Blind tasting of Syrah From Anywhere in which there were 9 Rhones, 6 Pacific Northwest, 2 California and 2 Oz.
2021 Kobayashi Winery Syrah Sans Soufre WeatherEye Vineyard Red Mountain
Two and a half years ago, I said "What a gorgeous, gorgeous wine. This was the perfect wake-up call for someone like me who is tiring a bit of aging Rocks funk and yearning for fresher flavors. Here's a syrah that's so young and yet so right." It's still great, but bottle age has endowed it with concentrated, leathery fruit and gritty tannins and full potential's a ways off.
2012 Pierre Gonon St. Joseph Syrah
My notes mentioned chili-cheese Fritos, dried strawberries and disappointment. It's owner queried other owners of this vintage after the tasting and reports back that yes it is routinely showing a lot of mousiness. I personally don't know how to detect that other than to understand that something's clearly 'off'. One guy in the group did identify it at the time, though; so we have now designated him our Official Rodent Detector.
2020 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde Syrah
I'll borrow from CHEF's review on CT: Deep purple. Intense, youthful nose of blackberry and blueberry with cracked black pepper, herbs and savoury spice. Still primary...energetic on the palate...long, focused finish. Very good with excellence likely ahead.
2015 Domaine Auguste Clape Cornas Renaissance Syrah
Way too young. Blackberry, tomato paste and rough tannins dominate. Hard to drink or assess.
2006 Mollydooker Shiraz The Boxer South Australia
Sweet, VERY sweet, lightly funky, cloying finish. 16%!! Ten thumbs down--which was entirely expected by the person who brought it.
1995 Rosemount Estate Syrah Balmoral McLaren Vale
Mine. Couldn't resist following the Mollydooker with this more demure style Aussie shiraz. The most tertiary wine of the night be far and very well received, though I tasted a hint of soy sauce suggesting that it won't last much longer. Still needed this night as the evening's guest of honor was someone I shared my first taste of Aussie Shirazes with back in the early 90's in Alaska!
2010 Rasa Vineyards Syrah Principia Reserve Walla Walla Valley
This was unanimously guessed to be old world, and quite possibly an Hermitage. Clearly not, but wow what a wine, even with 14.5% alcohol. Excellent.
2020 Maison les Alexandrins Cornas
First impression was high acidity followed by no funk, no noticeable tannins, no anything-specific, and in the end no fans. Eh.
2012 Rhys Pinot Noir Horseshoe Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains
High acid, very aromatic, perhaps a bit of cedar, dust, elegant and complex. Great showing.
2012 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah The Contender Walla Walla Valley
My wine. Decanted at home for two hours before. A great showing with mixed black and red fruit, garrique, green olives, cured meat and black truffle. Good acidity keeps the density in line. My faith in this producer re-affirmed once again.
2022 Cayuse Syrah En Cerise Vineyard Walla Walla Valley
Young, sweet, dense and funky with as much bacon fat as I've tasted on a syrah in a long time. Some alcoholic heat plus all the rest suggests Washington. Good though.
2017 Savage Grace Wines Syrah Red Willow Vineyard Yakima Valley
This was impressive. A Washington State syrah with a remarkable low alcohol at 12.8% that drinks like the a top tier French wine. Michael Savage's wines go under the radar, and they shouldn't. One of the best of the night.
2012 Dehlinger Syrah Altamont Russian River Valley
The group guess went to California, and we weren't wrong. Shows okay enough now but might be fading.
2009 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde Syrah
Luscious. Everything in the right place with both energy and elegance. Outstanding.
2015 Dauvergne Ranvier Côte-Rôtie Face Sud Syrah
Lightly smokey, some burnt rubber, definitely CR, and decent acidity. Very nice.
2004 Château de Beaucastel Châteauneuf-du-Pape Red Rhone Blend
My ringer, which I decanted at home for two hours before. Black currant and sage (garrique) were prominent and layered with dusty tannins. Great finish. With Beaucastel you don't always get perfect bottles, but this was one.
2022 Le Vieux Pin Syrah Cuvée Classique Okanagan Valley VQA
Wow, a BC wine and for once it wasn't me who brought it. Lightly sweet and salty at the same time, opening on blueberry notes and heading into sagebrush. Finish is a little short with dry tannins--needs a lot more time, but great potential here considering the house and vintage. The entire group voted for France--but it's from one of British Columbia's best producers and they nail Northern Rhone syrah.
2023 Gilles Robin Crozes-Hermitage Papillon Syrah
Youthful nose and not sweet, but the alcohol's noticeable and the group suspected it more likely to be Californian. Not so!
2018 Delas Frères Crozes-Hermitage Les Launes Syrah
The funk and green olive nose suggests France but the ripe, sweet palate reads more like a PNW syrah. Again, not so!