Alexander Valley Vineyards, Cyrus, California

Day 1: Super Bowl Weekend. Natural cork. Riedel Performance Cab Stem. Always good these are. Cigar, dust, blueberries, sour cherry, dust, earth and floral notes. Very complex offering for under $50.00. MN market always gets the best deal on the Cyrus. 93 points Day 2: Solid again with cigar, blueberries, earth, floral notes, minerals and dust. Medium plus finish. Very good. 93 points Recommendation: Get some.

2017 vintage

Day 1: Will give this the full 3 day treatment. Always a ton of sediment on these wines except the 2020. Natural cork. Cherry, pencil lead, tobacco, spices, blue currants, menthol and a touch of mint. Medium finish. Always enjoyable. 92 points Day 2: Had this at a tasting in the fall on day one with a good 3 hour decant. Well that produced a 92 point score but with the 2 day approach time has allowed this to open …

2017 vintage

Another solid botte with cigar, cherry, earth, floral, spices and dust. Medium plus finish. Little Halloween get together.

2017 vintage

Poured this for some friends and they loved it. Very Bordeaux like with cigar, dust, blueberries, oak, spice and floral notes. Medium plus finish.

2017 vintage

First of 17s. Relative to the 15s and 16s, both drinking great currently, this feels a notch below, but may also just be a bit young. Significant sediment on the cork and neck, as usual for this wine. Alcohol notable on the nose and palate, as was the slightly increased portion of Merlot in the mouthfeel. Tasting notes similar to others below, prominent tobacco note alongside dark cherry, plum, slight green pepper, and oak. Improved with air, probably warranted a …

2017 vintage

Day 1: One point higher than as blast time. Funk, spice, cherry, dust, oak, minerals and tobacco. Delicious. 93+ Day 2: Again solid. Love this wine with cigar, dust, cherry, blueberries, earth, wood and spice. Medium plus finish. 93 points Day 3: Singing. These wines will age like a $200 Bordeaux wine. Best Meritage value in America. Cherry, minerals, pencil lead, tobacco, plum, dust, iodine, floral and oak. Medium plus finish. 94 points Recommendation: The 17s need time over better …

2017 vintage

Meritage Tasting (Minneapolis, MN) : Unlike the 2016 these are drink up in the next few years. Much lighter and ready to go with a 2 hour decant. Tobacco, earth, floral, spice, raspberries and plum. Medium finish and picked up a little funk which I like. Drink now to 2028.

2017 vintage

I was given the responsibility of opening and serving this bottle to the guests of a 40th birthday celebration. From double-magnum. Popped and poured; enjoyed over the course of a couple of hours. The 2005 pours a deep garnet color with a near opaque core; medium viscosity with moderate staining of the tears and signs of significant sediment. On the nose, the wine is vinous, with notes of ripe and slightly desiccated fruit: cassis, blackberry, black plum, tobacco, leather, Pablano …

2005 vintage

Walla Walla & Oregon Planning Event at Sunfish Cellars; 2/28/2025-3/1/2025 (Sunfish Cellars/I Nonni Minneapolis, MN) : This was a blind tasting vs. 2019 Meyney on whether or not you could tell if it was Bordeaux or not. So 2 out of 5 thought this was Bordeaux. Everyone liked this better than the 2019 Meyney which is a few more dollars than it. Blueberries, tobacco, earth, dust, cherry, stone and floral notes. A wonderful wine and my personal favorite wine from …

2017 vintage

This was singing right out of the gate with funk, cherry, cigar, minerals, earth, forest floor and wood. Very Bordeaux like indeed. One of the better value in the Twin Cities market for under $40.00.

2017 vintage

Opened to breathe for about an hour before decanting. A little sediment on the cork. Beautiful color and nose. Everyone enjoyed with prime rib.

2017 vintage

Whatever it was capable of, it's mostly passed now. Kind of a mess of too much smoke flavor not well balanced by other things.

2005 vintage

Day 1: Natural cork. Big style on this particular bottle but super balanced. Tobacco, spice, dark cherry, minerals, earth, mild wood and dust. Complex and medium plus finish. Had to open another bottle as Morelli's in St. Paul offering this for $38.97 on their Monday Madness deal. 93+ points Day 2: Menthol, tobacco, bell pepper, blue currants, sour cherry, earth, wood and dust. Very nicely balanced wine and medium plus finish. Nice acidity to boot. Outstanding value under $45.00 in …

2017 vintage

Day 1: Not as good as the 16 on the pop and pour and this early stage. Chalk, tobacco, red bell peppers, earth, dust and roasted Chesnuts. Good overall but seek the 16 but we will see the evolution on 3 days as it needs it. 91 points Day 2 Again the 2/3 day experience delivering again. Tobacco, sour cherry, plum, spices, roasted Chesnuts, minerals and dust. While getting closer to the 16 levels not quite there. Very solid however …

2017 vintage

Ripe fruit and ready to go now. And still structured up on the palate, and funny its so structured.

