WTN: Some New Syrahs...(long/boring)

We tried last night (1/24/07) Some New Syrahs:
1. Tobiano CasablancaVlly/Chile Syrah KingstonFamilyVnyd (14.0%; http://www.KingstonVineyards.com)
2005: Very dark color; strong roasted/smokey/charred/dusty rather Rhonish some blackberry/
Syrah nose; rather sour earthy/dusty bit tinney/metallic some roasted/smokey/charred slight
blackberry/Syrah rather tannic/rough/coarse flavor; med.long toasty/smokey/pungent/roasted
slight blackberry rather sour/earthy some tinney/metallic rather tannic/rough finish; very
attractive/Rhonish nose but hard/sour/rustic on the palate. $18.00
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2. Bayo Oscura CasablancaVlly/Chile Syrah KingstonFamilyVnyds (14.1%) 2003: Unredeemingly
corked. $23.00
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3. B.KosugeWines HudsonVnyd Carneros Syrah (14.5%; http://www.BKosugeWines.com) 2004: Very dark color;
lovely toasty/smokey/oaked slight roasted/espresso/Rhonish bit minerally rather blackberry/
Syrah some complex nose; very ripe almost sweetish loads of ripe/sweetish/blackberry/Syrah
slight toasty/oak bit simple flavor; med. very ripe berry/cherry/blackberry/Syrah loads of
fruit slight toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; very attractive nose but not quite delivers
on the palate what the nose promises; nicely done Syrah. $39.00
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4. ClebWines CuveeSyrah SantaBarbaraCnty (14.8%) 2004: Med.dark color; strong berry/blackberry/
Syrah loads of fruit slight roasted/pungent nose; soft bit hot very cherry/berry/ripe almost
DryCreek Zin bit simple flavor; med.short bright/ripe/cherry/berry bit hot/alcoholic finish
w/ light tannins; not a lot of Syrah character; more like a DryCreekVlly Zin; fairly priced
at $20.00
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5. Peay SonomaCoast Syrah LesTitans ("the giants") (14.2%; http://www.PeayVineyards.com; Estrella,
UCD1, 174 clones) 2004: Very dark color; lovely spicy/bit black pepper rather blackberry/Syrah
more high-toned light toasty/smokey/oak almost Burgundian/Pinotish fairly complex nose; tart
high-toned spicy bright black cherry/blackberry/Pinotish light toasty/oak bit peppery flavor;
long very spicy/peppery bright black cherry/blackberry light toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins;
needs several yrs; a bright/high-toned almost Pinot-like rendition of Syrah; very attractive
with lovely aromatics. $48.00
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6. Peay SonomaCoast Syrah LaBruma ("the mist or fog") (14.2%; Estrella, UCD1, 174 +
470 clones) 2004: Very dark color; deeper more bass notes strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah
somewhat black pepper slight earthy light toasty/pungent/oak nose; tart bright/spicy/black-
berry/boysenberry/Syrah some peppery/earthy light toasty/oak flavor; long spicy/light black
pepper deep/blackberry/black cherry/Syrah finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; deeper
w/ more bass notes and more black pepper notes; lovely Syrah w/ lovely aromatics. $48.00
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7. DainWines TheSmartSet Syrah WhiteHawkVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (14.7%; http://www.DainWines.com)
2005: Very dark/black color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/ripe/Syrah bit jammy some
pungent/roasted/toasty/smokey/coffee attractive nose; soft/lush ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/
jammy/Syrah sweet fruit/cola flavor; med.long ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light toasty/
smokey/oak finish w/ light tannins; lots of sweet/ripe Syrah fruit; bit pricey at $44.50
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8. TerlatoVnyds Syrah DryCreekVlly (14.5%) 2003: Med.dark color; very bright/DCV/raspberry/Zin-like
some overrripe/alcoholic some toasty/oak rather simple/Zin-like nose; soft ripe/overripe
berry/raspberry/Zin-like rather buttery/vanilla/oak simple flavor;med. bright/spicy raspberry/
Zin rather buttery/oak finish w/ light tannins; a classic example of DCV Zin but no Syrah
character to speak of; terroir trumps varietal character. Overpriced at $30.00.
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9. Samsara MelvilleVnyd/SantaRitaHills Syrah (15.1%; 70 cs; http://www.SamsaraWine.com) 2004: Black
color; beautiful cracked black pepper intense blackberry/Syrah/spicy slight coffee/roasted/
mocha/espresso toasty/charred/oak complex nose; tart very spicy/cracked pepper intense
blackberry/Syrah slight coffee/mocha/toasty complex flavor; tart cola/DrPepper/blackberry/
Syrah finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; beautiful classic SRH Syrah. $40.00
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10. DeLilleCllrs Doyenne Syrah YakimaVlly (14.9%; http://www.DeLilleCellars.com) 2003: Black color;
very intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah loads of Syrah fruit slight herbal/earthy light
toasty/charred/burnt/oak bit carbon arc/searchlight nose; very soft/fat/lush very intense/
blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light herbal some toasty/charred flavor; long very soft/fat
very intense boysenberry/blackberry/jammy/Syrah light toasty/charred/oak finish w/ light
tannins; huge/intense Syrah fruit but lacks structure and seems to be high pH. Too pricey
at $52.00
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11. JCCllrs a la Cave Syrah Calif (15.1%; http://www.JCCellars.com) 2004: Black color; very intense
ripe/overripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/jammy light mocha/charred some hot/alcoholic/
fumey toasty/oak nose; very ripe/overripe some hot/alcoholic intense ripe/jammy/blackberry/
boysenberry/Syrah huge light toasty/oak/charred flavor; long big/huge-fruit very ripe/
blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/jammy light toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; speaks mostly
of ripe/jammy PasoRobles fruit; bit too ripe & fumey. $40.00
