2004 Pax Syrah Majik Vineyard Sonoma Coast
Promising nose of black fruit, roasted meat and garrique, and the entry followed. But if the tasting experience lasted five seconds, then only seconds 1 and 2 were good. Three thru 5 were a big salty sourball. Not vinegary and not bitter, but like the coating they put on cheap candies to make them sour--I was once in a licorice shop in Holland, and went from the sweet earthy kind of licorice to an unsweetened one coated with that sour stuff. THAT was like tasting this wine. Have never run into anything else like it where a really perfect, healthy nose led to flavor that did a 180 and hit a wall like that. Recorked and tasted again over four days--no change. But nor did it show any oxidation.
Which made me ask, since I'm a meddler, if the fruit of a young syrah would overpower that sour hole and yet gain from the wonderful secondary nuances in this wine's nose. Why not try. So at the store yesterday I paid $8 for a 2013 Columbia Crest syrah, which I expected to be Bogle-ish. In fact, Bogle's style is what I had in mind but the store I shopped at didn't have Bogle syrah, so this. Got it home and did a quick taste--it was surprisingly credible. More body than I had a right to expect for the price and spot-on syrah flavors. Also fairly rustic tannins, but hey, there were tannins! I dumped it in a decanter for the rest of the afternoon which smoothed out all the rough spots and highlighted the fruit--whoda thunk it, but I could actually enjoy an $8 syrah.
But blended 1:1 with the Pax? Not just good, but kinda killer. Not just a good save, but a great result. As hoped, the Pax nose survived intact and the CC's fruit filled in the midpalate and the finish. Fruit, acidity, and finish were all in balance. What we ended up with tasted like a $30-40 American syrah from a classic vintage about 6-8 years out.
