WTN: BonnyDoon Syrah X-Block '12-'14...(short/boring)

My BonnyDoon fire sale arrived, so I tasted thru these three w/ Grayson ystrday afternoon:
1. BonnyDoon Syrah X-Block/BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (13.7%; 12% Viog) 2014: Dark color; beautiful olive tapenade bit roasted/Rhonish/w-c strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy light smokey/toasty/oak rather complex nose; fairly tart/tangy/bit sharp/angular strong blackberry/black cherry/Syrah/black olive tapenade/very spicy/Rhonish bit lean/tangy flavor w/ modest tangy tannins; very long tart/tangy strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy some Rhonish/black olive tapenade/w-c fairly complex finish w/ some tangy/bitey tannins; lots of Rhonish/w-c character w/ lots of c-c/Syrah character; bit on the tart/tangy side and could use another 3-5 yrs. $20.00
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2. BonnyDoon Syrah X-Block/BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (13.5%) 2013: Dark color; stronger Syrah/blackberry/blueberry/spicy light Rhonish/roasted/w-c some complex nose; some tangy/tart strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/slight peppery/c-c Syrah light Rhonish/roasted fairly rich flavor w/ modest tangy/bit gritty tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/bit peppery light Rhonish/w-c finish w/ some tangy tannins; much like the '14 but stronger blackberry/Syrah fruit and less complex less Rhonish character; could use a few more yrs of age. $20.00
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3. BonnyDoon Syrah X-Block/BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (13%) 2012: Dark color; stronger yet blackberry/Syrah/spicy/boysenberry/BN black cherry bit c-c/black pepper light Rhonish/w-c/roasted/espresso quite lovely nose; rather tart/tangy/bit angular slight toasty/smokey/oak strong blackberry/Syrah/BN black cherry fairly rich bit smoother light Rhonish/w-c/roasted flavor w/ modest tangy tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/black cherry BN Syrah/spicy light w-c/Rhonish/espresso light smokey/oak some complex finish w/ modest tannins; shows more classic BN black cherry Syrah fruit and less w-c/Rhonish character. $20.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. When the Miller's planted BienNacido, they focused on cold-climate varieties, Pinot/Chard/Riesling. These were primarily planted down on the flats where the BN vnyd leads up into the canyon, planted in 1973. The X-block was a small portion on the southern-most edge that was planted to Riesling, where the vnyd starts to rise up into the hills above. In the mid-'80's, X-Block was grafted, at the request of BobLindquist, over to Syrah, making the X-Block the 2'nd oldest Syrah planting in SBCnty. 'Tis a shame, because there were some stunning botrytis R (Thumbs Up) wines that came from X-Block. It was only later, again at Bob's request, that the Millers planted Syrah and other things up atop the ridgetops, what is now called the Hillside Block.
The X-Block Syrah goes primarily to BobLindquist and to Randall Grahm, although Morgan recently made X-Block Syrah at Bedrock (and a classic X-Block Syrah it is).
The last BonnyDoon X-Block I tried was the '09:

10. BonnyDoon Syrah BienNacido/X-Block/SantaMariaVlly (13.3%) 2009: Very dark color; very intense black cherry/
blackberry/Syrah/very spicy slight peppery/whole-cluster/Rhonish/roasted some smokey complex beautiful nose;
tart/tangy/structured very intense spicy/black cherry/blackberry/BienNacido Syrah slight Rhonish/whole-cluster/
peppery/smokey/roasted complex flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; very long/lingering intense black cherry/
blackberry/Syrah/very spicy structured/tart/balanced some whole-cluster/peppery/roasted/smokey/very Rhonish
finish w/ some smooth/polished tannins; a bit more interesting & complex than the Jesperson but a stunning
Syrah the likes we haven't seen from Randall in many yrs; fairly priced at $50.00.

All three of these X-Blocks were clearly cast from the same mold. I slightly preferred the '14 because of its greater complexity and stronger Rhonish character. All three displayed a tangy/angular character on the palate that I found distracting. I would have preferred a bit more richness & texture. Perhaps age will tone down that tangy character. At the original $60/btl price, the answer on these three would be an easy "no". But at the fire sale price of $20, I thought the wines were a very good value.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

Do you have any insight as to why the fire sale?

I bought a bunch of Cigare Volant in 375s ($9 a piece).

Do you have any insight as to why the fire sale?

Nope, David......notta clue. My guess is that his wines are not selling very well
(not much buzz about BD these days) and he wanted to reduce inventory.
Tom