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. ThreeRivers of WallaWalla ColumbiaVlly Syrah (14.3%; www.3RiversWinery.com) 2001: Dark
   color; rather smokey/toasty/dusty/meaty slight herbal rather blackberry/blueberry/Syrah some roasted/espresso bit alcoholic nose; soft meaty/pungent/smokey earthy/dusty licorice/blackberry/Syrah flavor; med.long meaty/smokey light pungent/roasted fairly blackberry finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; very attractive classic WashState
   Syrah at a good price. $24.00
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2. K-Syrah MilbrandtVnyd/WahlukeSlope/ColumbiaVlly (13.5%; www.K-Syrah.com) 2003: Very
   dark color; rather peppery/spicy/toasty/oak spicy/blackberry/Syrah bit Rhonish/charred/pungent nose; soft very rich/lush blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice/chocolate some toasty/oak/Rhonish flavor; very long toasty/roasted/pungent very ripe/blackberry/Syrah slight earthy/dusty finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; very/very good WashState
   Syrah w/ some ersatz/Rhonish character. $29.00
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3. Consilience SantaBarbaraCnty GreatOaksVnyd Syrah (16.5%; 175 cs) 2002: Very dark color;
   rather carbon arc/pencilly/toasty/minerally pretty alcoholic very ripe/overripe licorice/ boysenberry/ Syrah interesting nose; dreadful sour/bitter hot/alcoholic/fumey weak boysenberry/jammy flavor; very unpleasant bitter/astringent/sour light boysenberry/overripe finish w/ some/lots(?) tannins; sorta OK nose but terrible on the palate;grossly overextracted; DNPIM. $28.00
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4. Consilience HamptonVnyd/SBCnty Syrah (16.0%; 208 cs) 2003: Black color; rather fumey/
   alcoholic very ripe/overripe blueberry/boysenberry/Syrah some toasty/oak nose; soft/fat
   overripe/boysenberry/blueberry/Syrah some toasty/smokey/oak rather hot/alcoholic/fumey/
   burney flavor; fairly tannic hot/fumey/alcoholic overripe/poysenberry/jammy/Syrah finish;
   way too fumey and overextracted; an IncredibleHulk wine. $36.00
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5. Consilience Cuvee Mambo/SBCnty (16.2%; 108 cs; Syrah/PS/Zin/Grenache) 2003: Black color; very ripe/blackberry/boysenberry bit smokey/oak/toasty fairly fragrant nose; soft/fat quite grapey/boysenberry/licorice/chocolaty/plummy slight earthy some toasty/oak flavor; med.long very ripe/grapey/plummy/boysenberry some tannic finish; not as fumey/alcoholic
   as the other two; very overripe/porky and overpriced. $38.00
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6. HalterRanch Syrah EB/PasoRobles (www.HalterRanch.com; 14.5%) 2002: Very dark/black color; deep earthy/boysenberry/black berry/black cherry cola light/toasty/oak bit spicy/jammy
   nose; soft/fat bit tannic slight chalky/earthy ripe/licorice/chocolaty/boysenberry/Syrah slight toasty/oak flavor; med.long boysenberry/blackberry/cola some Paso/jammy bit earthy finish; packed w/ ripe/Paso fruit but some other things therein; interesting/ripe Syrah. $29.00
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7. Blue*Rock AlexanderVlly Syrah (14.5%) 2001: Very dark color; rather spicy/blackberry/Syrah/
   straightforward bit gamey/meaty/green olive slight toasty/charred/oak nose; very soft/fat
   grapey/blackberry/Syrah/straightforward some buttery/toasty/oak flavor; med.short soft/fat
   ripe/simple/blackberry/Syrah finish w/ little tannins or structue; rather interesting nose
   but falls way short of delivering on the palate. $32.00
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8. Enkidu Odyssey RussianRiverVlly Syrah (14.5%; www.EnkiduWines.com; 175 cs) 2004:Dark color;rather toasty/smokeyoak bit medicinal spicy/blackberry/peppery nose; tart rather toasty/
   smokey/charred/oak some blackberry/Syrah slight peppery flavor; long toasty/smokey/oak rather
   blackberry/peppery/Syrah finish w/ modest tannins; quite a lot of oak, maybe a bit overdone.
   $24.60
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9. PaulLato BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly Syrah LongShot (U/U; 14.9%) 2002: Very dark color;
   rather toasty/oak slight earthy/funky very spicy/blackberry/Syrah almost Ojai-like slight pungent/tobaccoy interesting nose; soft spicy/black cherry/black berry/Syrah some toasty/
   charred/oak flavor; med.long rather toasty/charred/oak strong/ripe/blackberry/Syrah finish
   w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; seems a bit short on the mid-palate; interesting
   rendition of BienNacido Syrah but a bit overpriced.