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12. JCCllrs Syrah HaleysReserve RockPileVnyd Rockpile (15.9%; http://www.JCCellars.com) 2002: Black
color; very intense/ripe/overripe/chocolaty boysenberry/Syrah/jammy some hot/alcoholic
bit volatile/EA over the top nose; soft/fat/porky very hot/alcoholic ripe/overripe/jammy/
boysenberry/Syrah flavor; long hot/alcoholic/fumey intense/overripe/jammy/boysenberry/Syrah
finish w/ some tannins; pretty overripe and too volatile/fumey; rather Oz in style. $38.00
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13. Piedrasassi Calif Syrah (14.9%) 2004: Black color; intense very spicy unusual/herbal/spicy/
tarragon/rosemary chocolaty/M&M/blackberry/Syrah some mocha/roasted/complex nose; soft very
ripe/boysenberry/Syrah/chocolaty slight herbal some roasted/charred/mocha toasty/oak somewhat
tannic flavor; long very ripe/boysenberry/Syrah chocolaty some toasty/oak slight herbal
some tannic finish; needs 2-5 yrs; a rather unusual/interesting rendition of Syrah. $50.00
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14. Pax Syrah Cuvee Christine SonomaCnty (http://www.PaxWines.com; 7 SonomaCnty vnyds; 15.6%) 2004:
Black color; beautiful toasty/espresso/roasted/charred/oak rather Rhoneish complex blackberry/
Syrah some hot/alcoholic nose; soft very spicy/blackberry/Syrah/chocolaty rather roasted/
mocha/espresso/charred oak quite Rhoneish flavor; very long toasted/charred/roasted/mocha/
espresso blackberry/Syrah finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-7 yrs; lovely very Rhoneish Syrah.
$64.00
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15. Neyers Syrah NapaVlly HudsonVnyd (14.4%) 1996: Very dark/nblack color; beautiful roasted/
Rhoneish/smokey green olive some blackberry/Syrah Graillot-like complex nose; soft bit lean/
hard/dried out very smokey/roasted/toasty some green olive/blackberry/Syrah Rhoneish/roasted
lovely flavor; very long/lingering bit tannic/dried out very Rhoneish/roasted/smokey/mocha
some blackberry/Syrah green olive complex beautiful flavor; very Rhoneish/Graillot-like
Syrah; starting to dry out a bit; beautifully mature & complex. Larry's mystery.
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16. Qupe Syrah SantaBarbaraCnty BienNacidoHillside Estate (EB; 13.5%) 1995: Dark color; beautiful
smokey/charred/oak/FrancoisFreres roasted/Rhoneish/toasty/green olive slight blackberry/Syrah
quite complex nose; tart bit lean/dried out very Rhoneish/charred/smokey/roasted some green
olive/blackberry/Syrah elegant/lovely/complex flavor; very long/lingering Rhoneish/roasted/
charred bit lean/dried out elegant/complex bit blackberry/blueberry/Syrah finish w/ light
tannins; drying out a bit; a beautiful/complex mature Calif Rhoneish Syrah. Steve's mystery.
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An the usual BloodyPulpit:
1. Brian Kosuge is mostly a Pinot specialist who used to work at Saintsbury. He also makes
the two KingstonFamily/Chile wines we tried.
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2. Syrah-like Pinots/Pinot-like Syrahs: It's fairly common for those who worship at the altar
of varietal typicity to rail against some of the huge/extracted (especially SantaRitaHills)
Pinots and dismiss them as Syrah-like and not worthy of consideration. I would agree that
some of these Pinots are rather Syrah-like in style, but they still speak to me of PinotNoir,
albeit on a much larger scale.
I also see just the opposite, sometimes I find Syrahs that are rater Pinotish in style;
just like a find many Napa Syrahs rather Cabernet in style. The Dehlinger and the Radio-Coteau
Syrahs come to mind in that context. These two Peay Syrahs struck me as lighter/more elegant
in style than the '03 version; a bit more Pinotish in style as well. Both had beautiful/
perfumey aromatics and not the big flavors that one usually finds in Syrahs. The Titans had
more high-toned notes; the Bruma more bass notes, more spicy, and deeper; more Syrah-like.
Both are lovely renditions of Syrah.
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3. Terlato Zin: I didn't want to like this wine because of the RichSanford thing. Fortunately,
the wine didn't let me down. Like many DCV Syrahs, it had a lot of Zin-like character and
didn't speak much of Syrah to me. A pretty wine, overpriced, overpackaged; but not speaking
much of Syrah to me (worshiping once again at the altar of varietal typicity).
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4. Samsara: This is the Pinot/Syrah effort of Chad Melville. I've been pretty impressed w/ his
efforts thus far. I slightly preferred his Verna's Syrah to this Melville version. This
comes from their estate in the SantaRitaHills. Only AdamTolmach gets these Syrah grapes
anymore. Their other estate is the Verna'sVnyd, planted in a bit more warmer area up towards
LosAlamos. Other folks who get Melville Syrah all get theirs from Verna's.
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5. Piedrasassi: This is the effort of SashiMoorman and PeterHunken, winemakers at Stolpman. It
showed a lot of very ripe character as well as some underripe/herbal character. Not sure
where the grapes came from (not likely Stolpman), but it spoke of both PasoRobles and
MontereyCnty Syrah. Interesting wine.
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6. The two mystery wines were pretty spectacular examples of how Calif Syrahs can age. Both showed
a lot of Rhone character. Both were starting to dry out and should be drunk up before they
go much further. The Neyers has really developed a lot of Rhone character that I don't recall
being there in its youth. The Qupe is never a very dramatic wine nor of massive proportions
when young. It's all about balance. But they seem to age very/very well. Bob's Syrahs,
especially the HillSide, has a very distinct aromatic profile of FrancoisFreres oak. He
uses his saignee to season his new barrels and then back blends this wine to achieve the
level of roasted/charred character he desires. I had several yrs ago one of his aged saignee
Syrahs he uses for this blending (forget the year) and it was pretty amazingly good.
TomHill

