- 2001 Miner Family Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley (2/11/2007)
I opened this tonite with a bit of trepidation, as the CT notes have been all over the place. A couple of them suggest the wine to be almost undrinkable, with a burnt rubber smell. In fact, I queued this up in our `drink now' fridge, 'cuz I didn't want to open a flawed wine at our upcoming Miner tasting in April, figuring we would take the hit. I now wish I had waited.
Dark in the glass, but not inky. Some light red at the edges when swirled. Nose of spice and maybe plums. Definitely dark fruit on the palate, with a pretty good hit of tannins. The finish is lacking a bit, but overall this is a very enjoyable bottle. Lorena says, as she does usually with Miner wines, that it is refined and refreshing. It is easy to drink, with none of the weight in the mouth and the palate fatigue that come from big fruit bruisers. We had it with chicken fajitas, and it was a very good match, with the wine not overpowering the food at all.
I don't know why others had a bad experience with this wine...Maybe bottle variation or perhaps cooked wine. But there was no sign of funk or any other obvious defect in this bottle....I wish I had saved it now for the tasting... oh well...
Alcohol 13.8%;100 percent Syrah with fruit 61% Stagecoach Vineyard; 21% Oakville Ranch; 18% Sutro. 14 months in barrel, 40% new oak. Released Fall 2004 (90 pts.)
Posted from CellarTracker