Tried these three last night:
1. Muscardini Syrah UntiVnyds/DryCreekVlly/SonomaCnty (14.5%; 182 cs) 2006: Dark color w/ no bricking; strong raspberry/blackberry/Syrah/rather spicy bit licorice/pungent/smokey slight Zin-like bit brighter/graceful lovely nose; fairly tart/lean/austere bright/raspberry/licorice/blackberry/Syrah earthy flavor w/ light hard/drying tannins; med.long tart/austere/drying some raspberry?syrah/blackberry bit earthy/dusty some tangy/metallic finish w/ light hard/tangy/drying tannins; really attractive almost DCV Zin-like/spicy nose but drying out on the palate; not maturing well. $42.00
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2. Muscardini Syrah GracieCreekVnyds/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (14.6%; 159 cs) 2006: Darker color w/ no bricking; more intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/plummy bit peppery/smokey more SonomaVlly/Pagani-like/sauvage beautiful nose; softer richer/lusher fairly intense plummy/blackberry/Syrah light peppery/smokey/sauvage/SonomaVlly flavor w/ light smooth tannins; somewhat soft rich/lush strong blackberry/Syrah/plummy/spicy bit peppery/smokey finish w/ light gentle tannins; resembles an OldHill or Pagani Zin but w/ more deep/Syrah notes; developed nicely but probably near its peak. $42.00
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3. Novy Syrah UntiVnyd/DryCreekVlly (14.3%) 2007: Very dark color w/ no bricking; very intense smokey/toasty/Siduri-oak strong blackberry/boysenberry/ripe/Syrah bit pungent/licorice complex nose; soft some perfumed/insecticide very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe quite toasty/smokey/oak bit complex flavor w/ light ripe/smooth tannins; very long very strong Siduri-oak/smokey/toasty strong boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah complex finish w/ modest ripe/smooth tannins; a bit lacking in structure and loads of classic Siduri oak; developing nicely but probably near its peak. $19.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I really liked the two Muscardini Syrahs when we tasted them in early 2009. I thought the Unti was one of the best DCV Syrahs I'd had...but it has not developed as well as I expected. The GracieCreek has evolved quite nicely and has lots of SonomaVlly character that you find in OldHill or Bedrock Pagani Zins.
Tom