by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 
1. Chapoutier De L'Oree Ermitage (13.9%) 1992: Deep gold color; rich nutty/hazelnutty perfumed some peachy/Viognier tobaccoy some minerally/old Condrieu perfumed/fragrant complex nose; tart/ rich hazelnutty peachy/floral/spicy old Condrieu fat/tobaccoy complex flavor; very long/ lingering peachy/minerally/old Condrieu slight stoney glycerined complex finish; terrific example of an old Condrieu. Steve's mystery.
2. Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Roussanne Stolpman Vnyd 1997: Med.gold color; light floral low key slight piney/oak bit stoney/earthy nose; tart light floral bit stoney/earthy/ austere some minty/spicy/toasty/oak very glycerined flavor; med.long stoney/earthy light floral/fragrant slight toasty/oak finish; seems young & austere and not showing much development yet, needs more age.
3. Paige 23 Santa Barbara County Syrah (14.0%) 2000: Med.dark color; strong grapey/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/Fr.oak slight gamey/earthy nose; tart bit gamey/earthy somewhat gritty tannins/ rough bit blackberry/Syrah slight toasty flavor; med. light gamey/earthy/rustic some Syrah/ blackberry light toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; pleasant/interesting bit rustic Syrah, but just that. Better bargins around at $20.00.
4. Garretson The Aisling Paso Robles Syrah (14.1%) 2000: Med.color; very fragrant/perfumed cinammon/ cloves/toasted coconut very spicy/Syrah/raspberry nose; soft/lush very spicy/cinammon/cloves light oak bright/spicy/Syrah/strawberry almost floral/violets flavor; med.long soft/lush spicy/cinammon/toasted bright raspberry/Syrah finish w/ light tannins; very fragrant/floral almost Zin-like Syrah for current drinking.
5. Garretson The Luascain Rozet Vnyd Paso Robles Syrah (13.8%) 2000: Near black color; beautiful/ intense pungent/smokey/slight espresso/toasty/oak very strong licorice/boysenberry/Syrah slight chocolaty/Dr.Pepper nose; big/rich intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah some toasty/pungent/ Fr.oak bit licorice/gamey bit hard/tannic flavor; very long smokey/pungent/mocha strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice finish w/ some tannins; loads of intense Syrah fruit but a structure to carry it out for a number of yrs; terrific Syrah at a great price. $23.00
6. Garretson San Luis Obispo Cnty Bassetti Vnyd HdR Cuvee Syrah (13.5%) 2000: Black color; rather stinky/H2S/reduced/gunpowder nose clears eventually to very intense/blackberry/boysenberry/ peppery/black cherry cola some pungent/toasty/mocha complex nose; rather stinky/pungent very intense boysenberry/blackberry/black cherry cola.peppery/spicy toasted/roasted/moch/Fr.oak/ smokey/pungent complex flavor; very long/lingering fairly tannic very intense peppery/Syrah/ roasted/blackberry/boysenberry/cola finish w/ ample tannins; needs age; loads of peppery/Syrah fruit w/ the structure to carry it.
7. Copain Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch Mendocino Cnty (14.5%; www.CopainWines.com) 2000: Very dark color; very intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah some gamey/meaty/mocha/coffee spicy/licorice some NorthernRhone complex nose; tart quite tannic intense boysenberry/blackberry/blueberry/licorice/framboise some mocha/coffee toasty/Fr.oak pungent very spicy flavor; very long tannic loads of pungent/mocha/coffee intense blackberry/framboise finish; needs several yrs & will last 10; some NorthernRhone character; probably the best Mendocino Syrah I've had; terrific wine.
8. Du Mol Syrah eddie's patch Russian River Vlly Sonoma Cnty (14.5%; www.DuMol.com): Kerry Murphy & Michael Verlander 2000: Very dark color; very strong pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak smokey/ pungent/coffee very perfumed blackberry/Syrah/spicy nose; very rich toasty/pencilly/oak smokey/ coffee/pungent very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah tart flavor; very long/lingering perfumed/ pencilly/Fr.oak intense blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry ripe/spicy finish w/ fair tannins; needs several yrs yet; killer Syrah with a great perfuminess to it.
