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2004 Chester Kidder - 91 Points
Subtly complex nose melds plum, cranberry, chocolate, tobacco, and fresh herbs. Very ripe, fat and sweet, with a hint of game adding nuances to the red currant and chocolate flavors. An attractively plump wine that finishes sweet and long, with impressively lush tannins.
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2003 Chester Kidder - 91 points
Opaque purple-colored, the wine exhibits a fragrant perfume of pain grille, pencil lead, black currant, and blackberry liqueur. This is followed by a layered, spicy wine with gobs of complex blue and black fruit flavors, soft tannins, and plenty of depth in its lush personality.
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2003 Chester Kidder - 91 points
Ruby-red. Cassis and bitter chocolate on the nose, with a suggestion of candied berries. Sweet, dense and broad, with expressive flavors of plum, cassis, chocolate and licorice. Very rich and chocolatey on the back end, finishing with dusty tannins and good fat fruit. Lovely wine. This spent 27 months in French oak.
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2002 Chester Kidder - 91 points
A sturdy Syrah-Cabernet blend, this requires air to reveal its dark sassafras scent, ample cassis flavors and long, spicy finish.
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2002 Chester Kidder - 90 points
A 300-case blend of 47% Merlot, 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Syrah, and 10% Cabernet Franc, the 2002 Chester-Kidder explodes from the glass with spices that are reminiscent of wines made in American oak (though all the oak was French). Its cedary, dark-fruit-laced personality is firm, structured, and boasts loads of exotic spice flavors. This concentrated wine will benefit from cellaring to civilize its tannin. Projected maturity: 2010-2019.
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2004 Feather - 91 Points
This opaque purple wine delivers classic Cabernet aromas of toast, lead pencil, black currant and blackberry.
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2004 Feather - 91 Points
Dense in texture, but not heavy, with bright red cherry, pomegranate and plum flavors piercing a distinct layer of fine-grained tannins. Has freshness and grace.
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2004 Feather - 91(+) Points
Dark aromas of cassis, tar, smoked meat and nutty oak. Juicy and intensely flavored, with noteworthy energy to the primary flavors of cassis and plum. Finishes with excellent length and aromatic lift. Very Dunn in style.
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2003 Feather - 93 points
Feather's bold aromatics reveal loads of roasted black fruits and spices. A massive effort, it is thick, dense, and powerful. Layers of licorice and tar-laced black fruits are found in its velvety-textured core as well as in its long finish. Though unquestionably a Randy Dunn wine, one that’s loaded for bear (not quail), its finish reveals ripe, round tannin that is sweeter and more civilized than any I’ve encountered in Dunn’s California behemoths (and I own many!).
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2003 Feather - 92 points
Supple and velvety style stacks pepper and coffee notes on top of a vivid core of blackberry, raspberry and currant fruit that just doesn't quit. Attractive now, but should develop additional depth with time in the bottle.
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2003 Feather - 91 points
Bright ruby-red. Dark berries, plum, graphite, licorice, mocha and earth on the nose. Plump, ripe and broad but not overly sweet, with fruit-driven flavors of plum and black raspberry. The tannins show a slight youthful dryness but nonetheless come across as broad and sweet for a Randy Dunn wine. Stylish and long.
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2003 Feather - 91 points
Soft, ripe and plummy, it shows a good mix of red and blue fruits, amplified with lots of toast, chocolate, coffee and cinnamon highlights. Definitely a Napa meets Washington style.
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2004 Pedestal Merlot - 94 points
Focus first on the incredible depth and richness on display here and then marvel at the way in which polish and tannic grip exist side by side.
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2004 Pedestal - 93 Points
Dense and focused, yet balances deftly enough to let the currant, cherry and black raspberry fruit pierce through a veil of crisp tannins. Has power without excessive weight. The finish lingers extraordinarily well.
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2004 Pedestal Merlot - 94 points
Opaque purple in color, this superb Merlot offers a classic perfume of pain grille, spice box, black cherry, and blackberry. This is followed by a rich, intensely flavored wine with great depth, concentration, and length.
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2004 Pedestal - 90(+) Points
Pure, reticent aromas of plum, chocolate and tobacco, with suggestions of super-ripe fruit. Fat, plush and ripe, with lovely breadth to the flavors of plum, licorice, smoke and herbs.
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2003 Pedestal Merlot - 95 points
As professional and polished a Merlot as we have tasted in quite some time, this very deep, impeccably crafted effort easily outdistances the field and moves to the very head of the class.
