Cracked this last night w/ my pork tenderloin:
1. Failla-Jordan Syrah QueSyrahVnyd/SonomaCoast (13.6%) EhrenJordanWineCellars/StHelena 2000: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; beautiful smoky/pungent/roasted/espresso/FrenchRoast coffee strong blackberry/cranberry/Syrah very Rhonish very complex nose; tart very pungent/roasted/smoky/coffee/espresso some tannic strong cranberry/blackberry/Syrah/spicy slight earthy/floral/lilacs/peppery complex flavor; very long/lingering some tannic/astringent roasted/coffee/espresso/pungent/smoky/charred some cranberry/blackberry/Syrah complex finish; incredible complex very Rhonish/Cornas/Clape-like Syrah; starting to dry out a bit on the palate and best be drunk.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Cripes....I hate wines like this. When I get home from fencing and start to make dinner, I cast about for something I want to try. I'll crack the bottle open, decant if necessary, and try the wine several times as I'm preparing dinner, often taking notes if the wine merits it. With this Syrah, I take a sip..."Danged....that's so friggin' good", and go back for another pour. All of a sudden, as I pulled the pork from the oven to finish it....I realized the decanter was gone...empty. "What happened to my dinner wine?". Hate it when that happens. Fortunately had a leftover Unti red blend from last Wed's tasting that was still going strong.
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2. Failla-Jordan: This is, of course, EhrenJordan's winery w/ his wife, whose last name was Failla. In the early-mid '00's, TomJordan sent his lawyers after Ehren because he felt the Failla-Jordan was having an adverse impact on his sales at Jordan Winery and confusing all the imbeciles out there in the marketplace. Ha.....if anything, the Failla-Jordan label was adding luster and enhanced sales to the JordanWnry label. But Ehren, wisely, chose not to fight it and simply changed the name to "Failla".
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3. QueSyrah vnyd: This is AlRago's vnyd over on TaylorRidge to the west of Sebastapol. One of the first genuinely cold-climate Syrah plantings in Calif (DougMeador's Ventana down in the SalinasVlly in the middle '80's is probably the first authentic cold-climate Syrah plantings). The Syrah wines that come off Al's vnyd are typically some oof the greatest Syrahs produced in Calif. They are now made by KurtBeiler under his LaBoheme, now BodegaRancho, label.
Interestingly....I worked in the Summer of '67 at ArgonneNationalLaboratory outside Chicago. One of the premier nuclear feul cell codes in the world was written there by...AlRago. Al & I and several others would lunch daily over at the cafeteria...where the beverage of choice was milk or iced tea. Small world.
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4. I opened this btl w/ very low expectations. I had stood it upright several weeks ago when I had noticed the cork had pushed out about a half inch, punching thru that Kevlar-tough red plastic seal that's such a bitch to break thru when you're opening them. When I screwed the corkscrew into the cork, the cork fell right into the wine, so I had to decant thru a strainer funnel. But I was sure the wine would be shot. It was not, though. Probably btls that had sound corks and stored under pristine conditions would be even more alive.
Tom