9. Saxum HdRAuction James Berry Vnyd Bone Rock Paso Robles Syrah (14.8%) 2000: Near black color; very intense boysenberry/blackberry/black cherry cola smokey/roasted/mocha very fragrant some toasty/oak nose; tart very rich boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah some mocha/smokey floral flavor; very long blackberry/ boysenberry/Syrah/cola/Dr.Pepper slight mocha/roasted finish w/ some tannins; loads of intense Syrah fruit but the structure & tannins to carry it; terrific Syrah.
10. Testarossa Garys' Vnyd Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands (14.5%) 2000: Black color; very spicy bit herbal strong roasted/espresso/tobaccoy some deep/licorice/blackberry/Syrah complex nose; rich/tart some herbal/spicy buttery/charred/toasty/Fr.oak strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice flavor; very long charred/toasty/Fr.oak bit burnt/smokey/pungent very spicy/herbal blackberry/licorice finish w/ some tannins; needs a yr or two; lots of toasty/pungent character w/ attractive herbal undertones.
11. Epiphany Stonewall Vnyd Ventura Cnty Syrah (13.9%) 1999: Very dark color; lovely/intense blackberry/ boysenberry/Syrah bit volatile/aromatic light toasty/pungent/oak nose; soft rather licorice/blackberry/ Syrah loads of deep fruit light toasty/pungent flavor; soft/fat/rich boysenberry/licorice/blackberry light toasty finish w/ light tannins; loads of blackberry fruit but a bit lacking in structure; rather Oz in style; lacks the classic Ojai spiciness of the Ojais.
12. Ojai Vnyd Calif Syrah Roll Ranch Vnyd (14.5%) 2000: First btl extremely corked, so pull spare from my stash. Very dark color; intense pungent/blackberry/Syrah very spicy/fragrant/licorice light toasty/ pungent/Fr.oak nose; very rich very spicy/cloves/basil/fresh oregano lush blackberry/Syrah/licorice soft fairly tannic flavor; very long/lingering very spicy/oregano lush/blackberry/Syrah/licorice some toasty/pungent/oak finish w/ fair tannins; needs more age. Killer Syrah.
13. Ojai Vnyd SBCnty Syrah StolpmanVnyd (14%) 2000: Very dark/black color; some dusty/earthy very strong blackberry/pure Syrah bit framboise/boysenberry ripe some toasty/Fr.oak/pungent nose; tart bit spicy rich blackberry/Syrah/bright fruit rather hard/tannic some toasty/pungent flavor; long hard/tannic strong blackberry/Syrah slight framboise bit lean some toasty/pungent finish; a bit on the austere/ hard side and needs some age; maybe the best Stolpman Syrah Adam's made yet.
14. Ojai Vnyd SBCnty Syrah ThompsonVnyd (14.5%) 1999: Black color; very intense peppery/boysenberry/ blackberry/chocolaty/huge some pungent/espresso/coffee/toasted oak bit closed nose; huge/tannic intense blackberry/boysenberry/peppery some toasty/pungent/roasted/coffee oaked flavor; very long huge/tannic peppery/chocolaty/boysenberry/Syrah some roasted/espresso finish w/ ample tannins; doesn't seem to have the powerful aromatics of last Spring and may be shutting down a bit; huge/ powerful killer Syrah.
15. Failla Syrah Napa Vlly Phoenix Ranch (14.3%) 2001: Black color; beautiful/complex very perfumed very peppery spicy/blackberry/black cherry cola/boysenberry rather smokey/espresso/roasted very complex nose; tart very intense boysenberry/blackberry/peppery/black cherry cola roasted/espresso/toasty/oak flavor; very long/lingering complex very peppery/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah some roasted/toasty/ coffee/mocha finish w/ fair tannins; lots of Rhonish character w/o the brett; loads of very spicy/ peppery character; stunning Syrah.
16. Lagier-Meredith Mt Veeder Napa Vlly Syrah (14.5%) 2000: Black color; huge/intense boysenberry/black- berry/Syrah/framboise very perfumed slight peppery/dusty light pungent/smokey/oak nose; rich/powerful intense Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry/framboise/licorice bit peppery light pungent/toasty/oak structured flavor; very long/lingering intense framboise/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight peppery very lush light pungent/oak finish w/ soft/round tannins; loads of Syrah fruit and will probably develop much more over the next year but the structure to take it out 10 yrs or more probably; another dynamite L-M Syrah.
