Our local tasting group met at Jeff's for a double blind lineup that turned out to be focused around Californian Syrahs and Rhone-style blends. Very eye-opening as always to taste blind - I was very pleased to see how the 2007 ESJ Old Black Magic showed in this context (I had it as my favourite of the night, and wasn't the only one - I'm sure David will chime in with more there), but the showing of the '05 ESJ Parmalee-Hill was quite shocking. A few of the wines were a little on the ripe/heavy side for my tastes, but there were quite a few that I enjoyed - surprisingly (given my history with the producer) the '06 Pax Griffin's Lair was among them, and I quite liked the '05 Kosta Browne Amber Ridge - certainly a big wine, but one that handled its alcohol/ripeness rather well, and was certainly good fun to drink. As always, a fun and informative tasting - thanks Jeff for hosting!
Starter wine:
2008 Benovia Chardonnay Sonoma Coast
Very enjoyable; this is unashamedly New World in style with ripe peachy and tropical fruit accented with floral touches and gentle oak elements woven into the background - but despite the ripeness, this comes across quite elegant and nicely balanced with bright acidity and good length.
Flight 1:
2007 Audelssa Estate Winery Tephra
Massively ripe. Packed with red fruit, touches of menthol and alcohol and comes across too heavy and cloying without much structure and the alcohol dominating.
2007 Edmunds St. John That Old Black Magic
Delicious, combining fresh cherries and blackberries, leathery and smoky notes and herbal accents in a silken, finessed package. Everything is in perfect balance here with fine acidity and a sense of seamlessness to all the flavours. Wonderful wine. I liked this a great deal when poured blind (was my favourite of the lineup by far) and after it was unveiled, my first thought was 'glad I bought a couple more bottles from Crush this week!'
Flight 2:
2004 Kosta Browne Syrah Amber Ridge Vineyard
Starts out with a blast of massively ripe red fruit and alcohol at first, coming across too hot and blowsy initially. With a little air this calms down and becomes a lot more balanced and restrained; bright cherry and plummy flavours seasoned with a gentle spiciness and the alcohol integrating quite nicely.
2004 Rhys Alesia Syrah Chileno Valley
Full of brett; stinky, funky and full of barnyard shit and leather. There's some red and dark fruit initially underneath all the funk, but with air it just gets nastier and eventually the brett dominates anything that might be pleasurable in here. Ugh.
Flight 3:
2005 Kosta Browne Syrah Amber Ridge Vineyard
Quite interesting - there's plenty of ripe cherry and blackberry fruit here accented with touches of tar and spice but also some green pepper and herbal notes that give the aromatics a sense of freshness and complexity. Brawny and very rich in the mouth with a firm tannic spine, but there's a touch of alcohol at the back end (though I was quite surprised to see the label indicating 15.6% when this was unveiled, as this felt a bit lighter).
2005 Edmunds St. John Syrah Parmelee-Hill
Yikes! What happened here? Poured blind next to the '05 Kosta Browne Amber Ridge; this showed some bretty funk on the nose, very little fruit and balance and a hot, alcoholic finish. Was stunned when this was revealed; while it did seem a little better integrated/less alcoholic with air, it certainly wasn't anything I'd expect from ESJ
Flight 4:
2006 Pax Syrah Griffin's Lair
Surprisingly nice; full of very ripe cherry and berried fruits, Provencal herbs and earth with a black pepper seasoning that becomes increasingly vivid and intense with air. Comes across like a young Chateauneuf; quite ripe, concentrated and powerful though showing a little alcohol on the back end.
2006 Rhys Alesia Syrah Fairview Ranch
Comes across more restrained than the other wines poured around it, there's fresh red and dark fruit here with a bright peppery seasoning, but without the same intensity or sense of overt power. This isn't a bad thing at all; it's a more finessed and gives the sense there's more in reserve that really needs to be explored - I get the impression this is a wine to sit down with over a meal, rather than try in the context of a blind tasting, but either way it's one of the more enjoyable bottles I've had from Rhys/Alesia (from whom I've had some hit and miss experiences).
Flight 5:
2007 Dain Wines Syrah Abner Las Madres Vineyard
Much more enjoyable than the White Hawk Vineyard Syrah; this doesn't come across anywhere near as ripe or garish with bright red fruits accented with Provencal herbs, warm earth and some peppery notes that emerge with air. It's quite ripe and concentrated, but nicely balanced with a surprising sense of freshness and good length.
2007 Dain Wines Syrah The Smart Set White Hawk Vineyard
Hot, garish, full of overripe red/black fruits and spice; all power and intensity and quite tiring to drink.
Dessert was the 1977 Croft Vintage Port (which Steve guessed blind!); no comments as I really didn't give this much attention once realising it was Port (one style I've never developed a liking for), followed by a bonus bottle of a 2004 Copain Les Copains that I also didn't get around to.