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2003 Pedestal Merlot - 94 points
The 2003 Pedestal (553 cases) sports a deep nose of ripe cherries and toasty oak. Fashioned from 75% Merlot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, this beauty broadens on the palate to reveal lush layers of thick, silky-textured red fruits. Pure, concentrated, and medium to full-bodied, it is an engaging, hedonistic wine. Drink it over the next 12-15 years.
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2003 Pedestal Merlot - 92 points
Big, rich and generous, a lavish mouthful of currant, blackberry and a touch of spice and earth that weave through the finish and linger.
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2003 Pedestal Merlot - 93 points
A standout even in Long Shadows' superstar lineup, this dark, dense, concentrated wine opens with a silky, smoky, voluptuous mouthfeel. Pedestal is beautifully ripened, nuanced and complete. Lovely notes of bacon and smoked meats permeate the thick, juicy fruit.
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Garagiste - national fine wine retailer
2003 Pedestal Merlot
Many will argue that this is the best wine ever made in Washington State, better than the early vintages of Leonetti, better than the glory days of Quilceda Creek pre-1995. It would not surprise me in the least if this ends up as the highest rated wine ever to emerge from this state.
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2004 Pirouette - 93 points
The expressive nose offers up pain grille, scorched earth, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. This is followed by a thick wine with silky tannins, superb depth and richness, and layers of flavor.
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2004 Pirouette - 90 Points
Ripe, plush and generous with its dark-hued cherry and currant fruit, shaded with licorice and roasted pepper as the finish rolls on and on. A hefty wine that finds a balance as the aftertaste lingers.
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2004 Pirouette - 91 points
A wine of many parts and many facets, its aromas start with ripe black cherries and hints of wild berries and proceed to caramel, currants and toast combined in the most mannerly and never flamboyant way.
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2003 Pirouette - 91 points
Focused and spicy, with lots of chocolaty oak around
a vibrant core of currant and plum fruit, persisting
nicely on the supple finish. Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Drink now through 2012.
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2003 Pirouette - 93 points
The 2003 Pirouette (500 cases), a blend of 56% Cabernet Sauvignon, 22% Merlot, 10% Syrah, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot, reveals a super nose of sweet black fruits, tar, and licorice. An immensely broad wine, it unleashes creamy waves of black fruits on the palate that are powerfully flavored and linger throughout its extensive finish. An immensely lush, engaging effort, it reveals excellent tannin and ripeness. Drink it over the next 12-14 years.
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2003 Pirouette - 90 points
Dusty, toasty and showing lots of coffee aromas, it hits the palate quite soft, seamless, classy, rich and luscious in a Napa Valley style.
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2003 Pirouette - 93 points
A blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot, Pirouette gives off scents of red cherry grounded by oak. That fruit comes to the fore in the wine’s flavor, generous yet light on its feet, with a mildly smoky finish that grows in complexity after a day open. 500 cases
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2006 Poet's Leap - 89 Points
Aromas and flavors of musky ripe peach, ginger, nutmeg and earth; reminded me of a Nahe riesling. Juicy, intensely flavored and just off-dry, offering a satisfying supple texture and very good length.
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2005 Poet's Leap - 93 Points - Wine Enthusiast Top 100 (#19)
Old-vine Riesling from Dionysus and Weinbau form the core of the wine, which is immaculate, rich and generous. The fruits sound like a country fair in summer - melon, stone fruits, citrus, honey - and the mix of residual sugar and racy acids is thrillingly on target.
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2005 Poet's Leap - 91 Points
This splendid Riesling is light straw-colored with green highlights. It delivers a complex perfume of slate, mineral, a hint of petrol, spring flowers, honey, and green apple.
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2005 Poet's Leap - 92 Points
This bottling almost resembles Pinot Gris at first pass, its wheaty scents mingling with a heady aroma of white peach: those peach flavors explode on the palate, a seductive intensity that’s held in check with a thrilling line of acidity.
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2005 Poet's Leap - 89 points
Soft citrus, ginger, nutmeg and a whiff of peach skin on the nose. Juicy, fruity and intense, with flavors similar to the aromas. The driest version of this wine to date at 16.5 grams per liter residual sugar. Still, this highly successful riesling is more about varietal than site character. From vines planted in '82, '80, '79 and '72.
