TN: American Syrah

Notes from a blind tasting of American Syrah:

2020 Margerum M5 White - A blend of 47% Grenache Blanc, 12% Marsanne, 17% Roussanne, 9% Viognier and 4% Picpoul Blanc; Alc. 13.2% this wine was light yellow and had a nose of ripish fruit with citrus tinges, and a clean medium length finish. Very nice.

1997 Ojai Syrah Roll Ranch Vineyard – my wine (had been in the cellar since release). Clear red with only hints of amber at the edges, a nose of dark cherry/plum fruit and roasted meat – very Rhone-like. Long smooth finish. Sadly, my last bottle.

2017 Delmas Syrah SJR Vineyard – this Oregon syrah had a clear medium red colour, and a nose of berries and red fruit. Well delineated flavours and a long clean finish. Very good.

2014 Arnot-Roberts Syrah – this young Sonoma wine with a deep red colour and nose of dark, ripe, sweet fruit, clean on palate with a clean terminal acidity – not as sweet as the Delmas,

2016 Avennia Syrah Arnaut Boushey Vineyard – another one from my cellar, from Yakima, and the first one Ihave opened to try. Notable cocoa nose, the colour still more purple than red, smooth on palate with menthol and red/black fruit and very good length. Needs time, but light on its feet – not as heavy as the California wines.

2017 K Vintners Syrah Powerline Vineyard – a new producer for me (Walla Walla), dark and sweet but it has already come together quite well and was smooth, balanced with a medium length clean finish. Interesting wine.

1989 Ch. d'Arche Sauternes – half bottle from my cellar and a quite dark amber colour, it showed some oxidation in the nose and reminded me of an apricot wine that Ste. Chapelle in Idaho used to make. Nonetheless, still pretty decent with cheese.

PS - I served Harira soup with the wines and the spiciness of the soup went well with the syrahs.

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting set of wines. Having the K Vintners and Arnot-Roberts is the same tasting is about as extreme as you can get in terms of polar opposites.

I am a Rhone fan so prefer the leaner Northern Rhone style, but it was interesting to try a bunch of American syrahs to compare. Some of them reminded me of the days when Cabs and Zins from California were often crafted to be fruit bombs because that was what seemed to interest the critics at the time , who gave them high ratings.

That style of wine seems to work better with some other varietals than syrah (e.g. Turley Petite Sirah).

I am a bit out of touch with Washington state Syrahs (Jenise will be much more au courant than I am) but I was favourably impressed with the Avennia - liked the lighter style.

[David M. Bueker]

So I take the Arnot-Roberts was the Sonoma Coast bottling? They don’t do a straight Sonoma.

That's right - Sonoma coast.

[Jenise]

Definitely interesting stuff. I don't buy K wines because I detest the mysoginist owner; good thing someone else brought one as you'll never get one from me!

Had I been there you'd have had another Arnot-Roberts, a recent release that got Antonio Galloni's first 100 point rating. A-R syrahs are some of the best I've had from anywhere in recent years. I brought an A-R Clary Vineyard one to one of your lunches last summer, may have been Terrine Day. I've also brought Delmas. I have the one you had at this lunch but haven't opened one yet.

Interesting that you liked the Avennia so much. I'm not a fan of lactic-vanilla flavors and Chris Peterson's syrahs seem to lean that direction, so I've not bought any more since my first purchase many years ago. I did not think of them as light, FWIW.

[David M. Bueker]

Jenise - which Arnot-Roberts wine are you referring to that got the 100? I ask because he gave a 2016 Pax Syrah Sonoma Hillsides 100 points several years ago.

Definitely interesting stuff. I don't buy K wines because I detest the mysoginist owner; good thing someone else brought one as you'll never get one from me!
.

CharlesSmith was doing a Seminar on his wines at one of the HdR's. There was some problems w/ the computer projecting his
slides on the screen and they were not going in the right sequence. So he turned to the lady who was operating the computer,
presumably some lady on his staff. "You're the kind of person who would probably fuck-up a blow job". You could hear a gasp around
the audience. Most people, not knowing Charles, were mortified.
I went up to her afterwards and apologized & told her his comment was totally uncalled for. If she was his staff, she was probably
used to it by then.
Tom

That's inexcusable behavior. I don't care who he is or what he does.

That's inexcusable behavior. I don't care who is or what he does.

Without a doubt inexcusable. But that outrageous behavior is part of his shtick. His talk was loaded with the f-word.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

He’s loaded with something…

[Jenise]

David, it's the '21 Que Syrah.

[David M. Bueker]

Thank you Jenise.

[Jenise]

David, obviously I was wrong about Galloni and 'first', but I confirmed that he nonetheless he did give the '21 Que 100 points. His description:

The 2021 Syrah Que Syrah Vineyard is the greatest wine I have ever tasted from
Duncan Arnot and Nathan Roberts. It emerges from Roberts' home vineyard in the
Taylor Lane district that includes other notable vineyards such as Summa and
Thieriot. The Que Syrah dazzles from the very first taste. Red/purplish fruit, blood
orange, mint and rose petals all soar out of the glass. The purity of the flavors is
simply captivating. At times, the 2021 has a Pinot-like finesse, but the Syrah aromatics
and structure are there, buried underneath the fruit. The 2021 is totally dialed in. It's a
magical wine that will thrill readers lucky enough to find it.
100 points Drinking Window: 2025 – 2041, tasted January 2023

[David M. Bueker]

No worries!

I’ve had Que Syrah and enjoyed it, just not that vintage.

[Jenise]

I had a different Arnot-Roberts, a young entry-level, that just blew my mind for QPR. Went to their website hoping to find/buy more, and it turned out that this Que was being released that very day. I jumped on it. Have not opened a bottle, but wouldn't hesitate to open one with friends to get an early read on it.

Interesting wine selection, Bill. Fun fact: I knew both of Margerum's parents: his dad Dale was a colleague of mine in the Chemistry department (and former head) and his mother Sonya was the long-time mayor of West Lafayette, IN and a fixture in the local Democratic party.

I've liked the Arnot-Roberts Syrahs I've had quite a bit, but the QPR has not impressed me. And Adam Tolmach at Ojai has, according to the Lindquist family at Qupé, regained balance in his Syrahs after a decades-long dalliance with overextraction. Tom Hill I'm sure has all the details of this return to form.

Mark Lipton

[Jenise]

And almost on-topic: the other day I called a friend and said, "Guess which WA winemaker got picked up in a prostitution sting in Portland and just closed his tasting room and moved to France?" She guessed Charles Smith. Wrong, but for the reasons Tom mentions, a good guess!