2005 Alban Vineyards Syrah Lorraine - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley (1/1/2023)
Wanted something Ooozalicious...cellared since release, decanted for an hour...MASSIVE mouthful of DELISH! Gorgeous nose of white flowers, black olive, raspberry liqueur, creme de cassis, camphor...SO rich and mouth coating on the palate...pure liqueured berry fruits extracted as all get out, yet not at all cloying or heavy as there is a lifted freshness of sour skin acidity and full bloom flower florals...16.5 is balanced very well...layers and layers of complexity...mocha, smoked cherrywood, olive tapenade, licorice, blueberry pancakes stuffed with bacon...smooth and persistent with dusty white pepper spice kick and the long long mesmerizing finish. Such a great wine...just a little goes a long way! (98 points)
Posted from CellarTracker
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Sounds awesome - no rubber tire reductiveness upon opening?
Cheers.
Oh yea…always a standard…I guess it’s so prevalent in my brain I just forgot to note it!
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It’s just a nunber . . .
16.5 does make you say nunber though…
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Buzz writes great notes and he does it with passion and consistency, for a long time now. I appreciate that and he’s got great cred.
But there’s no getting around a wine that is 16%+. Some of us, me included, don’t want to drink that abv anymore and it matters. Nor does my body like it.
it’s not just a number, buddy.
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Frank,
You still drinking Switchback Ridge? 
I get it - i truly do. But these are not necessarily wines you drink an entire bottle of - and that’s okay.
They are singular and unique expressions of site and producer.
Cheers.
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Nice note. Should have bought more of these wines 10 years ago as the price point was affordable.
Drink 4 oz instead of 5? I tend to use this philosophy when I drink Gin as well.
I like zero ounces better, along with the luxury of reading Buzz’s TN.
I’m with you FMIII…I just can’t take the alc like I use to. 16+ scares me as well…I still love the pleasure those type wines bring…I just can’t drink the whole bottle…a little goes a long way! Now…Champagne…no problemo downing a bottle, or two! 
I feel you. Last time I had people over, it was a group of 10. My wife made a chocolate dessert so I pulled a Switchback Ridge Old Vine PS. 17%+ abv. We shared the bottle, it worked fine but 2 ozs was about it for me. It was a great match but it has a limit for me now.
So for this wine above, did you share it? How much could you drink before you started feeling it?
Wife and I shared it…she loved it as well. Didn’t really feel it on that bottle…and…we also had a bottle of Sandlands Chenin Blanc as well!
I guess the chili cheese hotdogs really helped integrate the alc!
This was in a blind tasting we had, up against 16 reva, 17 andremily #6, 15 Lato iI padrone and 12 Touché. Unfortunately the Touché was corked, but 05 Reva was WOTN. It was impossible to pick it by color since the wines were all nearly black. You would never guess it was 17 years old.
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Not surprised at all . . .
…the counter to high alcohols.