Tom, regarding the Peay vineyard wine, how would you compare it to the wines that Steve Edmunds has made from fruit grown in the Peay vineyard/ I haven't had the Peay winery wines, but at the price difference between these and the ESJ, I think I will stick with Steve's stuff.

Tom,
Spot on note about the Terlato Syrah. Back when I was PT-ITB the owner wanted to know why it wasn't selling. I told him I thought it was poopy-ca-ca (BTW, that is a technical term). He said some of the wine staff at our other stores were selling it quite well. I then suggested he send our stuff to the other stores..I don't think that was the answer he was looking for and quite possibly that is part of the reason I am now no longer PT-ITB.
Redwinger

Bob,
Hard to compare the two renditions of Peay Syrah. Quite a bit different in style. I liked the Peay for its aromatics. Steve's has considerably more stuffing and will probably last longer. Steve's version is a QPR champ, the Peay is fairly priced I think, though.
Steve no longer gets Peay fruit.
Tom

[Jenise]

but lacks structure and seems to be high pH.

Tom, what character presents as high PH? That's an unusual observation, and to those of us who aren't chemists undecipherable. Otherwise, great notes, I learned something as always--and perhaps why Dehlinger syrah was my favorite in a blind tasting of about 20 California syrahas last year. I just can't be trusted to like typical syrahs.

Jenise,
Hard to explain, but I'll try. Acidity in wine is measured at TA (titratible acidity, expressed as malic) and pH (which is related to the H+ ion concentration). Wate is neutral at pH=7.0. Orange juice has pH around 2.5-3.0. Most wine pH is around 3.4-3.6.
What we taste on the palate as acidity is directly correlated to TA. Since wine is a highly buffered solution, there is not an exact 1:1 correlation between TA and pH. That is you can have two wines w/ the same TA and different pH's.
So TA is important to the acid taste in wine. pH is important in making winemaking decisions (how much SO2 to add, whether to do ML fermentation, etc).
There are some wine that seem to have an appropriate/decent acidity, but on the palate there is a fatness/softness/texture that I associate with high pH wines. A Pillsbury DoughBoy kind of wine. That was the DeLille.
I find that high pH texture sometimes in WashState wines, often in Oz wines, less often in Calif wines.
Sorry I can't explain it any better...I'm NOT a rocket scientist (or chemist).
Tom

[Jenise]

There are some wine that seem to have an appropriate/decent acidity, but on the palate there is a fatness/softness/texture that I associate with high pH wines. A Pillsbury DoughBoy kind of wine.

Tom, thanks, this part made it clear.