Steve Costigan hosted last night a tasting of some older Calif Syrahs:
1. Bedrock Syrah Griffin'sLair/PetalumaGap/SonomaCoast (14.0%; 60% whole-cluster; 11% Viognier co-frmtd) 2011: Dark color w/ slight bricking; slightly pungent/reductive some peppery/w-c rather black pepper/c-c some blackberry/Syrah/very spicy rather Rhonish/smoked meats/roasted rather complex beautiful nose; lightly tart strong w-c/peppery slight black pepper/c-c light blackberry/Syrah bit light bodied some complex flavor w/ light gentle bit drying tannijns; very long rather Rhonish/w-c/peppery fairly strong blackberry/Syrah finish w/ light bit drying tannins; a lovely very Rhonish classic w-c fairly complex Syrah probably at or a bit beyond its peak.
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2. Bedrock Syrah HudsonVnyd South/T'n S' Blocks/Carneros (14.3%; Plntd: 1993 + AlbanSlctn/2006; 50% w-c) 2011: Dark color w/ slight bricking; very strong very Rhonish/smoked meats/roasted/very Hermitage-like quite c-c/black pepper stronger blackberry/Syrah/quite spicy slight black olive tapenade more complex beautiful nose; lightly tart very smooth/polished very strong w-c/peppery quite Rhonish/smokey/smoked meats/roasted stronger blackberry/spicy Syrah very light toasty/oak rather complex flavor w/ light gentle tannins; very long/lingering very strong blackberry/ripe boysenberry/spicy Syrah very Rhonish/roasted/w-c/peppery smooth/rounded slight black olive tapenade quite complex finish w/ light smooth tannins; a beautiful smooth/polished/balanced very Rhonish/Hermitage-like quite complex probably about at its peak; a beautiful fully-mature expression of Syrah.
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3. SQN Syrah TheInaugural Estate/11 ConfessionsVnyd/StaRitaHills (15.8%) 2003: Very dark color w/ little bricking; bit alcoholic/fumey intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very ripe strong toasty/Fr.oak/smokey bit c-c/black pepper some complex lovely nose; fairly tart bit fumey/alcoholic intense blackberry/boysenberry/ripe Syrah strong toasty/smokey/Fr.oak slight c-c/black pepper bit complex flavor w/ light bit bitey tannins; very long/lingering intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe strong toasty/Fr.oak bit complex finish w/ light tannins; has evolved much like the Alban Syrahs w/ loads of intense Syrah fruit but shows a bit more complexity than those show; one of the best older SQN Syrahs I can recall & should go another 4-8 yrs.
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4. Pax Syrah Griffin'sLairVnyd/SonomaCoast/SonomaCnty (13.8%) PaxMahleWines/Forestville 2013: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; some reductive/pungent very slight TCA/musty slight blackberry/Syrah nose; fairly tart some musty/TCA not a lot of fruit flavor; the TCA came more to the front as it sat & the fruit was pretty much beaten down by the TCA.
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5. Pax Syrah Castelli-KnightRanch RRV/SonomaCnty (14.4%; Plntd: 1998 to Clone 7; 16 brls/268 cs) 2013: Very dark color w/ little bricking; very strong blackberry/Syrah/bit spicy much simpler nose; bit softer fairly strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/spicy some toasty/oak rather simple/pleasant flavor w/ light gentle tannins; long mostly blackberry/Syrah/spicy light toasty/oak finish; a rather pleasant mature Syrah but not much evolution or complexity.
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6. MysteryWine: AlainVoge AC: Cornas LesVieillesVignes (13.5%) 2010: Very dark color; fairly strong blackberry/Syrah/ripe bit plummy/ripe some smokey/toasty/oak slightly rustic attractive bit simple nose; fairly soft rather rich/lush strong plummy/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/smokey/oak slight NRhonish/smokey bit complex flavor w/ light ripe tannins; very long ripe/plummy/blackberry/Syrah bit NRhonish bit complex finish w/ light ripe tannins; very Calif in style for a NRhone Syrah; I thought it was an older WashState, perhaps Calif, Syrah and didn't get much of the rustic Cornas character in it; quite good NRhone Syrah but not profound.
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7. Failla Syrah EstateVnyd/Ft.Ross-Seaview (14.1%) St.Helena 2013: Very dark color w/ little bricking; very intense black pepper/c-c intense blackberry/very spicy/Syrah light toasty/oak fairly complex nose; very tart/tangy intense c-c/black pepper intense blackberry/Syrah/very spicy light smokey/toasty/Fr.oak rather complex flavor w/ modest tangy tannins; very long/lingering intense cracked black pepper/c-c/blackberry/very spicy Syrah light toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; a terrific example of a c-c Calif Syrah w/ loads of black pepper character.
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8. Bedrock Syrah Weill a Way Vnyd/SonomaVlly/SonomaCnty (Exposition Two; 14.8%) 2013: Very dark color w/ little bricking; very strong plummy/ripe/blackberry/Syrah bit black pepper/c-c rather w-c/peppery fairly Rhonish some complex nose; lightly tart very strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/spicy bit Rhonish/w-c/peppery/roasted some complex flavor w/ modest bitey tannins; very long/lingering rather Rhonish/w-c/peppery strong blackberry/boysenberry/ripe Syrah/spicy some complex finish w/ modest tannins; a rather Rhonish Syrah w/ loads of Syrah fruit.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. The Bedrock Hudson Syrah '11 was my favorite of these Syrahs...a cmplex fully-mature Calif Syrah. Closely followed by the Failla because of its distinct c-c character. I was surprised by how much I liked the SQN as that style is not one of my favorites. But it had evolved quite nicely & developed some complexity I don't often see in SQN....mostly it's all about the intense fruit.
Quite a nice lineup of Syrahs & kudos to Steve for putting it together.
Tom