Tried two wines last night at AquaSanta:
1. Ridge Calif Syrah LyttonEstate/West/DryCreekVlly (12% co-frmtd Viognier; 14.5%; 48 brls; Drk: 8/09-8/19: EB) 2007: Dark color; strong vanilla/Am.oak/bit toasty rather blackberry/blueberry/Syrah fairly fragrant light earthy/dusty/spicy straightforward nose; strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah rich/structured some vanilla/Am.oak/Ridge-style some earthy/dusty/spicy fairly tart flavor w/ smooth/ample tannins; rather long blackberry/blueberry/Syrah strong vanilla/Am.oak quite spicy some dusty/earthy finish w/ fairly smooth tannins; some like a more structured LSZin w/o the aromatics; speaks more of LS terroir than Syrah varietal character. $32.00 (ATP)
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2. Domaine Montbourgeau Vin de Paille AC: l'Etoile (14.5%) NicoleDeriaux/l'Etoile/Jura 2000: Deep burnished bronze/orange color; intense passito/grapey/very ripe/raisened/orangey slight alcoholic quite aromatic nose; rather sweet soft very intense figgy/orangey/grapey/raisened quite honeyed/fruit compote lovely/complex flavor; very long intense grapey/raisened/figgy/orangey/fruit compote/honeyed complex finish; much like a passito w/o the Muscat perfume, a bit like a VinSanto; very clean & no signs of oxidation; lovely dessert wine but a bit pricey at $49.00/hlf
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Ridge: This is one of the better Ridge Syrah ATP's I can recall of late. Like most of them, it speaks more of Ridge winemaking and LS terroir than anything. They have tended to have rather hard tannins on release. This one seemed to have more smooth/polished, yet ample, tannins. Good now, I think it's best yrs are 3-5 yrs down the road.
Tom