We tried these three Syrahs at our tasting at Pig+Fig this last Wed:
1. Bodega Rancho Syrah VivioVnyd/BennettVlly (14.5%) 2007: Very dark color; fairly bright/Syrah/spicy/blackberry strong c-c/black pepper light cedary/pencilly/oak rather Rhonish/roasted/espresso fairly complex lovely nose; quite tart/tangy bright very spicy/blackberry/Syrah c-c/peppery light pencilly/toasty/oak bit metallic/tannic slightly aged/tired flavor w/ light rather astringent tannins; long rather astringent finish that tracks flavor; quite an attractive Rhonish nose but showing a bit tired on the palate.
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2. Bodega Rancho Syrah ThieriotVnyd/SonomaCoast (13.5%) 2007: Ned.color w/ some browning color; rather maderized/oxidized/tired no fruit nose; very tart quite oxidized/sherry over the hill flavor; way too oxidized to tell anything, though the cork was still sound.
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3. Bodega Rancho Syrah QueSyrahVnyd/SonomaCoast (13.7%; www.BodegaRancho.com) Bodega 2007: Dark color w/ some bricking; lovely very spicy/Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry some c-c/black pepper some toasty/oak rather complex beautiful nose; quite tart/tangy very strong blackberry/boysenberry/very spicy some c-c/peppery some toasty/Fr.oak quite complex structured flavor w/ some tangy tannins; very long/lingering very spicy Syrah finish that mimics flavor; still in wonderful shape & going strong; probably several more yrs ahead of it; a beautiful Syrah.
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More biddlefurt from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Bodega Rancho of JDB Wines is the effort of Derek Beitler of the Wagner/Caymus family. His first vintage was these '07 Syrahs. I bought them because of the connection to his brother, KurtBeitler/Boheme. I liked them quite a lot when I first tried them, but have not revisited the wines since then. The www.JDBWines.com Site is pretty useless for information.
The quality of the QueSyrah Vnyd comes thru in that wine loud & clear. That is the vnyd formerly owned by AlRago and now owned by Arnot-Roberts. One of the coldest Syrah vnyds in Calif.
Tom