We tried these two older Syrahs at Pig+Fig last week:
1. WindGap Syrah SonomaCoast (11.4%; 17 brls/2 puncheons; 495 cs) 2011: Dark color w/ some browning; lovely very Rhonish/roasted/espresso/smokey some spicy/blueberry/blackberry/Syrah very mature N.Rhone very complex nose; quite tart/tangy/metallic rather lean/bit pinched/thin some NRhone/roasted/espresso slight blackberry/Syrah bit dried out flavor w/ light astringent tannins; long bit tired/dried out rathe NRhone/roasted finish that follows flavor; a really lovely NRhone/roasted nose but a bit tired & worn out on the palate.
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2. WindGap Syrah ArmaghVnyd/SonomaCoast (13.4%; 48 cs) 2010:Med.dark color w/ some browning; strong black cherry/blackberry/Syrah some c-c/peppery bit NRhone/espresso/roasted some dusty/OV slightly aged/mature some complex nose; quite tart/tangy/bit mettalic some blackberry/Syrah bit c-c/black pepper some lean/thin/eviscerated bit complex flavor w/ light astringent tannins; long Syrah/roasted finish that tracks the flavor; somewhat better on the palate w/ a bit more fruit & some Rhonish character w/ classic c-c/peppery character; a bit drying/astringent on the palate & nice c-c Syrah on the nose; clearly on the downside but still offers up some pleasure.
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More gapperfurt from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. This wine was made when Pax Mahle still owned half the label. He sold his share off in 2018 to focus on the Pax label. Both these wines were showing a little ragged around the edges but both had some attractive NRhone characte.
The ArmaghVnyd is in the center of the PetalumaGap area (no AVA at that point in time) & definitely cold-climate.
Tom