| Syrah 2009 Tasting Report |
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| Barrel 27 2005 Head Honcho - Santa Barbara, California |
Nose – This dark and deep red Syrah has a very floral
nose with violets and big rich fruits. On the palate, it
was thick and rich with exotic dark fruit. It is still
pretty tannic and perhaps a little tight right now, but
definitely solid. This was a crowd pleaser and I believe
there was only one person that was not crazy about it.
It was my highest scoring wine, however, once we were
finished, there was a wine that grew on me even more.
See below.
nose with violets and big rich fruits. On the palate, it
was thick and rich with exotic dark fruit. It is still
pretty tannic and perhaps a little tight right now, but
definitely solid. This was a crowd pleaser and I believe
there was only one person that was not crazy about it.
It was my highest scoring wine, however, once we were
finished, there was a wine that grew on me even more.
See below.
| About $33.00 |
| Score A- |
| Napa Cellars 2006 - Napa, California |
Nose – Purple in color and haze! With a nose of
blackberry and eucalyptus that carry over to the
palate. It scores with a little scorched earth and tar,
both traditional in Syrah wine profiles; it is very soft
and pleasing in the mouth. I believe this is the best
wine that Napa Cellars makes. I was surprised at how
close it came to beating the Barrel 27 because no’ one
really talked much about this wine when we were
drinking it, but their scores were very high, so I guess
you could say it was a hit.
blackberry and eucalyptus that carry over to the
palate. It scores with a little scorched earth and tar,
both traditional in Syrah wine profiles; it is very soft
and pleasing in the mouth. I believe this is the best
wine that Napa Cellars makes. I was surprised at how
close it came to beating the Barrel 27 because no’ one
really talked much about this wine when we were
drinking it, but their scores were very high, so I guess
you could say it was a hit.
| Around $25.00 |
| Score A- |
| Jorian Hill 2004 - Santa Ynez Valley, California |
Nose – Conjuring up images of Deep Purple with smoke
in the glass, this wine displayed aromas of bacon, fig
leaf and black currants. Good acidity, making it an
ideal food wine, it was also peppery with black &
blueberry fruit, soft tannins and a semi long finish. This
was another wine that seemed to garner a lot of buzz
from the room. For under $20.00 it is an excellent
value and worth the find. Try Angel’s Beverages on
the Northeast side of Jupiter and the George Bush
Tollway.
in the glass, this wine displayed aromas of bacon, fig
leaf and black currants. Good acidity, making it an
ideal food wine, it was also peppery with black &
blueberry fruit, soft tannins and a semi long finish. This
was another wine that seemed to garner a lot of buzz
from the room. For under $20.00 it is an excellent
value and worth the find. Try Angel’s Beverages on
the Northeast side of Jupiter and the George Bush
Tollway.
| Score A- |
| About $19.00 |
| Alexander Valley 2005 - Alexander Valley, Sonoma, California |
Nose – Purple/red in color with bacon notes and some
feint blackberry aromas. This Syrah was simple and
straight forward with a pleasing palate presence that
was soft, lush and fruity if not overly complex. It was
at this point in our tasting results that things got a little
chaotic. Lots of varied opinions from here on out.
Good, but not of the same ilk as the top three wines.
feint blackberry aromas. This Syrah was simple and
straight forward with a pleasing palate presence that
was soft, lush and fruity if not overly complex. It was
at this point in our tasting results that things got a little
chaotic. Lots of varied opinions from here on out.
Good, but not of the same ilk as the top three wines.
| Score B+ |
| Around $19.00 |
| Hyde de Villaine 2004 - Carneros, California |
Nose – Ruby red in the glass, this displayed classic
Rhone-style aromas of a rustic nature with powerful
waves of beef and bacon fat. You either loved the nose
or hated it! On the palate it was huge with big lush
blueberries, very fine tannins and an extremely long
finish. This wine was an homage to the legendary
French classic Hermitage & Cote Rotie wines. If you
are a wine snob like me, you really get this, if not, that
nose really turns you off. This was my second highest
scorer during the tasting, but eventually this wine wore
me down and became my favorite after our results
were turned in.
Rhone-style aromas of a rustic nature with powerful
waves of beef and bacon fat. You either loved the nose
or hated it! On the palate it was huge with big lush
blueberries, very fine tannins and an extremely long
finish. This wine was an homage to the legendary
French classic Hermitage & Cote Rotie wines. If you
are a wine snob like me, you really get this, if not, that
nose really turns you off. This was my second highest
scorer during the tasting, but eventually this wine wore
me down and became my favorite after our results
were turned in.
| About $65.00 |
| Score B+ |
| Tensley 2006 Colson Canyon Vineyard - Santa Barbara, California |
Notes – Candy red in the glass and highly appropriate
given the fact that the word “candy” became quite the
theme for this wine. On the nose, it smelled like a
package of “Smarties”. The taste was also sweet and
candy-like with more red fruit like cherries or
raspberries than the traditional dark fruits associated
with Syrah wines. It was soft and lush, but in no way
resembled a Syrah wine. I don’t want to imply that this
wine was not good. Quite the contrary, it tasted just
fine. It just did not taste like Syrah is all.
given the fact that the word “candy” became quite the
theme for this wine. On the nose, it smelled like a
package of “Smarties”. The taste was also sweet and
candy-like with more red fruit like cherries or
raspberries than the traditional dark fruits associated
with Syrah wines. It was soft and lush, but in no way
resembled a Syrah wine. I don’t want to imply that this
wine was not good. Quite the contrary, it tasted just
fine. It just did not taste like Syrah is all.
| Around $33.00 |
| Score B+ |
| Sebastiani 2003 - Sonoma Valley, California |
| About $30.00 |
| Score B |
| Concannon 2005 - Central Coast, Livermore, California |
| About $13.00 |
| Score B |
Notes – Semi-dark red in the glass with a funky nose,
perhaps musky offset by a tinge of mint. On the
palate though, it had jammy blackberry and briarberry
fruit that was rich in texture. I had no idea that
Sebastiani even made a Syrah wine. Probably a
mailing list only type thing. Some people thought that
this wine was corked, but if that was the case, to me it
would not have tasted good in the mouth either and it
was fine once you got past that aroma.
perhaps musky offset by a tinge of mint. On the
palate though, it had jammy blackberry and briarberry
fruit that was rich in texture. I had no idea that
Sebastiani even made a Syrah wine. Probably a
mailing list only type thing. Some people thought that
this wine was corked, but if that was the case, to me it
would not have tasted good in the mouth either and it
was fine once you got past that aroma.