   $41.00 (LA)
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10. ColdHeaven Syrah SecondSin SBCnty Vogelsang/LaPurisma/BienNacido vnyds (13.5%) 2003: Very dark/black color; lovely peppery/spicy/cracked pepper/blackberry/Syrah slight cough syrup light NR/roasted complex nose; tart bit light blackberry/cracked pepper/cola/Syrah light
    toasty/smokey/oak flavor; med.long peppery/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/pungent/Rhonish
    finish w/ some tannins; very attractive/interesting Syrah. $36.00
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11. Foxen Syrah Williamson-DoreVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (14.5%; www.FoxenVineyard.com) 2002: Blackcolor; rather Rhonish/NorthernRhone cracked black pepper/walnutty/roasted strong blackberry/
    Syrah some toasty/oak/espresso complex/lovely nose; tart roasted/espresso/cracked black pepper intense blackberry/spicy/Syrah some tannic flavor; very long cracked black pepper/roasted/espresso intense blackberry/Syrah finish w/ ample tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; a terrific Syrah w/ lots of NR character; great value at $30.00
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12. Bonaccorsi LarnerVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (15.0%; www.BonaWine.com) 2003: Black color; some
    reduced/funky/pungent nose that clears to roasted/espresso/mocha NR/complex intense Syrah/
    blackberry some herbal/forest floor very interesting nose; tart/rich spicy/roasted/smokey/
    espresso/meaty intense blackberry/spicy/Syrah bit toasty/oak flavor; very long roasted/
    pungent/toasty/smokey intense blackberry/Syrah finish w/ ample tannins; needs 3-8 yrs;a bit like an Alban, a bit like an AlainGraillot w/o the searing acidity; terrific Syrah. $48.00
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13. PointConcepcion CuveeJalama CentralCoast Syrah (14.1%) 2002: Med.color; very pretty cherry/black cherry/cola bright fruit slight peppery/spicy very floral/aromatic nose; ;light floral/
    spicy/cherry/aromatic bit lean light peppery/blackberry almost Pinotish flavor; light very floral/aromatic/perfumed cherry/cola/bright fruit finish w/ light tannins; a very lovely
    perfumed/aromatic Syrah rather Pinotish in character.
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14. Viader NapaVlly Syrah (14.0%) DeliaViader/DeerPark/HowellMtn 2002: Very dark color; very
    strong toasty/Fr.Oak bit herbal some licorice/blackberry/Syrah slight smokey/Rhonish more
    Napa Cabernet nose; big/extracted toasty/FrOak slight herbal/Cabish slight blackberry/Syrah
    tannic flavor; med.long toasty/charred/FrOak rather tannic light herbal/Cab some blackberry/
    Syrah finish; needs much age; speaks way more of Napa Cab than Syrah; very pricey at $54.00

1. Consilience: This wnry has always been sort of hit-or-miss with me. Seem to be getting
   lots of misses tonight. The GreatOaks actually hurt when it hit the palate; like sticking
   your tongue betwixt the jaws of a vise and torquing that sucker down. The wines seem to be
   consistently overripe and alcoholic. I'll probably stay on the Club list for another
   year and see what develops.
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2. AlexanderVlly Syrah: This is a region that has never particularly enamored me. I find many
   of the wines quite soft on the palate and lacking in structure. Fortunately, Syrah seems not
   to have caught on much in AlexVlly, which means just a few fewer frogs I have to kiss.
   The Hanna is easily the best I've had from that AVA. This Blue*Rock had a pretty interesting
   nose, but it fell flat on its face when it hit the palate.
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3. Enkidu: New one for me. When I was visiting w/ MikeOfficer several weeks ago & we were
   talking about all the wineries who are making wine at Well's facility, he mentioned Enkidu.
   So, when I saw a btl in BottleBarn, had to try it. Pretty nicely done Syrah w/ plenty of
   oak, but plenty of fruit as well. From the Site (www.EnkiduWines.com), the owner/winemaker
   is Phillip Staehle, formerly of Carmenet. Dog's (golden lab) is, of course, Enkidu. He also
   makes NapaVlly/FazekasVnyd PetiteSirah and SonomaCoast/KainbarellVnyd PinotNoir. I'll
   probably try those as well.
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4. PaulLato: Paul I've known for a fair number of yrs. He's been a sommelier at Hospices for
   many a yr, where I first met him. Makes his wine at the CentralCoast Wine Coop. I've heard
   lots of good things about his Pinot as well.
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5. Viader: First time for me to try a Viader Syrah. It delivered pretty much what I expected;
   a Syrah made by a NapaCab producer. Speaks far more of NapaCab than of Syrah, or even Napa
   Syrah. It seems that so many of the big-name NapaCab producers have started producing Syrah,
   but it comes out tasting more like their Cab than a Syrah. I think there are some really
   outstanding Napa Syrahs being made (Lagier-Meredith, Rocca, AshleyHeisey, EhrenJordan); but
   none by any of the big-name Cab producers. Probably the Shafer Relentless is the best of
   that ilk. A few yrs ago, at the HdR seminar on his Syrahs, I pointedly asked RandyLewis
   what his experience of making quality NapaCabs brought to the Syrah table. He spoke a few
   words, but it was pretty much a non-answer. Maybe these folks should stick to their Cab-
   making and leave the Syrah to folks who really understand the grape. End of rant.
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6. FoxenSyrah: Owwwww...easily the best Foxen Syrah ever made. One of the most NorthernRhone-
   like Syrahs I've had from SantaYnezVlly. I assume this is the first vintage from their
   own estate vnyd. A killer Syrah I thought.
   I've pretty much followed Foxen wines from the very start. They used to be slammed w/
   a ton of new/toasty French oak. The Foxen boys have since gotten far away from that paradigm
   and are now making some of their best wines ever, I think. Their dry CheninBlanc is one of the
   best made in Calif.
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7. PointConcepcion: This Syrah, of course, comes from the famed PeterCargasacchi; SantaRitaHills
   grower extraordinaire. Quite an attractive Syrah and a good first-effort. This btl was a
   replacement for a previous one that was badly corked.
   
   TomHill