WTN: Excellent Napa Syrah

2010 Phoenix Ranch Syrah, my third bottle so far and the very best yet either because of its age or my nasal acuity. Very black in color, the nose and palate are identical with blackberry fruit but great pipe tobacco notes also with maybe a whiff of saddle leather/funk. I rarely note this but a wine one could sniff with pleasure for many minutes. There is an herbal note also , maybe tarragon, but adds further complexity. This wine is just going to get better in the coming years and I wish I had bought a case to see longer evolution. It minds me of a young Cote Rotie without the bacon note.

2010 Phoenix Ranch Syrah...Very black in color, the nose and palate are identical with blackberry fruit...It minds me of a young Cote Rotie...

Including the black color? Most 'typical' Cote Rotie is pretty far from black, with violets and flowers being more typical notes.

2010 Phoenix Ranch Syrah, my third bottle so far and the very best yet either because of its age or my nasal acuity. Very black in color, the nose and palate are identical with blackberry fruit but great pipe tobacco notes also with maybe a whiff of saddle leather/funk. I rarely note this but a wine one could sniff with pleasure for many minutes. There is an herbal note also , maybe tarragon, but adds further complexity. This wine is just going to get better in the coming years and I wish I had bought a case to see longer evolution. It minds me of a young Cote Rotie without the bacon note.

Indeed, Jim...this is quite a good Syrah. Failla used to make a Syrah from PhoenixRanch, but no longer does.
I'm not a big fan of up-Valley NapaVlly Syrahs (except for Lagier-Meredith), but this is one of the better ones.
Tom