1. Forlorn-Hope PetiteSirah LesDeuxMathieux 10BrinkVnyd/SuisunVlly (15.9%) SuisunVlly 2009: Very dark/black color; very strong smokey/toasty/oak blackberry/boysenberry/PS/licorice slight peppery/PS/plummy huge fruit/ripe nose; rather soft bit alcoholic/hot very intense boysenberry/blackberry/plummy/licorice/PS rather toasty/smokey/oak some earthy/dusty light peppery flavor w/ strong soft/ripe tannins very long/lingering bit soft rather structured very intense blackberry/boysenberry/huge PS fruit/plummy some toasty/smokey oak bit earthy finish w/ ample soft/ripe/smooth tannins;massive PS fruit & not much complexity yet but amazingly drinkable and will only get better.
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2. SineQuaNon ElevenConfessions TheInaugural ElevenConfessionsVnyd/SRH (90% Syrah/ 10%Grenache; 15.8%) M&E Krankl/Ventura 2002: Very dark/near black color; very intense smokey/charred/Fr.oak intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very ripe very primary/huge fruit nose; soft very strong charred/burnt/toasty/Fr.oak intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/plummy slight black pepper structured flavor w/ modest ripe/smooth tannins; very long/lingering very strong toasty/charred/burnt/Fr.oak intense boysenberry/ripe Syrah/blackberry/plummy/bit chocolaty very light peppery huge fruit/structured finish w/ ample ripe/smooth tannins; huge fruit but not at all overripe nor alcoholic; still very/very primary Syrah and not showing any evolution other than pretty resolved tannins; where's it gonna go...haven't a clue. $125/$800-$1650
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. F-H: From my tasting several weeks ago, this mystery wine:
Tom wrote:Served this last night as a mystery wine after a stunning tasting of BalancedWineSlctns whites:
1. Forlorn-Hope PetiteSirah LesDeuxMatieux Mr.T'sVnyd/SuisunVlly/SolanoCnty (14.7%) Calistoga 2006: Very dark/black color w/ no obvious bricking; strong toasty/oak intense peppery/plummy/classic PS/bit chocolaty light earthy/herbal/thyme rather spicy complex nose; bit soft/fat intense plummy/PS/blackberry/peppery some toasty/oak flavor w/ modest ripe/bit rough tannins; very long/lingering some toasty/oak intense plummy/PS/blackberry/peppery/bit chocolaty light earthy/herbal/thyme some complex finish w/ some ripe/bit hard tannins; still has yrs to go before the tannins are fully resolved; loads of intense PS fruit but avoids the oafish side of the PS grape.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The two Matthews are Matt Rorick & MattDees, winemaker at Jonata. They were buddies in Vit school and made this wine jointly. Not sure where in Calistoga it was made, though. Mr.T's vnyd refers to the TennbrinkVnyd, where MattR. eventually started making his wine afore his move to Murphys in CalaverasCnty. I think there was some problem that forced them to use Mr.T's...like the Tennbrink's fear it might sully the reputation of their vnyd or something.
This wine reminded me a lot of some of the old-timey Stags'Leap PS's, though maybe not the structure of those old ones. Starting to show a bit of complexity but still a pretty monolithic wine.
This wine was, I recall, from my first purchase of Matt's wines. Did I mention I followed him from the very start?? I have to thank JonBonne for the original mention of Forlorn-Hope in one of his columns.
I like many of the PS's that comes from the SuisunVlly. With all the cherrys they grow there, it would be a no-brainer to make, using PS rather than LaCrima, a Visciola. Ya listening Matt??
Tom
SteveCostigan was impressed by the '06 version of this wine, so was inspired to bring this one from his stash to compare. Nobody guessed it as a F-H PS.
I think I slightly preferred this '09 version to the '06. A bit more structured and the tannins seemed a bit softer.
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2. SQN: Pretty much a dead ringer for an Alban Syrah, though not as much black pepper character and maybe not as structured. Shows absolutely no evolution or secondary characteristics that you'd find in a 15 yr old Qupe or EdmundsStJohn Syrah. And it may very well never show any of that. It may very well be the same wine 10-15 yrs further down the road. But it's the kind of wine that makes people pee in their pants because of the extraction and massive fruit; convinced that somewhere down the road it's going to make a great old-bones Calif Syrah. I'm not convinced and my crotch is dry.
Tom