Reviews & Press

91 Points
Inky purple. Seductively perfumed nose offers ripe but well-focused blackberry and creme de cassis scents, along with smoky vanillin oak, Asian spices, fresh flowers and mocha. Pliant dark fruit flavors possess impressive depth and sweetness, with bracing acidity adding energy. Finishes with gentle grip and a lingering smoky, vanillin quality, leaving an impression of controlled ripeness. This wine is made by Stephan Asseo at L'Aventure.
- Stephen Tanzer, International Wine Cellars, Nov/Dec 2007

Monumental Syrah
From Paso Robles, a wine fit for a pharaoh

"The PharaohMoans Syrah 2005 delivers. A treasure trove of flavors gushes forth from this exceptional wine: The intense ripeness is countered by the scent of sweet tar and bacon fat, while flavors of mocha, licorice, coffee, and savory coriander temper the rich palate. From its unlikely name to its complex infusion of riotously ripe berry fruit, earth spices, and soft smoke, PharaohMoans demonstrates that world-class wine does not have to be stuffy, but rather can (and should) be world-class fun. A wonderful thing indeed."
- Bret Anderson, Robb Report, September 2007

92 Points
"Like my WRO colleague Patrick Comiskey, I don't want my Pinot Noir to taste like Syrah, but I do indeed want my Syrah to taste like Syrah. This exceptional wine does that in spades, with very dark, rich, berry-flavored fruit that is concentrated but not jammy or obvious in its fruitiness. There's plenty of wood and tannin in the mix to offer bracing and a textural counterpoint to the fruit component, but the balance is right, making it possible to enjoy the wine now or wait for another five years for additional aromatic complexities. Tasted again 24 hours after the cork was pulled, the wine didn't seem to have lost any of its freshness, suggesting that it will hold up very well to ageing."
- Michael Franz,www.winereviewonline.com, May 8, 2007

93 Points
"Dense, concentrated, explosive and other-worldly with sweet, ripe, intense blackberry fruit and balanced flavors; long, thick and complex; definitely not your grandpa's syrah."
- Anthony Dias Blue, Wine Editor, Bon Appetit Magazine

"What a monster wine! Loaded with fruit....needs time, but wow! I particularly love the fact that it has fresh acidity to balance the ripeness. Bravo." -Linda Murphy, San Francisco Chronicle