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WTN: Syrah

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Rahsaan

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WTN: Syrah

by Rahsaan » Sat Jun 29, 2013 3:36 pm

I finished off my 2001 ESJ California Syrah and man is that stuff good. According to my infinite wisdom there is still enough luscious fruit that this will develop further but this is so comfortable and delicious now that I never complained. I was particularly pleased to pour the last bottle for a Quebecois who likes Rhone wines and have her discover what California can do.

I was less pleased to finish off my 2006 and 2007 Texier Brézème Pergaud VV . Not because the wines are not delicious, but I much preferred them a year or so ago when they seemed to have more depth. Within the parameters of each vintage, these last bottles were a bit one-dimensional and thin. Perhaps for my palate I should have guzzled more quickly in the past few years or waited longer until they emerged into something else. Who knows. More experimentation with other vintages must be done.

I was very surprised that 2006 Jasmin Côte-Rôtie showed a nice deep juicy and friendly side. I’ve been tracking it over the years and it was always awkward but this is coming into comfortable drinkability for me. At least that bottle. Perhaps I’ll finish my last bottle and be done with it.

An even greater surprise was that the 2005 Balthazar Cornas Chaillot didn’t completely clobber me with tannin from the beginning as it has in the past. I’m sure this will age into something delightful with more grace. But we had a good time drinking at a decent clip and there was a good 2 hours with plenty of attractive fruit, in that firm growly Cornas way. Nice times.
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Dale Williams

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Re: WTN: Syrah

by Dale Williams » Sat Jun 29, 2013 9:59 pm

2001 ESJ Syrah- I drank thru these, when Steve had a "inventory clearance" sale a couple years ago I included a few more bottles, down to one, should have gotten more.

Surprised re Texier, will check in soon.

I'm holding off on my couple bottles of the '05 Balthazar
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Rahsaan

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Re: WTN: Syrah

by Rahsaan » Sat Jun 29, 2013 11:32 pm

Admittedly I don't buy every wine in every vintage, but I don't think I've ever felt that I had enough ESJ!

Don't get me wrong on the Texier, I'm sure they are great wines. I just know that for my own palate preference I enjoyed them more earlier and I wonder if I would have also enjoyed them more at some point in the future when they evolve further. Tricky to know.
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Bob Parsons Alberta

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Re: WTN: Syrah

by Bob Parsons Alberta » Sun Jun 30, 2013 2:55 am

Always enjoy your notes Rahsaan! Have some `05 ESJ Rocks `n Gravel, should I open soon?

Growly, good one!
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Rahsaan

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Re: WTN: Syrah

by Rahsaan » Sun Jun 30, 2013 8:01 am

Bob Parsons Alberta wrote:Have some `05 ESJ Rocks `n Gravel, should I open soon?


I don't know, haven't tasted recently. I did have some 05 Bassetti earlier this year that was approachable and interesting but I'm holding off on all my 05 Bassetti and WF because I know much better things are in store, at least for my tastes. But, as you can see from the other wines in this post, I'm certainly not opposed to opening wines 'early' for whatever reason, so it depends on you.

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