Notes – Purple/red in color, smelling like burnt fruit,
stewed tomatoes and a musky vegetal overtone. In a
word, unappealing. I found it thin and watery on the
palate and it seemed like something was very off with
this wine. This was our imposter of the group as it was
a Petite-Sirah rather than a Syrah wine. We did have
someone that really liked this wine and probably saved
it from the bottom rung of the ladder.
stewed tomatoes and a musky vegetal overtone. In a
word, unappealing. I found it thin and watery on the
palate and it seemed like something was very off with
this wine. This was our imposter of the group as it was
a Petite-Sirah rather than a Syrah wine. We did have
someone that really liked this wine and probably saved
it from the bottom rung of the ladder.
| Fess Parker 2004 - Santa Barbara, California |
| About $19.00 |
| Score B- |
Notes – Crimson red with toasty caramel and beef
notes. Very meaty in style with bacon fat flavors
similar to a traditional young Rhone-style Syrah. Still
pretty tannic and tight which was probably holding this
wine back a bit right now as it needs a little more time
to develop in the bottle. Oddly enough, this was the
first Fess Parker wine I’ve ever had. I believe that
winery was in the movie “Sideways”, albeit under a
different name. Was it “Frass Canyon” where Miles
tries to swallow the dump bucket?
notes. Very meaty in style with bacon fat flavors
similar to a traditional young Rhone-style Syrah. Still
pretty tannic and tight which was probably holding this
wine back a bit right now as it needs a little more time
to develop in the bottle. Oddly enough, this was the
first Fess Parker wine I’ve ever had. I believe that
winery was in the movie “Sideways”, albeit under a
different name. Was it “Frass Canyon” where Miles
tries to swallow the dump bucket?
I know that back in December of 2008 we
covered Australian Shiraz, which is in fact of
course, Syrah, but I think this grape varietal is
too hot right now to ignore. There is a
movement in California, Washington and even
Oregon that is catching fire with the rest of
the country, especially with the wine critics
and it is about all things Syrah. For years it
seemed that this varietal would never really
ever get off the ground here in the States, but
after careful site and varietal clone selections,
Syrah is really starting to hit it's stride and
challenge Pinot Noir as the number two big
red varietal in the states. The scores that the
wine critics have been dishing out to these
new vogue Syrah wines are staggering and
pushing Cabernet hard for the top spot in our
country.
I myself have become particularly fond of
Syrah and have made more of a conscientious
effort to collect some great USA versions of
really blowing it out of the water and for
once, the best of the best are not necessarily
coming out of Napa, the way that Napa
dominates in Cabernet Sauvignon. Santa
Barbara, Paso Robles and Walla Walla,
Washington are just some of the household
names being thrown around as the kings of
Syrah. It is truly an exciting time for the
varietal and a great time for those that are
new to it to sample and experiment. So with
that in mind, I really wanted us to get out and
taste some Syrahs this month.
Brad was our illustrious host and provided us
with some great Pork tenderloin, bruscetta
and pasta to eat before getting started. The
food was terrific! Thank you again Brad for
going to all the trouble.
Our results for this tasting were very
troubling. We were very inconsistent as a
group and so I am not sure how much faith I
would put in our results with the exception of
the top three wines. I believe for the most
part, we were all in agreement that the top
three were indeed fantastic. However from
there on, the opinions varied wildly.
Here are our results:
covered Australian Shiraz, which is in fact of
course, Syrah, but I think this grape varietal is
too hot right now to ignore. There is a
movement in California, Washington and even
Oregon that is catching fire with the rest of
the country, especially with the wine critics
and it is about all things Syrah. For years it
seemed that this varietal would never really
ever get off the ground here in the States, but
after careful site and varietal clone selections,
Syrah is really starting to hit it's stride and
challenge Pinot Noir as the number two big
red varietal in the states. The scores that the
wine critics have been dishing out to these
new vogue Syrah wines are staggering and
pushing Cabernet hard for the top spot in our
country.
I myself have become particularly fond of
Syrah and have made more of a conscientious
effort to collect some great USA versions of
really blowing it out of the water and for
once, the best of the best are not necessarily
coming out of Napa, the way that Napa
dominates in Cabernet Sauvignon. Santa
Barbara, Paso Robles and Walla Walla,
Washington are just some of the household
names being thrown around as the kings of
Syrah. It is truly an exciting time for the
varietal and a great time for those that are
new to it to sample and experiment. So with
that in mind, I really wanted us to get out and
taste some Syrahs this month.
Brad was our illustrious host and provided us
with some great Pork tenderloin, bruscetta
and pasta to eat before getting started. The
food was terrific! Thank you again Brad for
going to all the trouble.
Our results for this tasting were very
troubling. We were very inconsistent as a
group and so I am not sure how much faith I
would put in our results with the exception of
the top three wines. I believe for the most
part, we were all in agreement that the top
three were indeed fantastic. However from
there on, the opinions varied wildly.
Here are our results: