Tried these two over the weekend:
1. GerardBertrand GrandTerroir Tautavel AC: Cotes du Roussillon Villages Tautavel (La Culture do gout; 50% grenache/35% Syrah/15% Carignan; 14.2%; www.Gerard-Bertrand.com) 2007: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah bit earthy/dusty/mineral light toasty/oak pretty intense/big fruit interesting nose; fairly tart some hard/tannic/mineral big fruit/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some dusty/old vines/mineral bit rough/rustic rather structured quite intense light toasty/oak flavor; very long somewhat hard/tannic very strong earthy/dusty/old-vine intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/big fruit finish; needs 2-6 yrs; very much like an old-vine Priorat Grenache; very modern style but enough terroir to make it interesting; great price at $17.00 (AV)
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2. Ramey Syrah SonomaCoast (14.5%; www.RameyWine.com) 2008: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry very slight cold-climate/peppery/Syrah light toasty/Fr.oak/pungent rather perfumed nose; fairly tart rather peppery/cold-climate strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice/boysenberry some toasty/charred/Fr.oak some tannic/bitey/hard flavor; med.long some tannic/hard stronh blackberry/Syrah/licorice slight peppery/cold-climate Syrah light toasty/charred/oak finish; needs 2-5 yrs; has only a modest PetalumaGap/cold-climate character and seems more RRV Syrah; some like a Carlisle BennettVlly or RRV Syrah but not quite as rich and a bit on the hard/tannic side; very well priced at $29.00 (AV)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I usually taste the Ramey Syrahs at RR and FamilyWinemakers. The RogersCreek Syrah, just outside the Petaluma Gap, has been my favorite; w/ lots of cold-climate/peppery/bit Rhonish character; but pretty pricey at $60. Though this SonomaCoast doesn't have as much cold-climate Syrah character; it's a more realistic buy.
Tom