Had this with Susan Fri night:
1. Qupe Syrah BienNacido Hillside Estate SantaMariaVlly (EB; 13.5%) Robert N.Lindquist/SantaMaria 1998: Med.dark color w/ light browning; very strong blackberry/Syrah/very spicy quite Rhonish/smokey/smoked meats/roasted soime whole-cluster/peppery some cold-climate/black pepper quite complex nose; quite tart/tangy/bit metallic strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/very spicy/c-c peppery rather Rhonish/roasted meats some w-c/peppery slightly dried out quite complex flavor w/ light tangy/drying tannins; very long/lingering very smokey/Rhonish/roasted meats some blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/very spicy some w-c/c-c/peppery strong Qupe/smokey/oak quite complex finish w/ light dryig tannins; a beautiful classic Qupe fully mature Syrah; still has loads of Syrah fruit but starting to show that slight metallic/drying character on the palate that shows in a wine starting its decline; a beautiful fully mature Qupe Syrah.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I was expecting this Syrah to be pretty far gone. It was not. Still had plenty of classic Qupe Syrah BN fruit, though will not be getting any better.
Tom