2019 Le Sol Syrah
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Tasting notes
The 2019 Le Sol is on par with the 2009 in terms of aromatic complexity and attraction. There's pomegranate pearls, raspberry, red licorice, layers of asphalt and graphite. I like this wine very much. It has composure and complexity in equal measure and, for me, sits alongside the 2009 as one of the most delicious, seductive wines in the lineup. I love a vertical for context. 13.6% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.
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Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Purplish crimson. Fruity start! Very polished tannins, with all the potential tucked under. Saline and appetising. (JR)
The richly fragrant and densely concentrated 2019 Syrah Le Sol offers complex layers of flavors, from smoky bacon to festive spices, violets to cherry cake; the intensity of flavor and focused core point to low-yielding, high-quality fruit. There's an abundance of serious tannins surrounding the core, and they're resolved and very fine. It's pleasing to see a more integrated use of new oak under new winemaker Julian Grounds, allowing the ripe fruit and gravelly site to speak, rather than a French forest. The next thing on the agenda? Please reduce the weight of the bottle. If I want to weight-train, I’ll go to the gym.
Full screwcapped bottle an unnecessarily heavy 1,574 g. 100% Syrah from the stoniest parts of the property. 17 months in French oak (38% new). Winemaker Julian Grounds. Bright mid crimson. Opulent, intense, ripe nose that reminds me of dunked digestive biscuits. Sweet start and then very sharp acidity. Dramatic 'modern' wine rather than recognisably Syrah. Grippy finish with the tannins drying the mouth. Showy wine that's not yet ready. (JR)