17. Qupe Santa Maria Vlly Bien Nacido HillSide Estate Syrah (14.5%) 1997: Dark color; slight herbal/pungent rather strong blackberry/Syrah slight dusty bit coffee/mocha complex nose;  tart bit herbal/green olive near vegetal spicy/blackberry/black cherry light mocha/toasty balanced flavor; very long slight herbal/green olive balanced/smooth blackberry/plummy/black cherry finish w/ modest tannins; lovely balanced some smokey interesting Syrah. Larry's mystery wine.

1. 1. The two whites were served as mystery wines. I knew what they were but didn't know which was was which; totally confident that I could tell blind old Rhone Marsanne from younger Calif Roussanne. I was convinced #1 was the Jaffurs because of the perfume it showed, very much like old Viognier, but was puzzled by the Condrieu-like minerality it showed. I was certain the #2 wine was the Hermitage because of its lean/austere character, but was puzzled by the lach of oxidized character and the stoney/earthy character of Hermitage/Marsanne. Totally wrong, of course. The Hermitage was one of the best old Marsannes I've had. But the perfume and fragrance it showed sure suggests that it had some Viognier in there.
   2. The Garretson prices are the futures price from over a year ago. The Ojais are also futures prices.
   3. Paige 23 Syrah: This is a wine created by Chris Keller and Joe Kalina. The grapes come from the JK vnyd and the wine is made by Stephan Bedford. The name comes from the anecdote that if you start writing and don't have a story by page 23, you should stop writing. Don't know if the label flys with the NYC rock group Paige 23 or not. Maybe a lawsuit in the offing?? It's awfully easy to confuse a rock band w/ a btl of Syrah I would guess.
   4. RozetVnyd: This is a relatively new vnyd just west of Paso off Hwy 46W. Has Syrah/Roussanne/ Viognier/Mourvedre/Grenache planted in it. Steve Edmunds also gets grapes from this vnyd. It's a Rhone-varietal vnyd to keep your eye on.
   5. Garretson Bassetti: Puzzling wine to me. I've had this wine twice before and was blown away by its spicy/peppery character. This btl had a lot of small bubbles when I decanted it that seemed to indicate something going on in the btl. Yet it didn't have any prickle on the palate to indicate a problem. The nose was quite stinky at first, but by the end of the evening, it had cleared to the old Bassetti I had liked so much before. The next morning it had just a whiff of bretty/funky character but still that same intense peppery/blackberry character. The wine has a fair amount of sediment, so needs to be decanted and probably allowed to breathe for awhile. I checked w/ Mat on this wine and he's not seen any problems with it. Afore btlg, it tested zero for brett/ML and all those sort of bugs, so don't understand this btl. Will try another one again soon. All in all, I think it's a killer Syrah, one of the best Paso Syrahs I've had. Ellis Bassetti's vnyd is way out west of Paso near Cambria. One of the coldest Syrah vnyds in Calif. Steve Edmunds and Augie Hug take grapes from here as well. If you can ripen the grapes, it's one of Calif's great Syrah vnyds. Big if, though. This year, except for a small lot Steve Edmunds took in, Ellis lost nearly his entire crop.
   6. DuMol: Co-owner Michael Verlander is the founder/part owner of Prima restaurant & wine shop in Walnut Creek, always one of my must-stops when I go to the Bay Area. I always walk into the wine store with the intention of buying only a few btls of something special. I always walk out with at least a case... of something special. Happens every time. The food in the restaurant is some of my most favorite Italian food in the USofA. I had had the Chard by the glass last time I ate at Prima and liked it quite a lot... not my favorite varietal. I was mightly impressed by this Syrah  and am looking forward to trying the finne Pinot. A winery to keep your eyes on.
   7. Syrahs Made By Pinot Producers: Whenever I taste the Dehlinger Syrah, I always find a perfuminess to it that is also apparent in his Pinots. I was also struck by the perfuminess of the DuMol, Copain, and the Testarossa. Somehow, those Pinot producers seem to evoke a fragrance in their Syrahs that you don't always/often find in other producers. But, then, maybe I'm totally nuts, too.
