WaltNissen and friend Alan were in town for a mtg, so we got together at dinner last night at AquaSanta and tried:
1. Failla Syrah EstateVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.9%) 2003: Very dark color w/ no bricking; strong blackberry/Syrah pungent/toasty/smokey/oak slight peppery/cold-climate light roasted/Rhonish/smokey almost Burgundian beautiful complex nose; somewhat tart beautiful smokey/pungent slight roasted/Rhonish strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice/pungent quite smooth/elegant slight peppery complex flavor; very long/lingering strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice/spicy slight peppery pungent/smokey light Rhonish/roasted smooth/polished finish w/ smooth/light tannins; stunning Syrah nearing peak of maturity and should go another 3-6 yrs.
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2. JosephPhelps Delices de Semillon NapaVlly (85% Semillon/15% SauvBlanc; 13.0%; RS: 10.1%) 1986: Deep gold/burnished bronze color w/ slight browning color; very strong figgy/ripe/Semillon slight peachy/botrytis intense/grapey/passito-like light butterscotchy/creme brulee complex nose; fairly tart rather sweet intense grapey/orangey/passito some caramel/creme brulee very slight peachy/botrytis slight oxidized flavor; very long quite sweet tart intense grapey/orangey/passito some creme brulee/caramel slight apricotty slight oxidized complex finish; not that much botrytis character bot an interesting/intense dessert wine.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I was expecting a somewhat different character in the Failla. From Ehren's earlier QueSyrahVnyd Syrahs, I expected a lot more Rhonish/roasted character. Instead, it was dominated by the intense blackberry/Syrah character and the cold-climate/peppery character was somewhat muted. The pungent/smokey character gave it an almost Burgundian character (a Syrah that tastes like a Pinot?? How bad could that be?). Nonethless, it was a simply stunning Calif Syrah that has a few more yrs to go.
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2. I was a bit disappointed in the evolution of the Phelps Delices. This has always been a strong Sauternes look-alike w/ loads of botrytis...one of the best Calif Sauternes made. I was expecting it to be a lot more old-Sauternes in character than it was. Instead, it showed a very strong passito/grapey character and the botrytis/apricotty character was minimal. Almost like an old Essencia/orange muscat in character. Still, it was a mightly impressive Calif dessert wine.
Tom