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2004 Poet's Leap - 90 points
Round and warmly fruity, this is a lovely mix of grapefruit, stone fruits and light tropical flavors. Nice and spicy, balanced and harmonious.
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2004 Poet's Leap - 89 points
The 2004 Riesling (500 cases) is an excellent off-dry (19.3 grams of residual sugar per liter) white with lovely linden blossom and spice aromas. Sweet minerals, slight notes of honey, melon, and pear are found in this spicy effort’s core. Drink it over the next 4 years.
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2005 Sequel - 91 Points
Firm in texture, with a crisp feel to the tannins under the ripe, narrowly focused blackberry, plum and black olive flavors. The finish keeps singing as the pretty flavors persist.
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2004 Sequel - 93 Points
Scented, complex aromas and flavors of dried cranberry, plum, game, chocolate, wild spices and herbs and sexy coconutty oak. A very sophisticated syrah; some of Washington's home-grown winemakers might learn something from this baby.
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2004 Sequel – 93 Points
Purple / black in color, this superb Syrah offers grilled meat, bacon fat, game and wild blueberry aromas and flavors. On the palate the wine is spicy, layered, and plush with soft tannins and enough acidity to hold things together.
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2004 Sequel - 93 Points
Polish and precision are the hallmarks of this extremely engaging effort, and, in both nose and mouth, its slightly juicy, youthfully bright, blackberryish fruit sets the pace and is matched step for step by hints of rich earth and spice. Full on the palate and solid in construction, it is long and complete from front to back and sports a spice of supportive tannins that will make it a stunning mate to beef roasts now or later.
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2004 Sequel - 92 Points
Made in a consistent style, this already delivers lush berry, plum, cherry and currant fruit, wrapped in generous new oak.
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2004 Sequel - 92 Points
Smooth and velvety, this is a graceful, beautifully balanced Syrah that shows off its blueberry and plum fruit against shades of white pepper and cedar. The finish keeps welling up with haunting flavors.
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2003 Sequel - 92 points
Supple, refined style offers layers of cherry, blueberry
and hints of pomegranates as the flavors sail on and
on. Not a big, hulking Syrah but one of elegance and
appealing depth. Best from 2007 through 2011.
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2003 Sequel - 91 points
John Duval blends this forward, Aussie-style Syrah from Yakima, Horse Heaven and Red Mountain vineyards. Rich and ripe with smoky blackberry flavors.
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2003 Sequel - 91 points
Here is a wine that proves that real richness need not necessarily come at the cost of exaggerated ripeness and that young Syrah can be at once both weighty and well-polished. From its deep, keenly focused and complex blackberry, pepper and coffee aromas through to its like-minded and lingering flavors, the wine is rich and involving with fine-grained tannins providing just the right note of structural grip.
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2003 Sequel – 5 star rating
Sequel Syrah 2003 – *****
A brilliant debut from John Duval and Gilles Nicault; medium bodied yet oaky, concentrated and sumptuous yet balanced. Up to 2015.
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2003 Sequel - 92 points
Aged in 75% French and 25% American oak, the 2003 Syrah displays a nose of cassis, black raspberry liqueur, and spicy American oak. Jam-packed with black raspberries and blackberries, this medium to full-bodied wine explodes on the palate, displaying copious fruit, gorgeous purity of flavors, and an admirably long finish. Drink it over the next 8-9 years.
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2005 Saggi - 90 Points
Lithe and focused, with pretty raspberry and strawberry flavors shaded with hints of rose petal and white pepper. Finishes with persistence and some delicacy.
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2004 Saggi - 91 Points
Dark ruby / purple in color, it has an excellent nose of earth, leather, cassis and black cherry. This is followed by a smoothly textured wine with excellent depth, soft tannins, and spicy dark fruit flavors.
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2004 Saggi - 91 Points
Highly complex nose combines plum, chocolate, dried flowers and tobacco. Suave, silk and sweet, but with lovely energy to the flavors of plum, cranberry and tobacco.
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2004 Saggi - 90 Points
This blend is done along super Tuscan lines, about one-third Sangiovese, one-third Cabernet Sauvignon, and the other third Syrah. Smooth, chocolaty and dark, the winemaking impeccable.
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Winery of The Year
Food & Wine
Some people don’t grasp the concept of retirement. By the time Allen Shoup stepped away from a distinguished 20-year career as CEO of Washington state wine giant Stimson Lane (owner of Chateau Ste. Michelle and Columbia Crest)...
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