I tried w/ my SantaFe group (6/30/14) some SFWG Cold-Climate Syrahs:
0. Peay Syrah LaBruma Estate/SonomaCoast (12.8%) 2010: Very dark color; very strong classic cold-climate/cracked
black pepper strong blaclberry/blueberry/Syrah/pungent/licorice very spicy some Rhonish/roasted/black olive
tapenade beautiful nose; rather tart/tangy strong cracked black pepper some spicy/blueberry/blackberry/licorice/
Syrah light Rhonish/roasted/pungent some dusty/earthy flavor w/ some tight/hard tannins; very long rather tart/
steely/tangy strong cold-climate/peppery strong spicy/dusty/earthy/blackberry/Syrah slight toasty/oak some
complex finish w/ some hard/sinewey tannins; needs 2-5 yrs of age; a tightly-wound/structured classic cold-
climate/cracked black pepper Syrah; maybe some whole-cluster ferment?; lovely stuff. $48.00
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1. Peay Syrah LaBruma Estate/SonomaCoast (13.4%; 300 cs) 2009: Med.dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah some
cracked black pepper/pungent bit Rhonish lovely/complex nose; fairly tart strong cracked black pepper rather
blackberry/Syrah bit earthy/Rhonish flaver w/ some lean/hard tannins; very long bit lean/tight strong
cracked black pepper strong blackberry/Syrah finish w/ some light/tight tannins; still can use a yr or two;
shows much more cold-climate/black pepper character than Titans. $47.00
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2. Peay Syrah LesTitans Estate/SonomaCoast (13.5%; 350 cs; Drk: 3/17-3/27) 2009: Dark color; less cracked pepper
strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy more ripe nose; bit less lean/tart strong ripe/blackberry/Syrah/spicy light
cracked pepper nose; bit softer fairly tart strong ripe/blackberry/Syrah/spicy slight black pepper/pungent
flavor w/ softer/rounder tannins; very long strong/ripe/blackberry/Syrah slight cracked pepper finish w/
some softer/ripe tannins; more ripe Syrah fruit and less Rhonish & cold-climate character; a lovely Syrah.
$42.00
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3. Peay LaBruma Estate Syrah SonomaCoast (13.7%; 550 cs; www.PeayVineyards.com) 2007: Med.dark color w/ slight
bricking; more Rhonish/smokey/oak some blackberry/Syrah/herbal bit earthy/dusty slight funky/ozone/pungent that
clears complex nose; rather tart/tangy/lean some Rhonish/smokey/roasted some blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak
flavor; nice/interesting Rhonish character but seems a bit shy on fruit and starting to dry out a bit; not much
cold-climate/peppery character. $49.00
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4. Peay LesTitans Estate Syrah SonomaCoast (14.0%; 470 cs) 2007: Med. color w/ some bricking; some unclean/bretty
more ripe/plush blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah bit herbal/rosemary somewhat funky nose; bit lean/tight some
bretty/unclean/funky tart some ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight black pepper flavor w/ light/lean
tannins; med.long bit unclean/bretty some blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah finish w/ light/astringent tannins;
a bit on the unclean side and starting to dry out. $48.00
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5. Peay LaBruma Estate Syrah SonomaCoast (13.9%) 2006: Med.color w/ some bricking; some funky/mousey/hantavirus/
unclean some pencilly/oak very ripe/overripe blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight blacl pepper nose; slightly
tart somewhat unclean/funky/mousey/bretty ripe/overripe boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah slight pencilly/oak
slight peppery flavor w/ light/delicate tannins; med.short some unclean/bretty/funky ripe/overripe/
boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah light pencilly/oak finish w/ light/gentle tannins; seems overripe and a bit too
funky/unclean. $45.00
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6. Peay LesTitans Estate Syrah SonomaCoast (14.0%) 2006: Med.dark color w/ light bricking; lovely floral/violets/
slight C-R-like light blackberry/Syrah/spicy light pencilly/oak quite perfumed/fragrant bit roasted/Rhonish
rather complex nose; some tart/tangy/metallic somewhat floral/violets bit Rhonish/roasted/pungent some light/
blackberry/Syrah flavor w/ light/bitey tannins; quite long tart/metallic some roasted/Rhonish/peppery/pungent
light blackberry/spicy/Syrah rather floral/violets complex finish w/ light/lean tannins; starting to dry out
a bit but the most evolved/Rhonish/complex of the Peays. $45.00
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7. Failla Syrah HudsonVnyd/Carneros/NapaVlly (14.8%) 2010: Very dark color; beautiful whole-cluster/Rhonish/black
