| Syrah 2007 Tasting Report |
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For our latest staff tasting, we decided to cover
Syrah, the big brother to last month’s staff
tasting varietal, Petite Sirah. In all we had seven
Syrah wines, two Aussies and the rest from
California. The two Australian Shiraz wines had
a strong showing coming in both second and
third in our tasting. I’d say that with the
exception of the last place wine, which most of us
agreed was corked and that is why I am not
rating it, for the most part, we liked all of the
wines in our tasting. We have a very diverse
group of palates in our tasting panel, which is
what always helps to level the playing field. In
our group, you can’t just have a blockbuster style
of wine; you have to have a wine that is very
approachable now. Some of us really like the oak
spices in the wine and others feel that they get in
the way. So in this regard, our scores resemble
more like the average consumer looking to find a
good bottle of wine rather than some stuffy wine
critic that has his or her own agenda!
Some other interesting notes about the results of
our tasting are how close the vote was for the first
and second place wines and the third and fourth
place wines. The second place wine scored just
less than 4 tenths of a point less than the first
place wine and the fourth place wine scored a
mere 4 hundredths of a point less than the third
place wine. How is that for close? So bottom
line, you could almost say we had two first place
wines and two second place wines.
Our host for this tasting was Cindi and she was
aided in the food preparation by Brad. Together
they created an amazing spread of Spanish style
tappas and were they ever delicious! I’m starting
to believe that the food is getting more attention
than the wines are at these tastings. Great job! It
was a nice and relaxing atmosphere for tasting
some serious Syrah wines. Thank you Cindi and
Brad for a magnificent job of hosting!
And now, here are our tasting results:
Syrah, the big brother to last month’s staff
tasting varietal, Petite Sirah. In all we had seven
Syrah wines, two Aussies and the rest from
California. The two Australian Shiraz wines had
a strong showing coming in both second and
third in our tasting. I’d say that with the
exception of the last place wine, which most of us
agreed was corked and that is why I am not
rating it, for the most part, we liked all of the
wines in our tasting. We have a very diverse
group of palates in our tasting panel, which is
what always helps to level the playing field. In
our group, you can’t just have a blockbuster style
of wine; you have to have a wine that is very
approachable now. Some of us really like the oak
spices in the wine and others feel that they get in
the way. So in this regard, our scores resemble
more like the average consumer looking to find a
good bottle of wine rather than some stuffy wine
critic that has his or her own agenda!
Some other interesting notes about the results of
our tasting are how close the vote was for the first
and second place wines and the third and fourth
place wines. The second place wine scored just
less than 4 tenths of a point less than the first
place wine and the fourth place wine scored a
mere 4 hundredths of a point less than the third
place wine. How is that for close? So bottom
line, you could almost say we had two first place
wines and two second place wines.
Our host for this tasting was Cindi and she was
aided in the food preparation by Brad. Together
they created an amazing spread of Spanish style
tappas and were they ever delicious! I’m starting
to believe that the food is getting more attention
than the wines are at these tastings. Great job! It
was a nice and relaxing atmosphere for tasting
some serious Syrah wines. Thank you Cindi and
Brad for a magnificent job of hosting!
And now, here are our tasting results:
| Veraison “Black Bart” 2002 Stagecoach Vineyard – Rutherford - Napa Valley, California |
Notes – It is a big and burly purple wine
with a spice box nose full of cloves and
blackberries. Complex with great oak and
fruit integration and massive tannins that
made Cindi’s tongue feel fuzzy! This is a
masterpiece in the making, but maybe a bit
too aggressive right now, give it a few
years and it will sing like Pavarotti.
with a spice box nose full of cloves and
blackberries. Complex with great oak and
fruit integration and massive tannins that
made Cindi’s tongue feel fuzzy! This is a
masterpiece in the making, but maybe a bit
too aggressive right now, give it a few
years and it will sing like Pavarotti.
| About $54.00 |
| Score A- |
| Kay Brothers Amery 2003 Hillside – McLaren Vale, Australia |
Notes – Overwhelming waves of vanilla
and sawdust cover the aroma, but despite
the large presence of American oak, it
plays deftly and in tune with the spicy red
fruit on the palate. If you have this wine in
your collection a decanter is your new best
friend! Either give this wine some more
time or decant it for at least an hour and I
promise you’ll be greatly rewarded.