2017 vintage

Similar to previous bottle, a ton of sediment on this wine.

2017 vintage

Very similar to the previous bottle, soft fruits, a little green pepper and the tannins a little chewy, overall a nice bottle of Californian Cabernet.

2017 vintage

Soft blackberry, plum, black pepper, spice and green bell pepper. The palate is quite rustic, yet with nice layered of dark black fruit, chocolate and spice, there is a little greeness which holds this wine back a little, the mid palate is soft and velvety yet the tannins are a little jagged more than I would like, I feel this should balance out overtime. Let’s see. The finish delicate and slightly chocolatey. 2017 was a tough year for California, this …

2017 vintage

We really liked this one. Teresa gave this a big thumbs up.

2005 vintage

its definitely time for this one....still drinking beautifully!

2005 vintage

Still drinking really well at this stage. Rich dark purple color. Black fruits and minerals abound, and the tannins are smooth and silky. It's not getting weary at all. I think this wine still has a few good years ahead of it, but why not enjoy it now?

2005 vintage

Absolutely fabulous nose, one of the best I have ever experienced but, while good, I don't think the wine lived up to the nose. If I had to separate the scores I would give the nose a 95 and the flavor a 89--90. Still a solid wine and very well liked by the crowd. The bottle emptied very fast.

2005 vintage

Tabacco and dark fruit in the nose with a little smokiness. Big bold fruit in in the font with mid-high tannins to finish. Just a wee bit of spiciness on the very end. Extremely drinkable. Still some life left but not a lot.

2005 vintage

Needs decant. 1 hour. Acidic nose at first turns into leather, black cherries, and booze. Blackberry, cherries, and smoke. Drier than dry. Tannins linger with hints of mint and tart fruit. Delightful.

2005 vintage

Excellent aged wine.

2005 vintage

Seemed a little old and tired to us. Not really what we were expecting from a wine at this level. Liked it much better when we first bought it. Probably waited too long.

2005 vintage

Still plenty of dark fruit, black currant and macerated cherries. Cedar and mint coming out big time as it opens. Oak and tannins are well integrated. I'd be happy to let this sit another 2-5 years if I had anymore.

2005 vintage

Verified that my 7/4/15 note was not bottle variation but rather this vintage tiring out. Fruit is fading, earthiness is on display. Drink up if you have them.

2005 vintage

Unless this was bottle variation, this has changed a lot since our last bottle late last year. Less fruit, more muted, earthiness starting to show. No reason to wait any longer on these.

2005 vintage

Another example of a very well made Cyrus. Definitely sitting right at its peak drinking time now.

2005 vintage

Deep, inky purple in the glass. Very unique flavor complex. Drinking well and should continue to cellar well. Will try the other bottle in about a year or so.

2005 vintage

I didn't pickup any fruit. Dark earth and menthol on the nose; hot on the palate, dominated by what I'll call licorice. Hard to believe this was the same wine that others are rating so well. Drank the 2007 the night before and it was hands down the winner.

2005 vintage

RussK. City Hall dinner with Pablo, Eddie and wives Nice. Big nose and taste of American oak. Thought it was Spanish or a Ripasso. Deep dark sweet liquid fruit. Surprisingly little tannin. It would be hard to guess blind that this was 75% cab. 92-

2005 vintage

Drank a little more Old World. Decanted foe two hours. Softer than most Cyrus, layers of flavor are not fully developed.

2005 vintage

This has been a very interesting bottle of wine. Let me first say that I am a huge fan of Cyrus. This bottle perplexed me a little having just drank a 2000 three weeks ago. The 2000 was seamless, fully integrated and showing beautifully. The 05 is clearly in its early 20's; old enough to drink, but not quite sure how to do it right. She showed signs of maturity, but she was all over the board with oak integration …

2005 vintage

Very good drinker. Full fruit up front Hints of licorice on the back

2005 vintage

Dark Fruit, spice, cassis, smokey cedar tobacco. nice length on the finish, has some pepper. A-

2005 vintage

This is a well balanced, red blend. Its fruit forward delicious taste is balanced by good acidity & tannins. A great drink now and I would imagine for a few years to come.

2005 vintage

What a tasty bottle of wine. Deep rich purple black color. Some menthol and tar on the nose, dark fruit and oak on the palate. Well integrated tannins, nicely layered wine. This one has been sitting in my cellar for a couple years, and no doubt it aged beautifully.

2005 vintage

Very underwhleming and unremarkable for me. I expected more at this price point.

2005 vintage

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Alexander Valley Vineyards, Cyrus, California

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