   8. Saxum Syrah: This bottle was the HdR Auction lot bought by Roger & Joy Swan of TheWineOutlet in Atascadero. It tasted essentially the same as the btl I had a few months earlier w/ Justin down in Paso. One of the best Paso Syrahs made, terrific wine.
   9. Epiphany Syrah: This wine is the inaugural effort by Eli Parker under his own label. Quite a well made Syrah, I thought. What grabbed my attention with this wine is the Stonewall Vnyd in Ventura County/Ojai. The only Ojai Syrah I had had before was the RollRanch that Adam Tolmach makes. I understand the vnyd is infected by Pierce's disease and shan't be producing much longer. Too bad I think.
   10. Ojai Thompson: This btl was one of two that Michael & Adam stumbled upon sitting in the UPS warehouse for who knows how long and sent on to me to share with my group. They probably figured we are so smitten by the Ojai wines that we'd drink 'em even if they were destroyed by heat!! :-) Actually, there was no signs of leakage around the cork and I could taste no signs of any heat damage whatsoever. I agree w/ LarryArchibald that the wine may be going into a dumb/shut-down phase; it didn't seem to have the powerful aromatics it had last Spring when we first tried. Somebody's lose is our gain here.
   11. Ojai Syrahs: I've followed Adam Tolmach's Syrahs from the very start; the '82 EstrelleRiverVnyd Calif/ PasoRobles Syrahs. It's certainly been an exciting journey, with nary a misstep along the way. Since the early '90's, as his Syrah style as moved away from a Burgundian, emphasis on toasty Fr.oak, to much more of an emphasis expression of the fruit and terroir; I think they have become, consistently, vineyard by vineyard, nearly the best Syrahs produced in Calif, definitely world-class wines. Despite their intensity and power, they still show a sense of restraint; seldom can they be characterized as "over-the-top". Adam's Calif (now SantaBarbara) Syrah have been, year-in and year-out, one of my no-brainer buys. Probably more of this wine, per capita, here in LosAlamos than anywhere else in the world outside OakView. His Ojai Red and Ojai White are.... well... it's dishonest to buy wine this good at that price ($12). Of the single vnyd wines, the Stolpman has been, over the few yrs of its existance, the least interesting of the tableau. But with vine maturity, it continues to improve and will probably be as good as the rest eventually. The RollRanch and the Thompson have consistently been my favorites, some yrs one, some yrs the other. The Thompson for its sheer power and weight, plus that peppery spiciness that it usually displays. The RollRanch, usually a softer & fatter wine, has a unique spiciness to it, a bit like fresh basil and oregano, that I find absolutely intriguing. The BienNacido is probably the most pure expression of Syrah fruit that Adam makes, with a pluminess and black cherry character that seems to typify BienNacido fruit.
   12. Failla Syrah: This is the first Napa Syrah for Ehren Jordan under his own label. I was expecting it to be a softer/less-interesting version of his QueSyrahVnyd Syrah. It was not. It had much the same peppery/cold-climate character of that QueSyrah vnyd w/ much the same NorthernRhone character that one usually displays. An auspicious debut for this vnyd. The label used to be Failla-Jordan, he & his wife's last names. Under threat of a lawsuit by Tom Jordan, Ehren has dropped the Jordan name on the label. Probably a good thing inasmuch the Jordan Cabernet would be besmirching that name on Ehren's label.
   13. Lagier-Meredith Syrah: I've followed the L-M Syrahs from the very start, though we barely got in on the '98 afore it sold out. It has become a must-buy for me now. Steve & Carole poured the 2000 in June at HdR & I liked it quite a lot, but wasn't blown away by it. I hade it again in October just afore release and liked it much more. Then Larry Archibald served it (blind) at his tasting last Monday and I identified it as the Gourt de Matens acause of its intensity of fruit. This time is easily the best the wine has shown.... huge intensity of Syrah fruit but the structure & tannins to take it far out into time. Definitely one of Calif's great Syrah vnyds... if a bit hard to get to.
   TomHill