WTN: Carlisle Syrah BennettVlly '03...(short/boring)

Decided I wanted something good last night, Carlisle is my go-to wine in that case, so cracked:
1. Carlisle Syrah BennettVlly (15.9%; 225 cs) SantaRosa 2003: Very dark/black color w/ no bricking; beautiful cold-climate/peppery intense blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/rip quite Rhonish/olive tapenade/roasted meats some smokey/toasty/oak nose w/ no alcoholic heat; soft rich/lush/ripe mouthfilling intense blackberry/boysenberry/spicy Syrah/ripe/licorice strong c-c/cracked black pepper/black olive tapenade some toasty/smokey/oak bit Rhonish/roasted flavor w/ modest hard/rough tannins; very long/lingering intense blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/licorice strong c-c/black olive tapenade classic BennettVlly Syrah/c-c complex beautiful finish w/ light bit rough/hard tannins; a beautiful example of BV Syrah; probably at its peak; the tannins are starting to stick out a bit, so best to drink now; a beautiful complex c-c Syrah.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Simple end-of-Summer dinner of fresh tomatoes/fresh basil/burratta and some broiled Robusto cheese w/ various savory condiments. This Syrah went amazingly well w/ that combination.
Tom

Tom, the alcohol didn't stick out? 15.9% is quite high to say the least?

Tom, the alcohol didn't stick out? 15.9% is quite high to say the least?

Nope, Lou...the alcohol was not at all obvious. I served it at a slightly cooler temperature so any fuminess
would be beat down. The next day, as it had warmed up....there was a bit of fuminess..but not much.

That's one of the things about Mike's wine...they seem to carry their alcohol well and, more importantly,
seldom show any overripe/pruney character...even when they are in 15%-16% range.
Tom

Thanks Tom, I've always admired how some wines can carry high alcohol content and still taste balanced. I've enjoyed Carlisle wines from the very beginning.