-tannin finish. Drink or hold, but it's best to wait."

Score

97

"The 2023 Syrah Great Places August James Stolpman is open-knit and fleshy, offering immediate pleasure yet retaining striking complexity. Iron, blood and mineral tones lend depth, while broad swaths of sensual tannin create a sensation of verticality. The 66% whole clusters add aromatic lift and perfume. There's a generosity of fruit here that nods to California sunshine, but the structure and savoriness recall classic Old-World Syrah. What a stunner."

Score

97

"The 2023 Syrah The Great Places August James Stolpman presents an east-facing parcel, including a portion of interconnected plantings layered via "provignage" from a single mother vine established in 2013. As with the Otto Reynard bottling, the pre-clonal material originates from Domaine Auguste Clape's holdings in Reynard. It is among the more full-throttle and enveloping of the range, slowly emerging from the glass with a black and blue fruited bouquet laden with an iron-tinged core and gamey, blood sauce accents and a smoldering, roasted undercurrent. The palate is extraordinarily inky and rich yet supremely even-keeled, floating on the palate with a sense of buoyancy that belies its monstrous density and impactful nature. It concludes with a stunningly long, resonant finish, propelled by invigorating yet measured acidity and velvety tannins, which linger with a perfumed, floral quality that carries over to the bouquet after aeration. This is so good already that I can understand the temptation to pull corks, but I am quite certain holding off will pay dividends."

Score

92+

"Similarly deep purple-hued, the 2023 Syrah Great Places August James Stolpman reveals blackberries, cracked pepper, lavender, game, and iron, with beautiful violet notes. Fermented with 67% whole clusters in concrete and aged 20 months in neutral French oak puncheons, it's medium to full-bodied, concentrated, firm, focused, and tannic as all hell. There's also a touch of CO2 that pokes through, and while it has balance and terrific length, this is a burly, backward wine that will need plenty of time in the cellar to come together. Hide bottles for 4-5 years, and it should evolve gracefully over the following 10-15 years. Drink 2030-2045."