olive tapenade strong blueberry/blackberry/Syrah bit toasty/oak complex nose; very tart/hard/structured very
Rhonish/whole-cluster/roasted/pungent strong Carneros Syrah/black olive tapenade very structured rich/
powerful flavor w/ hard/structured tannins; very long/lingering whole-cluster/Rhonish/pungent/smokey/roasted
strong blueberry/blackberry Syrah/olive tapenade finish w/ strong hard/sturdy tannins; a classic HudsonVnyd
Syrah that needs 4-10 yrs of age; beautiful Syrah. $56.00
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8. Failla Syrah EstateVnyd/FtRoss-Seaview (13.8%; 120 cs; 100% whole-cluster frmt; Drk: 10/21-10/23: EJ) 2011:
Very dark/black color; very strong cold-climate/cracked black pepper intense pungent/peppery/blackberry/
boysenberry/Syrah/huge fruit light toasty/oak strong Rhonish/smokey/whole-cluster/pungent complex nose; quite
tart very structured/tannic/hard intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/huge fruit very cracked black pepper/
pungent rather Rhonish/whole-cluster/smokey/roasted light toasty/oak very structured flavor w/ ample strong/
rugged tannins; very long/lingering tart/structured intense blackberry/peppery/Syrah very Rhonish/whole-cluster/
smokey light toasty/oak complex finish w/ ample/mouthfilling tannins; a very rugged/structured Syrah that should
easily go out another yrs and beyond. $63.00
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9. Failla Syrah EstateVnyd/SonomaCoast (13.8%; + Viognier pomace; 100 cs; Drk: 10/20-10/22: EJ) 2008: Very dark/near
black color; very cracked black pepper/cold-climate strong ripe/blackberry/boysenberry slight Rhonish/roasted
some pencilly/toasty/oak rather perfumed bit licorice/pungent nose; very tart/tangy very strong ripe/blackberry/
boysenberry light Rhonish/roasted/smokey/olive strong pencilly/toasty/oak complex flavor w/ ample hard tannins;
very long very strong boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah/pungent/licorice some roasted/Rhonish/whole-cluster pencilly/
toasty/oak complex finish w/ ample/unyielding tannins; much like the '11 w/ a bit more oak; can't pick up anything
I'd identify as the Viognier; a huge/massive/structured Syrah that needs much age; showing little evolution yet;
my favorite of these Syrahs. $60.50
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10. Failla Syrah EstateVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.8%; 136 cs; www.FaillaWines.com) 2007: Very dark/near black color; very
intense blackberry/spicy/Syrah some cracked pepper slight Rhonish/tapenade/smokey/roasted nose; rather tart very
strong blackberry/licorice/spicy/Syrah some cracked pepper slight roasted/Rhonish/tapenade bit pungent/RCCola
complex flavor w/ strong/structured tannins; very long intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe/peppery/licorice
light toasty/oak some Rhonish/pungent/roasted finish w/ ample/full/rich tannins; much like the '08 but a bit
lesser in intensity; a terrific young classic cold-climate Syrah. $56.00
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11. Failla Syrah EstateVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.8%; 225 cs) 2006: Very dark color w/ no obvious bricking; slight funky/
unclean/earthy/mousey/root cellar strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/licorice bit peppery/cold-climate strong toasty/
pencilly/oak light Rhonish/roasted somewhat complex nose; tart/tangy quite toasty/pencilly/oak some cracked pepper
slight funky/earthy/Rhonish/Cornas-like strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy flavor w/ some hard tannins; long bit funky/
Rhonish/Cornas-like/earthy/rustic strong blackberry/Syrah/ripe some cracked pepper some pencilly/toasty/oak finish
w/ some hard tannins; a bit of a Rhonish funk and rustic character to this wine; rather interesting but different
from the other Faillas. $64.00
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12. Failla Syrah EstateVnyd/SonomaCoast (14.9%) StHelena 2003: Very dark color w/ little bricking; beautiful complex
very spicy/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice/pungent some light cracked pepper quite Rhonish/smokey/roasted/
tapenade quite perfumed almost Burgundian/elegant complex nose; lightly tart very Rhonish/roasted light pencilly/
oak strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/bit licorice/pungent light cracked black pepper complex flavor w/ some smooth/
graceful tannins; very long strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/peppery rather Rhonish/smokey/roasted/pungent light
pencilly/oak fairly complex almost Pinotish finish w/ light/smooth/gentle tannins; certainly not an old Hermitage
but about as good as an old Calif Syrah gets; no signs of drying out and should go another few yrs at least.
