We had these three mystery wines w/ the Tablas:
1. Novy Syrah SantaLuciaHighlands (15.1%) 2001: Dark color; very strong charred/smokey/burnt/pencilly/oak bit alcoholic intense grapey/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah/graphite dusty herbal/green olive/black olive very complex nose; lightly tart strong herbal/black olive very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice/graphite strong toasty/pencilly/charred/oak flavor w/ light bit astringent tannins; very long/lingering strong herbal/black olive strong boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah strong charred/smokey/toasty/oak complex finish w/ light drying tannins; a beautiful fully mature/bit beyond Syrah w/ lots of cold-climate LasMadresVnyd-like character. $14.00
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2. OjaiVnyd Syrah MelvilleVnyd/SantaRitaHills (14.5%) 2005: Very dark color; very intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah rather smokey/Rhonish strong pencilly/toasty/oak very perfumed/bug-killer some cold-climate/peppery complex nose; fairly tart strong toasty/oak/pencilly intense blackberry/boysenberry/ripe Syrah slight earthy/dusty bit peppery complex flavor w/ some hard tannins; very long/lingering some smokey/Rhonish intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah strong smokey/pencilly/toasty/oak finish w/ some hard tannins; a classic Ojai Melville that's aging at a glacial pace; may not outlive the tannins.
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3. Cercius AC: CdR VielliesVignes (85% Grenache/15% Syrah; 80 yr old vines; 14.5%) MichelGassier/PhilippeCambie/EricSolomon 2012: Very dark color; some herbal/toasted coconut/chocolaty very oaky intense Grenache/strawberry/boysenberry very international/Cambie-style rather oafish nose; soft/fat/overripe boysenberry/blackberry/Grenache/strawberry rather toasty/charred/oak flavor w/ some soft tannins; long soft/fat/porky intense boysenberry/overripe/blackberry/Grenache strong charred/toasty/oak soupy finish w/ modest soft tannins; a grotesque/over-blown aberrant expression of CdR as only Cambie can do; a waste of good old-vine grapes.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The Cercius was exactly what you'd expect of a Cambie wine. Good for maybe a first taste but it rapidly tires on the palate. A wine that'd play well in Monktown. A big winner for Calif here.
Tom
