WTN: Lagier-Meredith Syrah '00...(short/boring)

Cracked this wine last night:
1. Lagier-Meredith Syrah MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.5%) 2000: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; very strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/peppery light toasty/oak slight pungent/smokey/roasted lovely nose; rather rich/lush strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy fairly smooth/lightly tannic light toasty/oak/smokey slight licorice/pungent flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; very long very spicy/blackberry/Syrah light peppery/pungent/roasted light toasty/oak balanced finish w/ modest/graceful tannins & a bit of tannic bite far in the backtaste; still loads of pure/spicy Syrah fruit and developing quite nicely. $53.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The L-M Syrah is consistently probably the best of the up-Valley NapaVlly Syrahs that is made. It always seems to have a certain spiciness to it that makes other NapaVlly Syrahs seem so dull. It doesn't show much that green olive/tapenade/cold-climate character you get from LasMadres or Hudson, but it has a purity of Syrah fruit that always stands out.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

Yup - excellent stuff. Trying to keep my hands off of my bottles of later vintages for a while.

Is it really accurate to call this an up-VALLEY Syrah, given the vineyard source is well up on Mount Veeder above 1,000 feet????

But yes...delicious stuff. I can't imagine waiting so long to drink a bottle!

Is it really accurate to call this an up-VALLEY Syrah, given the vineyard source is well up on Mount Veeder above 1,000 feet????
But yes...delicious stuff. I can't imagine waiting so long to drink a bottle!

Awwwwww, Brian....I can call it anything I want..as I've followed Syrah from the very start!!!
I categorize NapaVlly Syrah as either Carneros (definitely cold-climate) or Up-Valley. Up-Valley
being anything North of the town of Napa. Most of the NV Syrahs are grown down in the
flats or rising into the foothills. The Shafer's Syrah and the Krupp's Stagecoach Syrah is grown
at a somewhat higher elevation. I would guess the the Lagier-Meredith is probably the highest
Syrah planting in NapaVlly, though the LaTour planting on the other side of MtVeeder may be higher
(and maybe not in Napa actually). But their (L-M) elevation makes for unique (and colder) growing
conditions...which is why their Syrah is so stellar.
So...we'll call it an Up-Valley/High-Elevation/Mountain-Grown/Mondeuse&Tribidrag-Interplanted/Cat-Loving/
Gopher-Hating Syrah......if that'll appeal to your higher sensibilities!!!!
Tom

Awwwwww, Brian....I can call it anything I want..as I've followed Syrah from the very start!!!
I categorize NapaVlly Syrah as either Carneros (definitely cold-climate) or Up-Valley. Up-Valley
being anything North of the town of Napa. Most of the NV Syrahs are grown down in the
flats or rising into the foothills. The Shafer's Syrah and the Krupp's Stagecoach Syrah is grown
at a somewhat higher elevation. I would guess the the Lagier-Meredith is probably the highest
Syrah planting in NapaVlly, though the LaTour planting on the other side of MtVeeder may be higher
(and maybe not in Napa actually). But their (L-M) elevation makes for unique (and colder) growing
conditions...which is why their Syrah is so stellar.
So...we'll call it an Up-Valley/High-Elevation/Mountain-Grown/Mondeuse&Tribidrag-Interplanted/Cat-Loving/
Gopher-Hating Syrah......if that'll appeal to your higher sensibilities!!!!
Tom

I think there ought to be a "like"-button on this forum
/A

I think there ought to be a "like"-button on this forum

Agreed! (But really, please don't Robin!)

I think there ought to be a "like"-button on this forum
/A

Awwwwww, Brian....I can call it anything I want..as I've followed Syrah from the very start!!!
I categorize NapaVlly Syrah as either Carneros (definitely cold-climate) or Up-Valley. Up-Valley
being anything North of the town of Napa. Most of the NV Syrahs are grown down in the
flats or rising into the foothills. The Shafer's Syrah and the Krupp's Stagecoach Syrah is grown
at a somewhat higher elevation. I would guess the the Lagier-Meredith is probably the highest
Syrah planting in NapaVlly, though the LaTour planting on the other side of MtVeeder may be higher
(and maybe not in Napa actually). But their (L-M) elevation makes for unique (and colder) growing
conditions...which is why their Syrah is so stellar.
So...we'll call it an Up-Valley/High-Elevation/Mountain-Grown/Mondeuse&Tribidrag-Interplanted/Cat-Loving/
Gopher-Hating Syrah......if that'll appeal to your higher sensibilities!!!!
Tom

I think there ought to be a "like"-button on this forum
/A

Nawwhh, Anders...it'd only go to my head!!!
Tom

I would guess the the Lagier-Meredith is probably the highest
Syrah planting in NapaVlly, though the LaTour planting on the other side of MtVeeder may be higher
(and maybe not in Napa actually). But their (L-M) elevation makes for unique (and colder) growing
conditions...which is why their Syrah is so stellar.
So...we'll call it an Up-Valley/High-Elevation/Mountain-Grown/Mondeuse&Tribidrag-Interplanted/Cat-Loving/
Gopher-Hating Syrah......if that'll appeal to your higher sensibilities!!!!
Tom

Tom,
I'd quibble whether they're in the Napa Valley at all since you can (on a rare clear day) see the SF Bay from their vineyards. Put another way, they're way past the point of inflection and now have a negative second derivative of elevation.

Mark Lipton