WTN: Syrah Blind Tasting

Interesting blind tasting of syrahs last week.

Jacquesson 737 – the Champagne was the prefatory palate cleanser before embarking on the syrah tour. Made mostly of 2009 grapes, it was lemony and balanced if a tad lacking in concentration.

2005 Chapoutier Le Meal Ermitage Blanc - showing quite a bit of colour (medium amber) and seemed on the tired side with lightly oxidized nose which detracted from the otherwise decent ripe fruit aromas. Well balanced and not short on fruit but it seemed a flagging bottle.

1993 E&E Sparkling Shiraz – no idea why anyone would keep this so long intentionally, but it was nice to get the chance to try it at this age. Quite dark with a ripish slightly musty nose, and decent acidity. Would have been better a few years ago, The nose added some slight cardboard notes later on which indicated that it was lightly corked.

2010 Descendants Liegeois Dupont Syrah Les Gosses – made by Hedges in Washington, this was fairly dark and had a nose of charred oak and meat with undertones of vanilla. Good fruit and good length. Showed nicely and had significant French attributes rather than new world.

1999 Brokenwood Rayner Vineyard Shiraz – also a dark clear red with high toned hints of blood and tar in the nose but no mint. Smooth and with good length. Nice Aussie wine

2003 Sandhill Phantom Creek Syrah – this BC wine was also quite dark and had a nose of mixed herbs, a sweet entry and smooth mouth feel, with lots of vanilla and smoke making themselves known with time in the glass.

2008 Saint-Cosme Côte-Rôtie – a bit lighter in colour than the preceding wines and with a very decent nose of dark fruit and only a very slight floral hint. Ended with tons of acid and some soft tannin.

1993 Chapoutier Hermitage La Sizeranne – medium colour, a very noce herbal nose with some berries, and a little mint after awhile in the glass. Sweet entry but finishes quite dry – needs drinking up.

2009 Boekenhoutskloof Syrah – nice mellow currant nose and lots of mint. Good stuffing and acidity, finishing with sweet fruit. One of my favourite SA syrah producers.

2003 Quinta do Crasto Port – this was so young! Dark purple, with a chalky mouth feel and good midpalate fruit, but tight at the end. Needs time!

[David M. Bueker]

Was the Saint-Cosme as boring as it sounds?

Hard to believe 2003 was 15 years ago. I hear lots of stories about how Ports are more approachable since 1994, but every time I open one that is less than 30 years old I am still faced with that wall of tannin.

Was the Saint-Cosme as boring as it sounds?

Hard to believe 2003 was 15 years ago. I hear lots of stories about how Ports are more approachable since 1994, but every time I open one that is less than 30 years old I am still faced with that wall of tannin.

Agree on the Port - I haven't even made inroads in my early 1990s vintages yet!

The St Cosme may have been affected by the previous wines. It was also opened some time before at the home of the one who brought it, and served couple of hours or more later.

Here is his note on it.

92 points
Luckily I had a pretty good sniff of this when I decanted it at home, because it got killed by the preceding wines. Medium dark red. Meaty, peppery black cherry fruit, with hints of spice and roses. Tasty slightly rich flavours and a decently long finish.

Clearly the subtleties of the nose seem to have been a bit absent by the time we got to it.