WTN: Hole in my shoe

[David M. Bueker]

[*]2017 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Santa Cruz Mountains (4/21/2021)
The Horseshoe Syrah has always been one of my favorite wines from Rhys. Over the years it has evolved, becoming deeper and more savory, vintage after vintage. As a last minute substitute, this bottle did not get any prep, either early opening or decanting, but from the first sip it showed the depth of character that I have come to expect from this bottling. Meaty, smoky, savory - it's archetypal Syrah. The tannins are present, but not overwhelming, so it's as pleasurable as it is interesting. Some poor, but fortuitous mis-planning has me with a great deal of this wine, and after one 500 ml bottle I am very happy that I made the mistake. I'll leave the 750s for a long time.[/list]

[David M. Bueker]

• 2017 Rhys Syrah Horseshoe Vineyard - USA, California, Santa Cruz Mountains (6/17/2023)
  Two years ago I said I would wait a long time before opening any 750ml bottles of this wine. Well, sometimes two years is long enough. Four hours in a decanter didn’t hurt either. Still, it’s a very young wine, and has some teeth behind the black fruit and roasted meat. Normally a young, structured wine needs some extra time to come together in the mid-palate, but this actually shows very well, with extra herbal elements, and a richness that buffers some of the harder edges. At one point I was concerned that I had overbought on this particular wine, but after two bottles I am very happy that I have a lot of it.