2001 Pax Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch
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Tasting notes
From a hillside vineyard near the town of Windsor, the 2001 Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch (330 cases produced) exhibits a classic bouquet of blackberry liqueur intermixed with smoke, camphor, and white flowers. Full-bodied, with good underlying acidity, great expansiveness on the palate, and a huge, layered, thick finish, this stunning, already accessible Syrah should age well for 10-12 years. Fax (707) 591-0784
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
(from northeast-facing vines planted on orange terra rosa soil with a high clay content) Good medium ruby. Cassis, violet and licorice on the nose. Strong dark fruit and dark chocolate flavors nicely framed by firm acidity. Dense but not yet especially complex. Relies more on its acids than its tannins for structure. And yet this bottling has a higher pH than Mahle's other 2001 syrahs. (The young 2002 version of this wine revealed superb sucrosity and depth of fruit, somehow managing to buffer its 16+% alcohol; according to Mahle, it fermented for 45 days.)