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Reviews for the 2002 Clos Mimi White Hawk Vineyard:
"A beefy, meaty, earthy style, with pebble, mineral, blackberry and wild berry flavors, picking up a touch of graphite and dusty notes. Ends with firm tannins and a touch of heat. (88 points)" James Laube "All of these wines spend a long time in barrel, but this was the most extreme, at 42 months. My internal reaction was basically, 'Yikes—why not just kill the damn thing with oak?' when I was told this, but in fact the wine doesn't show an excess of oak character. While it is huge and black, with smoky oak notes, the intense blackberry fruit soaks up the wood very effectively, resolving into peppery tannins at the end. The oak strategy is in fact something Spear picked up from Guigal. 'The first 12 to 18 months, the wine's all oak planks,' he noted, 'but then it changes; plus, if you're going that long, you need less toast. And Syrah's reductive by nature, so it can take up all that oxygen it's exposed to.' Sounds plausible to me; at the very least, the proof is in the wine in this case." Ray Isle "Easily one of the better domestic wines I have had this year. Restrained, yet incredibly concentrated and juicy with beautiful purity and delineation of flavors. There is power but it is all wrapped in finesse. The fruit is dark and the oak beautifully frames all the flavors. The acidity pumps the fruit on the finish which is long and fine. This has tannic clout but is currently hidden by the wealth of youthfully exuberant fruit. Great wine. Definitely a wine of great power and restraint. My favorite wine Tim Spear has made to date." Lyle Fass "A prodigious effort is the 2002 Syrah White Hawk Vineyard, which was just as fresh and remarkable on day ten as it was on day one. Aged an astonishing 44 months, a la Marcel Guigal’s single vineyard Cote Roties and some of Sine Qua Non’s Syrahs, it boasts an inky/blue/purple hue accompanied by classic blueberry, blackberry, camphor, and licorice scents. It is a full-bodied, impeccably balanced, dense, rich Syrah with nearly unlimited aging potential. This stunningly pure, classic Syrah was clearly fashioned from very ripe New World fruit. While accessible, it should age for two decades or more. (94+ points)" Robert M. Parker, Jr.
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