Browse Tag

syrah

Robert Catherine

[bob lindquist]Qupé 2005 Syrah “BobCat Cuvée” (Santa Barbara County) – 40% Bien Nacido Vineyard, 40% Purisma Mountain, 20% Alisos Vineyard, blended especially for (by?) Cat Silirie (wine director for the restaurant group of which The Butcher Shop is a member) and Bob Lindquist of Qupé. Smooth and gentle, showing leathery blueberry, earth, and good acidity with some complexing and welcome hints of green on the finish. Really, really fun. (5/07)

The Sentinel

[label]Domaine de la Terre Rouge 2003 Syrah Sentinel Oak Pyramid Block (Shenandoah Valley) – Surprisingly hollow at first sip, this very quickly fills out, showing blueberry and blackberry with a sharp bite of tannin. There’s oak, but it’s very nearly overwhelmed by the fullness of the fruit. Very structured, yet juicy and appealing, with a long life ahead. (5/07)

High, how are you?

[label]Domaine de la Terre Rouge 2003 Syrah “High Slopes” (Sierra Foothills) – Smoked blackberry on enamel. A bit short. With more air comes more intensity and interest, so this might just need some time to figure itself out. (5/07)

Bassetti hound

[vineyard]Edmunds St. John 2003 Syrah Bassetti (San Luis Obispo County) – At long last, some of this wine’s most muscular attributes show signs of taming. I wouldn’t call it civilization, because it’s still a hulking brooder; it’s just that the fruit (classic meat/leather/black fruit syrah) is a little more accessible behind the thick, fleshy wall of tannin. In recent tastings, this wine has been so structure-dominated that I’ve been tempted to call it imbalanced, but now – as it ages – the balance is clearer. And with clarity, comes the inevitable patience: based on the evidence, this isn’t going to be mature anytime soon. Anytime soon. Stick it in a dark corner of the cellar…though in front of the 2005s, which will probably live forever. (12/07)

They’ve come to snuff the rooster

[vineyard]Gallo Family’s “Gallo of Sonoma” 2002 Syrah “Reserve” (Sonoma County) – Corked. (11/07)

Gallo Family’s “Gallo of Sonoma” 2002 Syrah “Reserve” (Sonoma County) – Heat-damaged, with the fruit caramelized into unrecognizability. (11/07)

Gallo Family’s “Gallo of Sonoma” 2002 Syrah “Reserve” (Sonoma County) – Fat’n’happy blueberry, with a little bit of strappy leather but roundly devoid of structure. It’s enjoyable to drink nonetheless, but it’s certainly not going to get any better. (11/07)

Cluster bomb

[bottle]Wyndham Estate 2003 Shiraz “Black Cluster” (Hunter Valley) – This is the first release of a wine intended to be “iconic,” from older vines. There is no ’04, but there is an ’05 and there will be an ’07 (thought to be the best of the bunch thus far), while a decision on the ’06 had not yet been made at the time of this tasting. Here is a much more serious style of shiraz, though still commercially accessible, with deep fruit showing blackberry, blueberry, plum and apple-crisped acidity, dark earth redolent with black truffle, and a little meat and leather in the picture as well. Very solid and nicely done. (9/07)

505 ways to make your wine pink

[bottle]Wyndham Estate 2006 Shiraz Rosé “Bin 505” (Australia) – Not a saignée, but rather a wine from grapes dedicated to this purpose, with the must chilled and a relatively cold fermentation. It’s simple, with clean, minty cherry dominating, and it’s full-bodied without being over the top, with a wet finish and good acid balance. Enjoyable. (9/07)

Show me, don’t tell me

[bottle]Wyndham Estate 2004 Shiraz “Show Reserve” (South Eastern Australia) – Aged in American oak, and it shows in the soft coconut wood influence. It’s big. Strawberries and plums are prominent, with chocolate and a warming, spicy component that turns to oak dominance on the finish. This is a well-made wine, but not my style. (9/07)

Hollywood phone numbers

[bottle]Wyndham Estate 2005 Shiraz “Bin 555” (South Eastern Australia) – This is Wyndham Estate’s biggest seller, and the goal is a “ripe” character…one that I don’t think they achieve. I also have a bit of a history with this wine: a negative note many years ago on one of the online wine fora caused a blizzard of hate mail from one dedicated but obviously underworked 555 lover. And now? Chocolate-covered paper, flat and dull, then turning soupy on the finish. Tannin is a minor component. This wine just isn’t interesting, at all. (9/07)