Cracked this last night w/ leftovers:
1. Qupe BienNacidoReserve Syrah (12.5%) 1994: Dark color w/ slight bricking; lovely graphite/carbon arc/ozone smokey/pungent/FrancoisFreres some green olive/blackberry/Syrah complex nose; soft/smooth/velvety roasted/smokey/pungent/graphite some blackberry/olive/Syrah bit Rhonish flavor; very long smooth roasted/pungent/graphite/FrancoisFreres/oak light blackberry/green olive finish w/ light tannins; a lovely/complex fully mature rather Rhonish Syrah. $23.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Bob Lindquist was one of the first to produce a great Calif Syrah (along w/ Randall Graham, Adam Tolmach; from EstrellaRiver/Eberle grapes; plus John MacCready/SierraVista). He doesn't seem to get a whole lot of recognition on the Syrah circuit. His wines are not particularly dramatically intense or big. They are all about balance. Yet, despite their anemic alcohol levels, they consistently, bottle after bottle, age amazingly well. It will be interesting to see what he does w/ his Estate grape in EdnaVlly, across the road from JohnAlban, come on-line. Bob's another winemaker, like PaulDraper and Adam Tolmach, who never seem to lose their passion for making wines.
Tom