Invited 10 people over on Sunday for a syrahs and smoked chicken. Two of my guests brought appetizers, so I matched each with the first two bubbles and supplied my own for the third:
With melon, proscuitto and basil:
NV Charlier & Fils Champagne Carte Noire Brut Champagne Blend
The 60% Pinot Meunier runs the show here biggish spice and red apple fruit. Don't know the dosage but suspect it's on the sweeter end of 'brut'; nevertheless delightful for a summer afternoon bubble.
With cherry tomatoes and tiny mozz balls with balsamic vinegar:
2017 Zenato Lugana Metodo Classico Brut Turbiana, Verdicchio
Straw-yellow color, rich but not extracted, with white flowers, white stone fruit and quince. Fabulous texture--very cut, precise and energetic. My first sparkling Lugana; and I was concerned that '17s would be waning (the '20's are out now) but this is at the height of splendor. One of the best non-champagne sparklers I've had in some time.
With Idaho nachos (potato chips covered in grated blue cheese and chopped green onions then thrown in a hot oven to melt).
2008 Majella Sparkling Shiraz Coonawarra
Rich syrah flavors with hints of old leather arm chair in a nicely aged package. Serious but fun, and ideal for current drinking. Ridiculously good with the chips.
Dinner was smoked chicken with a variety of side salads and cornbread. We plonked all the syrahs on the table and let guests serve themselves.
2017 The Walls Vineyards Mahana Walla Walla Valley Syrah Blend, Syrah
M's bottle. 97% Syrah, 2% Viognier, 1% grenache. 15 months ago I called this the Cary Grant of Rocks syrahs, and it's no less seductive now. It slow-dances out of that bottle and glides over your tongue like Fred Astaire. A group favorite which deserves better than Tanzer's 89 pt score.
2013 Rudius Syrah Stoney Vine Vineyard Walla Walla Valley
From a Napa-based producer with feet in both California and Oregon, this Walla Walla syrah is aging gracefully. Plummy fruit with notes of asphalt, black olive and bay leaf put a Northern Rhone stamp on new world intentions and tannins remain evident. Just barely into secondary development, this has the goods for further aging. Also a group favorite.
2016 Thomas Gerrie Wines Syrah Les Collines Vineyard Walla Walla Valley
This is a syrah made by an Oregon pinot noir producer, and stylistically it shows. The wine's a bit more feminine with higher acidity than average, only the pepper gives it away as syrah. I own a case of this and have loved every bottle. Next morning, this was the only leftover wine that hadn't gone blah overnight. Not going downhill anytime soon.
2013 Jonata Winery Todos Ballard Canyon Syrah Blend
Last bottle of a case and pretty good. That is, the slump of overripe, jammy flavors this went through seems to be in the past and this now shows enough acid and structure to carry the considerable alcohol. Not what I love but okay for this crowd.
b]2005 Domaine du Pégau Châteauneuf-du-Pape Cuvée Laurence Red Rhone Blend[/b]
Light barnyard nose swept away by juicy, dense black fruit, licorice, black olives and grilled fennel sausage on the palate. Ripe vintage evident but not dismaying. PnP'd, but showed best about an hour in. Glorious.
2010 Efeste Syrah Ceidleigh Red Mountain
One of the more traditional Washington syrahs, at least when B. Leighton was the winemaker. Showing beautifully right now, full of life.
2017 Kerloo Cellars Syrah Upland Vineyard Yakima Valley Snipes Mountain
Opaque purple; mildly extracted and modern textures. Drinkable but did not fare well against the others in this group setting, and I would not buy again.
2016 Nichol Vineyard Syrah Okanagan Valley
Purchased at the winery 20 months ago and well cared for since, was shocked to find this wine prematurely OTH. Light, thin and browning with a particularly fecal barnyard nose and virtually no fruit on the palate. Loser!