$nc (KB/EJ)
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And stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Peay: I have, of course, followed Peay from the very start. Their Syrahs have always been some of my favorite
Calif Syrahs. I was (and have been) unable to identify a unique/singular characteristic that separates the
LesTitans from the LaBrumas. I guess I was a bit surprised at how far along the older Peays had evolved.
I was expecting them to be a bit more youthful. Still, they were very well recieved.
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2. Failla: Have followed Ehren's wines from the very start. He was the winemaker at Neyers for a fair number of
yrs and made some exceptional Syrahs there from OldLakeville, Hudson, and the legendary Cuvee d'Honneur, in honor
of ThierryAllemand, one of Ehren's heros. At Failla-Jordan (now just Failla), he's continued a string of great
Syrahs from AlRago's QueSyrahVnyd (now being tended by Arnot-Roberts), PhoenixRanch, Hudson, and now his Estate
Ranch out near FtRoss/Seaview a stone's throw from the Pacific. I think his EstateRanch may be one of the greatest
Syrah vnyds in Calif.
All of these Syrahs are terrific ("monumental" is the Monktown term) Syrahs that are structured for the long
haul. The '03 (gifted me in March by Kathy & Ehren) is the only one showing much evolution. Yet it still has
another 3-5 yrs ahead of it. The question of Syrahs of this structure and scale is how they will evolve over
time. Will this simply just get older and diminished in size, or will they truly evolve into complex/ethereal
old bones. I guess time will tell, but the '03 seems to be headed in the right direction. That said...the young
Syrahs had obvious ample/structured tannins. Yet the tannins seemed well-integrated and not at all hard/harsh.
And they all had a brisk/zingy acidity that will carry them out in time.
I seldom spend over $50 for a Calif Syrah. But the Failla Estate is one that's a no-brainer for me.
As an aside, Ehren's Viognier from Alban grapes is one of the greatest Viogniers being made in Calif these
days. Terrific perfume & structured and certainly not DollyPartin in style.
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3. Most of the people in my SFWG are not familiar with the glories of cold-climate Syrah. And certainly not
with these two producers. This tasting was designed to give them some exposure to Calif cold-climate
Syrah. Of course, some folks dismissed them because they didn't taste like Cote-Rotie. And, of course,
they were right. Below is the handout I sent out to entice the folks into coming:
Some of the most compelling Syrahs in Calif come from very cold-climate vnyds that are
distinctly non-Mediterrean; vnyds that 20 yrs ago nobody would have dreamed of planting
Syrah because it "couldn't ripen". These Syrahs share characteristics more akin to Northern
Rhone than they do to the traditional Calif Syrahs. More acidity, more bright/high-toned fruit,
a distinct cracked black pepper character. In fact, this is how they'd make Syrah in Cote-Rotie
if they could.
These Syrahs are from two very cold-climate vnyds way out on the extreme Sonoma Coast,
a few miles from the Pacific. PeayVnyd has two Syrah blocks on the Peay vnyd near Annapolis.
EhrenJordan has his own Estate vnyd not far from FtRoss. Both are perched up
on the ridgelines above the fog-line (usually). The 2003 Failla was Ehren's first Syrah and was
recently gifted me by Ehren, for visiting their wnry (in the NapaVlly) and KathyBerez.
This will be a rare chance to taste some older Calif Syrahs.
Tom
