I met up with 2 friends at a local tavern some weeks back to enjoy dinner and drink a sampling of Northern Rhones and domestic Syrahs. We started with the Rhones.
1988 E. Guigal Hermitage. This wine opens up on the nose a bit muscular and brooding, but with really intriguing notes of iron, horsehair, clay, leather, jalapeno pepper and tobacco. Within about 20 minutes, though, it really starts to open up and bring in the prettier notes of dried red flowers, baked cherries and fresh red berries that make it feel layered, complex and inviting to taste. In the mouth, it is still sporting some fine-grained tannins and the acidity is a bit elevated at first, but otherwise it is juicy, fresh, well-structured and finely red-fruited. It feels lively, even a bit tangy, with good volume and breadth to go with the good cut and drive it displays. It is not especially heavy-weighted, but delivers a real good dose of flavor and push, featuring a profile of tobacco, leather, green pepper, cherry and cassis. There is a good deal of life left here, but it is also drinking superbly right now. I don’t know how many glasses I ended up drinking, but I wanted it in front of me all night. My WOTN.
1988 Paul Jaboulet Aine Hermitage La Chapelle. The nose here is generally murky for much of the evening, but it does slowly yield after a few hours to reveal aromas of plums, creamed cherries, patent leather and grilled meat. In the mouth, it is similarly understated for most of the evening, but also displays fine control and a grippy feel. The entry is quiet, but the mid-palate gives up a good dose of sweet red and purple berry flavors that gain in volume and intensity the longer it sits out and gets air into it. It is very tasty, but needs time to come out of that subdued shell. My advice is to decant for a few hours or wait on this a few years.
2004 Alain Voge Cornas Vieilles Vignes. The bouquet of this wine is very youthful and definitely classically Syrah—with strong aromas of black olives, black leather, meat and black raspberries that seem uber-dense and almost syrupy in their aromatic concentration. In the mouth, it feels more accessible now and seems a bit less like an obvious case of infanticide. Still, this is meaty and structured for the long haul. It starts off with pasty flavors of black cherry, but is all earth, tobacco and more purple and blue fruits toward the back. The finish is absolutely intense, vibrant and lengthy, with a rough tannic rub at the very end. It is packed with stuffing and a cool acidity abounds—just give this promising wine more time in the cellar, please.
2003 Copain Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch Mendocino County. The nose here featues overt aromas of high-toned, brambly berries, brown stems, dried leaves and a vein of tire rubber--that when taken together are not really to my liking. In the mouth, it is creamy-textured, with a core of smoked meat, chewy cherries, grape stems, charcoal and spicy toasted oak flavors that again just rub me the wrong way. The tannins coat the tongue late and grow increasingly obtrusive as the evening goes on. I think this is simply made in a style I don’t much care for.
2004 Kosta Browne Syrah Amber Ridge Vineyard Russian River Valley. On the other hand, this wine was a very pleasant surprise. It features an attractive nose of sweet cherry paste, plum sauce, scorched earth, graphite, incense and mace that is just oh-so dark, sexy, and smoldering. In the mouth, it is hugely mouth-filling and expands out to all corners of the mouth to reach all the taste buds. Yes, it is woody and youthfully oak-spiced, but it definitely has its charms. It is rich and super creamy in texture, with all kinds of glycerin-laden body and volume. Yet, it stays lifted and moderately fresh, with a great feel of push to it. The sexy blueberry, mocha paste, cocoa powder and oaky spice flavors linger a long time, and while this is an extreme wine, it isn’t goopy or overtly heavy—just intense and expansive. I was surpised how much I liked it, but I doubt I could drink it down anything like I could the ‘88 Guigal Hermitage.
2001 Antiqv2s Syrah Garys’ Vineyard Santa Lucia Highlands. I smell a lot of ash, cranberry mince pie, spicecake, cherry paste and foresty greens in this wine. Taste-wise, it comes across as medium to full-bodied, with a smooth, polished feel to the fleshy, rich flavors of black cherries, mocha, white pepper, tomato leaf and earth. It is not as lifted or fresh as the Kosta Brown, instead coming across as earthy and grounded in comparison, yet very flavorful and tasty.
2003 Alban Vineyards Syrah Lorraine Edna Valley. This wine is pitch black in color. The nose is thick and rich and sexy-sweet, with a luxuriant feel to it all the way through. It just pulls you right in with its decadence and come-hither aromas of blueberry cobbler, clove, incense, mocha, mulling spices, fleshy plums, toasted bread and black lava that just peel off in layer after layer. It goes for and delivers on maximum sex appeal, that’s for sure. In the mouth, the word I use again is luxuriant. It is not for everyone, I’m sure, but this is stuffed with tongue-coating and thick-textured flavors that have impressive volume and breadth to them. It is very spicy and minty, too, and that just seems to add to the titillation factor. The palate is awakened to all kinds of sensations along the way, and the finish is replete with smoke, charcoal, vanilla, sweet oak, plum and peppermint dust flavors that linger long into the night. For all its fireworks, the wine will surely be better once the oak elements integrate a bit more, so my advice is to enjoy it now or hold off 3 to 5 years to see if I’m right.
-Michael