Stacey opened these two from her Dad's cellar Mon night & invited me to stop by on Tues to try them:
1. Drew Syrah OldWesty/AlisosVnyd SantaBarbaraCnty (14.5%; 75 cs) Buellton 2003: Very dark/near black color w/ some browning; some some toasty/oak peppery/blackberry/Syrah distinctly c-c/black pepper somewhat complex nose; some toasty/oak some blackberry/peppery/Syrah bit complex rather dried-out rather tannic/hard/astringent flavor w/ ample hard/bitey tannins; has lost a lot of fruit & pretty dried-out on the palate; only going to get more dried-out from here.
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2. AlbanVnyds Syrah Lorraine AlbanEstate/EdnaVlly (13.6%) 1996: Black color w/ some bricking; intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah strong toasty/charred/burnt/Fr.oak slight c-c/peppery slightly complex nose; fairly tart intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe very strong toasty/burnt/Fr.oak bit complex slightly drying flavor w/ modest hard/chewey tannins; starting to dry out a bit on the palate but still dominated by intense burnt oak & intense Syrah fruit w/ slightly ameliorated tannins; probably not going to get any better nor develop a whole lot of complexity. $27.50
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More krinklefurt from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Drew: This Syrah was made when Jason & Molly were still down in SantaBarbara. His style down there was to make pretty big wines along the Jaffurs style. When he & Molly moved up to MendoRidge & planted their Estate near Elk up on MendoRidge, he changed his style, picked earlier, and made more balanced wines. At first, I wasn't thrilled by the change but now I think it was the right move. I like their wines quite a lot.
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2. Alban: This was actually one of the better old Alban Syrahs that I've had. The tannins had started to ameliorate a bit, but it was still pretty hard/tannic on the palate, dominated by the charred oak and starting to dty out a bit on the palate. I don't think it's going anywhere from here & I doubt that it will ever develop the complexity that BobLindquist & AdamTolmach routinely achieve in their Syrahs. It's John's style and subtle & nuance are not what his wines are about.
Tom