WTN: 2005 Sky Vineyards/1994 Les Ormes de Pez

2005 Sky Vineyards Mount Veeder (Napa Valley) Not sure how to "score" this wine. On the positive side, this is very pretty, with elegant raspberry fruit, a hinto of mint on the nose and the palate, and nice, light mouthfeel, with only 13.7% abv a very pretty wine. On the negative side, not a lot of "Syrah" character here...no meaty notes, herbaceousness, or even bracing acidity. Nothing that says "Syrah" to me...a little "simple" to be honest. Very similar, to be precise, to his ZINFANDELS....This winery definitely has a house style.

1994 Chateau Les Ormes de Pez St. Estephe. Very nice in a very French way. Some tannins still present, but the fruit has faded into maturity so I wonder if it would be worth further cellaring????? Still some refreshing acidity. Earth, tobacco, bell pepper, nice very dry currant fruit. Great mouth feel...the kind of silky yet also somehow gritty tannins I like in Bordeaux. Yum!

2002 Domaine Les Roches Chinon. We polished off a full bottle. I loved this wine, and it just got better and better with air. Wonderful herbal/bell pepper (but not obtrusive), purple plum fruit with plum skins. Some funkyness but not out of control. Great mouth feel. Tangy, tangy, tangy acidity which I loved-almost like a very good chianti in tangyness! Needs food yet I still enjoyed sipping it by itself. Awesome wine. First opportunity to sample a mature Chinon from a very traditional producer!

[David M. Bueker]

I didn't even know Sky was still around. I thought the Sky had fallen.

Well...the website appears to be active, and there is a November 30, 2010 post in "News".

Apparantly, the 2005 is the second Syrah release for them, from grapes planted only in 2000. Maybe with vine age the wine will develop more complexity?

http://www.skyvineyards.com/sky/wines/s ... sky-syrah/

Hmmm...An SF Chronicle article from a few years back makes an interesting comparison..."almost beaujolais like" That nails it for the 2005 as well!

2004 Sky Vineyards Mt. Veeder Syrah ($40) The Syrah up atop Mt. Veeder is a newcomer, arriving in just 2000. But it's a curious beast - intensely floral, with the same vibrant, florid fruit that dominates Sky's Zinfandel (pictured above). That Zin can be light, almost Beaujolais-like, at times, but the Syrah has a pleasing weight. Built around a core of gray mineral flavors, it's got a juiciness that offsets its slightly tannic, if refined, texture. A bit rustic, but the texture, and bright purple fruit flavors, give it a nuance lacking in many Napa Valley Syrahs.

[David M. Bueker]

Apparantly, the 2005 is the second Syrah release for them, from grapes planted only in 2011.

To hell with the wine! They have invented a time machine!

But yeah, vine age helps in a lot of ways.

Apparantly, the 2005 is the second Syrah release for them, from grapes planted only in 2011.

To hell with the wine! They have invented a time machine!

But yeah, vine age helps in a lot of ways.

Oops. Typo Typo Typo.