Browse Tag

syrah

Maugiron business

[vineyard]Delas Frères 1997 Côte-Rôtie “Seigneur de Maugiron” (Rhône) – Silky, though a bit obvious in its play for affection, with meat powder and a big, somewhat bewildering spike in the middle. The finish is short. And is that wood, or just syrah’s famous faux-oakiness? Whatever it is, it grows more prominent with air. (4/08)

German fox

Allemand 2001 Cornas Reynard (Rhône) – Decanted without having to ask, it’s still (as expected) quite firm, with dark black earth soaked with dried blood, finishing lush with iron-rich flavors of both. Very mineral-dominated, with excellent structure. Grows with air, though in the end we run out of wine before that unfolding is complete. Balanced and long, but not at its best at this stage. (4/06)

A winged barn

[bottle]Barnard Griffin 2005 Syrah Port (Columbia Valley) – 500 ml. The problem here is that the wine is much, much more “syrah” than “port,” and I’m not sure smoky, leathery blueberry is the best canvas on which to draw sweetness and fortified intensity. It’s not at all a bad wine, and in fact the form of it is quite enticing, it’s just that the wine seems misguided from conception. Perhaps with a very carefully-selected food. Cheese, certainly, over dessert…and something that can take the sweat and toil of syrah in stride. (6/08)

After Luke

Edmunds St. John 1997 Syrah Durell (Sonoma/Carneros) – Man, is this good. An intricately-plucked funk bass line propels low-toned, leathery fruit though a series of earthy, fruit-scowl verses and leathery, whip-strap choruses to a rousing climax of fruit-stained saddle, black trumpet, and a hurricane of pepper dust. I’d be inclined to drink this now, whatever it’s future. (6/08)

[Title pun censored]

[vineyard]Babcock 2005 “Big Fat Pink” Shiraz (Santa Ynez Valley) – Sticky fake plums. Definitely blush style, even though I don’t know what the actual residual sugar is, and I don’t care for it at all. (5/08)

Peter Coyote

Edmunds St. John 2005 Syrah Wylie-Fenaughty (El Dorado County) – The most easily-accessible W-F I think I’ve ever tasted, already fully-formed but not seeming to sacrifice any of the usual promise. Blueberry with a touch of black, nuts (again with a touch of the black), and plenty of dusky soil. Very balanced. (5/08)

Parmelee for the course

Edmunds St. John 2005 Syrah Parmelee-Hill (Sonoma Valley) – The nose is mercaptan-dominated and difficult to assess at the moment, but what’s underneath seems to be nutty and dark, full of charred (not in a bad way) blackberries and chunky black soil. This needs time to be drinkable, and much more time to reach its peak, but it should be great in a decade-plus. (5/08)

And we’d sing, sing, sing!

[vine]Torbreck 2006 “Woodcutter’s” Shiraz (Barossa Valley) – Demiglace of syrah, turned piney and pruney. There’s actually some acidity, but it flails around helplessly in the face of the dull-razor hacking and slashing of the slightly burnt fruit. While the worst sins of the Barossa are absent here, the wine’s still up to precious little good. (5/08)

Don’t shoot the dog!

[vineyard]Bellingham 2005 Shiraz “The Old Cellar” (Coastal Region) – Dense and barky, fullish but pruned fruit, wood, and asphalt. Finishes as pure fermented wood. Yuck. (2/08)

Let’s go Duke

[bottles]Allée Bleue 2005 Shiraz (Western Cape) – Incredibly dense, to the point of organoleptic opacity. Balanced and structured, with blueberry and chocolate dominating. This will permanently ruin your teeth. It’s all too much, really, yet I’m sure many will find it appealing. (2/08)