2012 Pax Syrah Griffin's Lair
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
My favorite wine of all the 2012s was the 2012 Syrah Griffin’s Lair Vineyard (274 cases). Opaque purple-colored with notes of beef blood, bouquet garni, volcanic, scorched earth and wet pebbles, the wine is complex, has great intensity, a full-bodied mouthfeel and a long, lingering finish. This is terrific Syrah that seems to represent a wonderful, hypothetical blend between the elegance of French wine and the power and purity of California’s stunning fruit.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Robert Parker
More reviews and scores
Inky purple. Exotic aromas of candied dark berries, fruitcake and dried flowers. Lush and creamy in texture, offering sweet blackberry and blueberry flavors and a suave floral undertone. Becomes spicier and more lively with aeration, picking up star anise and allspice qualities that carry through a long, intensely perfumed and youthfully tannic finish.
Graphite, crushed rocks, smoke, mint, melted road tar and black fruits take shape in the 2012 Syrah Griffins Lair Vineyard. A massive, powerful wine, the 2012 gives the impression of needind time for the tannins to soften, but I am not sure that will ever fully happen. The 2012 is an intense, thrilling wine, that is sure, but I also expect it will always be quite structured in style.