TomHill wrote:Pulled this from the cellar & tried last night:
1. AlbanVnyds Syrah REVA AlbanEstateVnyd/EdnaVlly (15.8%) ArroyoGrande 2003: Very dark color w/ some browning; very strong smokey/charred/burnt/Fr.oak/toasty rather ripe/boysenberry/blackberry/jammy/Syrah slight black pepper nose; soft very intense charred/burnt/oak/toasty/coffee bean some ripe/overripe/jammy/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah rather fumey/alcoholic flavor w/ ample hard/astringent/drying tannins; very long intense burnt/charred/toasty/Fr.oak/French Roast overripe/jammy/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah bit fumey/alcoholic finish w/ hard/drying/astringent tannins; fruit is fading & tannins becoming hard/astringent/drying/bitter; shows no complexity or evolution; it's all downhill from here.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. In its youth, this was a massive/extracted/very intense wine that held you in awe because you "knew" w/ that level of extraction, it would be a very long-lived wine. Alas, this wine is all too typical of John's Syrahs and the fruit just doesn't outlive the tannins. Like much about wine, things we "know" just doesn't turn out to be true.
Tom
Larry brought this last night as a mystery wine:
1.
AlbanVnyds Syrah REVA AlbanEstateVnyd/EdnaVlly (15.8%) ArroyoGrande 2003: Very dark color w/ no bricking; intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah/very ripe/overripe/jammy bit alcoholic strong charred/toasty/burnt/oak/smokey very youthful/primary nose; bit tart/acid very rich/lush intense charred/toasty/oak/burnt intense jammy/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah very ripe/overripe flavor w/ some hard/ripe tannins; very long intense boysenberry/jammy/blackberry/Syrah intense charred/burnt/toasty/oak very ripe/jammy finish w/ some hard/ripe tannins; huge primary Syrah fruit but no signs of evolution/complexity other than a bit softening on the palate.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Pretty much the same wine as before except the tannins were not as hard & astringent on the palate as previous, they seemed softer & rounder. But the previous BP still stands...this wine is showing no signs of evolution or complexity that you get in any Jaffurs/EdmundsStJohn/Qupe. Still just sort of living in a state of suspended animation.
My btl was pulled from my cellar where it had lived all its life....very cold during the Winter months. Larry's came from his cellar, stored at an ideal temperature year round.
Tom
