Tried this last night w/ my steak:
1. Babcock Syrah Nook&Cranny StaRitaHills (Estate; 15%; Optimum Quod Possum; TerroirExclusives) 2005: Very dark/black color w/ no bricking; very strong boysenberry/Syrah/ripe/framboise/blackberry/spicy slight licorice/graphite bit peppery some toasty/charred/oak complex lovely intense SBC Syrah nose; rather tart fairly astringent/tannic/hard strong boysenberry/Syrah/blackberry bit chalky/dusty some licorice/peppery flavor; very long intense boysenberry/ripe/Syrah/licorice/peppery bit alcoholic finish w/ very hard/astringent/angular/agressive/angular tannins; a really lovely classic/SRH/cold-climate Syrah but hard as nails on the palate and may never smooth out & become drinkable.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. BrianBabcock makes some absolutely delicious wines, but I think his focus has moved away from Syrah towards PinotNoir. No surprise there...but he has made some great Syrahs over the yrs. I have, of course, followed Brian from the very start, in 1982, when his passion was to make great Alsatian Riesling & GWT in Calif. Alas, the marketplace did not follow Brian's passions, and beat that crazy notion from his head. Too bad...because they were rather good.
The "Optimum Quod Possum" on the label refers to Brian's special technique of tossing four dead possums into each fermenting vat to aid in the protienaceous fining of the resultant wine.
Tom