and sawdust cover the aroma, but despite
the large presence of American oak, it
plays deftly and in tune with the spicy red
fruit on the palate. If you have this wine in
your collection a decanter is your new best
friend! Either give this wine some more
time or decant it for at least an hour and I
promise you’ll be greatly rewarded.
| Around $45.00 |
| Score A- |
| Penny’s Hill 2004 Red Dot – South Australia |
Notes – Interesting from the get go with
white pepper aromas and a zippity
refreshing quality about it. On the palate it
is noticeably tart and more acidic than the
others with an army of raspberries to
conquer your taste buds. I thought this
wine was the odd one out in that it was
quite a bit different from all the rest of the
wines. Because it is high in acidity, it may
have been the best food wine in our tasting.
white pepper aromas and a zippity
refreshing quality about it. On the palate it
is noticeably tart and more acidic than the
others with an army of raspberries to
conquer your taste buds. I thought this
wine was the odd one out in that it was
quite a bit different from all the rest of the
wines. Because it is high in acidity, it may
have been the best food wine in our tasting.
| Score B+ |
| About $30.00 |
| Lagier Meredith 2003 - Mt. Veeder – Napa Valley, California |
Notes – A bit hot at first from alcohol, but
soon a parade of cherry and black currant
takes over and ascends into a big mouthful
of flavors on the palate. It is thick and
juicy with friendly tannins that play nicely
on the finish. This wine was more like the
first and second wine than the others. For
just a dollar more, I think the Black Bart
was that much better though!
soon a parade of cherry and black currant
takes over and ascends into a big mouthful
of flavors on the palate. It is thick and
juicy with friendly tannins that play nicely
on the finish. This wine was more like the
first and second wine than the others. For
just a dollar more, I think the Black Bart
was that much better though!
| Score B+ |
| Around $53.00 |
| Cakebread 2003 Carneros - Napa Valley California |
Notes – Your nose is treated to an
extreme amount of oaky vanilla notes that
leave you searching for fruit. Once the
wine hits your palate, red fruits like
cherries finally show up, but there still is a
heavy dose of sawdust and vanilla. I’m not
sure what happened to the body as it was
not as big as the nose implied. All in all
though, it was tasty none-the-less.
extreme amount of oaky vanilla notes that
leave you searching for fruit. Once the
wine hits your palate, red fruits like
cherries finally show up, but there still is a
heavy dose of sawdust and vanilla. I’m not
sure what happened to the body as it was
not as big as the nose implied. All in all
though, it was tasty none-the-less.
| About $45.00 |
| Score B |
| Meadowlark Vineyards 2005 Santa Barbara, California |
Notes - From the moment you dive your
nose into the glass the big tease is on!
Awesome aromas of candied red fruits and
cinnamon spice. It smells so good you can’
t wait to dive in and drink it, but you soon
realize that the oak dominates everything
and masks any fruit that might be there.
Over-oaked you ask? No, not necessarily,
being from the 2005 vintage, this wine is
just a baby and needs time to see what
develops. In time the oak could dissipate
into the background … or not.
nose into the glass the big tease is on!
Awesome aromas of candied red fruits and
cinnamon spice. It smells so good you can’
t wait to dive in and drink it, but you soon
realize that the oak dominates everything
and masks any fruit that might be there.
Over-oaked you ask? No, not necessarily,
being from the 2005 vintage, this wine is
just a baby and needs time to see what
develops. In time the oak could dissipate
into the background … or not.
| Around $36.00 |
| Score B |
| Michael and David Vineyards 2003 6th Sense – Lodi, California |
| Price $17.00 |
| Not Rated |
Notes – Based on the unusual and weird
aromas of burnt rubber and cough syrup
coming from the glass, I believe that this
wine suffered from one of these three
fatalities; it was either corked, cooked or
spoiled by bacteria. No matter what the
culprit was, this wine never had a chance.
aromas of burnt rubber and cough syrup
coming from the glass, I believe that this
wine suffered from one of these three
fatalities; it was either corked, cooked or
spoiled by bacteria. No matter what the
culprit was, this wine never had a chance.
