Io
Showing 1 thru -9 of 12
Io 1997 Red (Santa Barbara County)
- Editors' Choice
- $40
A blend of mainly Syrah, with Grenache, Mourvèdre and Viognier. Opens with brilliant, beautiful aromas of berries and fruit, chocolate, violets, herbs and spices, and smoky oak. In the mouth, there's fabulous complexity and an opulent, velvety smooth texture. Very dry and elegant, and the sweet, spicy finish goes on forever.
— S.H.
(11/15/2000)
Io 2001 Ryan Road Vineyard Syrah (San Luis Obispo County)
- Editors' Choice
- $35
It’s approachable and drinkable now, with its flamboyant flavors of blackberries and herbs and lush, easy tannins, but is more balanced. Exciting in the mouth; the extremely long, spicy finish suggests aging through at least 2006.
— S.H.
(10/1/2003)
Io 2002 Ryan Road Vineyard Syrah (San Luis Obispo County)
- $35
This wine coats the glass with glycerinery streaks, and throws off amazingly complex aromas ranging from cherry liqueur through smoky oak to mouthwatering grilled lamb. It’s that rich, too, offering endless tiers of black stone fruit flavors. The structure is provided by good acidity and firm tannins.
— S.H.
(9/1/2004)
Io 2001 Upper Bench Syrah (Santa Maria Valley)
- Editors' Choice
- $35
Heaps of peppery blackberry fruit are wrapped in rich, fine tannins and near-perfect acidity. This is a young wine but it’s so drinkable. Fascinating from the first sip through the long, seductive finish.
— S.H.
(10/1/2003)
Io 2006 Ryan Road Vineyard Syrah (San Luis Obispo County)
- $48
Io has a really good track record with this Syrah, which is grown in Paso Robles. The ’06 is intricately structured, a dry wine with complex flavors of blackberries, currants, dates, mocha, leather, grilled meat, pepper and vanilla. Hard to resist drinking it now, but it should evolve in interesting ways over the next six years.
— S.H.
(12/1/2008)
Io 2000 Red (Santa Barbara County)
- $60
Savory and meaty to some, impossibly brett-ridden to others; this is admittedly gamy—even barnyardy—but if you like funk in your Syrah, bring in dis one. Does have a velvety mouthfeel and some blackberry fruit, so it’s not one-dimensional.
— W.E.
(9/1/2005)
Io 1996 Red (Santa Barbara County)
- $40
This new Rhône blend from Robert Mondavi is a blend of 64% Syrah, 19% Grenache and 17% Mourvèdre made at the company’s Byron facility. Shows plenty of smoky Syrah and oak influences on the nose, blackberry and vanilla flavors on the palate, and a moderately long, peppery finish.
— W.E.
(2/1/2000)
Io 1998 Syrah (Santa Barbara County)
- $60
This blend of 88% Syrah, 6% Grenache and 6% Mourvèdre smells pretty funky at first, before settling down into an earthy, peppery, Rhône-like sulk coated with cedary oak. Cinnamon and clove notes, finely tanned leather and mixed berries make for a balanced wine that can be decanted and consumed now or saved another few years.
— W.E.
(11/1/2001)
Showing 1 thru -9 of 12
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