Tried these two together last week:
1. Lagier-Meredith Syrah MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.4%; 560 cs) 2008: Very dark color w/ very slight bricking; strong blackberry/Syrah bit less peppery some cedary/pencilly/Fr.oak some MtVeeder/spicy slight Rhonish/floral complex lovely nose; lightly tart quite smooth/almost silky light cedary/pencilly/oak some blackberry/Syrah/slight licorice/slightly less spicy some Rhonish/roasted flavor w/ modest smooth tannins; very long/lingering some cedary/pencilly/oak lighter blackberry/Syrah/spicy fairly smooth/lush bit peppery bit complex finish w/ light smooth tannins; showing some maturity and probably in a perfect place right now but should go another 5-10 yrs I would guess; pretty terrific right now.
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2. Lagier-Meredith Syrah MtVeeder/NapaVlly (14.7%; 410 cs) 2018: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah/rather peppery classic MtV/spicy light toasty/oak very aromatic very slight alcoholic beautiful intense nose; some tart/tangy very strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/peppery classic MtVeeder/spicy quite structured light toasty/oak youthful/primary flavor w/ ample chewey tannins; very long/lingering very strong blackberry/Syrah/peppery/very spicy light toasty/oak quite structured finish w/ ample ripe tannins; loads of primary Syrah fruit & really good drinking but needs more age to soften the tannins; will be a terrific Syrah down the road.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Steve & Carole continue to make one of the best Syrahs in Calif. This was an interesting comparison of their Syrahs. Despit the higher tannins on the palate, I preferred the '18 for its greater intensity. But I wouldn't throw either one of these out of bed.
Tom