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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.

Some Syrahs - September 18, 2013

We tried last night (9/18/13) Some Syrahs:

  1. Coursodon Pierre et Jerome Silice AP: StJoseph (14%) Mauves 2010: Very dark color; bit alcoholic strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry slight roasted/smokey/olive tapenade/herbal quite attractive Calif-style nose; soft bit hard/tannic/austere strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry very light roasted/Rhonish/ peppery/ olive tapenade/black olive flavor; long fairly lush blackberry/blueberry/Syrah slight Rhonish/ roasted/black olive finish w/ some hard/austere tannins; needs 3-8 yrs yet; quite Calif in style and only hints of its Rhonish origins; rather pricey compared to the StCosme CdR. $42.00 (WH)
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  2. Gang of Six Syrah DryStackVnyd/BennettVlly (?%) 2008: Med.dark color; bit toasty/oak strong blackberry/black cherry/grapey/Syrah bit alcoholic slight peppery quite attractive nose; soft lush/ripe/ grapey/ blackberry/black cherry slight peppery/earthy flavor w/ light/smooth tannins; med.long bit alcoholic/ripe strong grapey/lush/blackberry/black cherry/Syrah slight toasty/oak rather soft finish w/ light/smooth tannins; a nicely done Syrah that may be a bit on the simple side & lacks structure, but pretty much ready to go now. $nc (KZ)
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  3. Miller Syrah BrooksideVnyd/NapaVlly (15.1%; 127 cs; www.MillerWineWorks.com) 2004: Med.dark color; lovely blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/spicy bit peppery/smokey light toasty/oak some complex nose; bit tart spicy/blackberry/blueberry/Syrah slight smokey/peppery flavor w/ smooth/graceful tannins; med.long strong blackberry/blueberry/cranberry/Syrah/spicy slight smokey/peppery/Rhonish some complex finish w/ light/smooth/polished tannins;a fully-mature/well-integrated Syrah that's quite lovely. $40.00 (MX/Enoteca)
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  4. Lucia Syrah Susan'sHill/SantaLuciaHighlands (14.2%; www.LuciaVineyards.com) Jeff Pisoni/ SantaRosa 2010: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah/licorice bit herbal/celery seed beautiful/ aromatic nose; bit tart very spicy/blackberry/Syrah/licorice slight grapefruity/tangy bit herbal/celery seed/ rosemary rather rich/lush flavor w/ some modest tannins; long tangy/grapefruity spicy/herbal/blackberry/ Syrah/celery seed w/ some round/plush tannins; needs several yrs yet; a wonderful example of SLH Syrah. $44.00 (WH)
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  5. Foxen Syrah ToastedRope SantaYnezVlly (Homage to AndrewMurray; old AndrewMurray RoastedSlope vnyd; 16% Viognier; 14.8%) 2008: Med.color; light blackberry/Syrah some perfumy/floral bit unbuttered popcorn somewhat non-Syrah light/elegant attractive nose; bit tart light blackberry/Syrah rather floral/perfumed slight bitter no oak flavor w/ light tannins; med.long bit tangy/bitter light blackberry/ Syrah elegant slight bitter/grapefruity finsh w/ light tannins; the 16% Viognier pretty much beats down the Syrah character; a lighter expression of Syrah on the somewhat strange side; atypical of Foxen Syrah. $50.00 (WH)
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  6. Neyers Cuvee d'Honneur SonomaCoast Syrah (14.1%) 2006: Med.dark color w/ light bricking; some blackberry/Syrah/cold-climate/peppery rather Rhonish/roasted/smokey/black olive beautiful/complex nose; rather tart/tangy strong blackberry/olive/Syrah rather roasted/cold-climate/peppery fairly Rhonish bit cedary/toasty/oak complex flavor w/ modest/smooth tannins; very long bit tangy/tart some Rhonish/roasted/whole-cluster some blackberry/Syrah/peppery/cold-climate bit cedary/smokey/oak finish w/ some smooth tannins; can use another few yrs; quite a lovely Syrah w/ lots of Rhone character. $48.00
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  7. Neyers Syrah OldLakeVilleRd/SonomaCoast (14.5%; www.NeyersVineyards.com) 2007: Dark color; lovely blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/very spicy some roasted/Rhonish/olive tapenade light smokey/toasty/ oak complex nose; fairly tart/tangy bit hard/tannic lovely blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/black cherry some Rhonish/roasted/smokey/peppery complex flavor; very long some Rhonish/roasted/olive tapenade/ smokey/smoked meats strong blackberry/blueberry/peppery/Syrah finish w/ somewhat hard/firm tannins; a lovely structured cold-climate Syrah that needs another 2-6 yrs. $33.00
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  8. Neyers Syrah OldLakevilleRd/SonomaCoast/PetalumaGap (14.4%) 2008: Very dark color; some pungent/licorice strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah bit eucalyptus/band-aid/brett?? light roasted/Rhonish complex nose; fairly tart light eucalyptuus/band-aid strong peppery/blackberry/Syrah/licorice/pungent some Rhonish/smoked meats/roasted flavor w/ fair tannins; very long pungent/licorice strong blackberry/ peppery/Syrah slight eucalyptus/band-aid/adhesive tape complex finish w/ fair tannins; needs more age; a bit of funky/maybe brett character than in the '07.$40.50
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  9. Neyers Syrah HudsonVnyd/NapaVlly/Carneros (14.1%) 2007: Very dark color; strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah slight band-aid/pungent some peppery/cold-climate/olive tapenade some Rhonish/roasted/smoked meats rather complex nose; fairly tart licorice/pungent intense blackberry/ Syrah/blueberry slight floral/violets some Rhonish/roasted/olive tapenade/graphite/smokey slight peppery/cold-climate rather complex flavor w/ fair tannins; long/lingering very strong blackberry/Syrah/ blueberry/peppery some Rhonish/roasted/olive tapenade slight peppery/cold-climate complex finish w/ fair tannins; needs more age. $48.00
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  10. Neyers Syrah HudsonVnyd/NapaVlly (14.1%; www.NeyersVineyards.com) 2008: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/licorice/pungent some cold-climate/cracked black pepper bit roasted/Rhonish huge fruit/ripe/boysenberry complex nose; tart/tangy/grapefruity slight Rhonish/roasted intense blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/boysenberry slight peppery/cracked black pepper flavor w/ strong/firm tannins; very long/lingering intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light Rhonish/roasted/graphite/olive tapenade finish w/ firm tannins; seems riper and huge fruit; definitely structured & tannic but they are well-integrated and not hard/harsh; needs another 4-10 yrs; a terrific young Syrah. $53.50


And the usual stuff from the BloodyPulpit:

And the usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Coursodon: I've heard lots of buzz about the Coursodon wines but had never tried any. I thought this Silice was a very good StJoseph made in a rather Calif Syrah style and didn't have a lot of Rhonish character I expect from a NorthernRhone. But it's pretty massive & extracted and may evolve into something special, but I think I'd go for a Graillot at that price point.
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2. Gang of 6: This is a wine made at Harrington Wines (or was it Eno?) by Ken Zinns. Not sure who his other five comrades in arms are in making this wine. Grapes came from Jim Mack's DryStackVnyd. It seemed rather grapey and ripe, but spoke of Syrah and quite drinkable; nicely done effort I thought.
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3. MillerWineWorks: This is a NapaVlly operation by GaryMiller. Followed him from the very start when he first showed his wines at one of the HdR tastings. Thought the wines he showed were terrific...one of my "finds" at that particular HdR. I happened to stumble on this '04 at Margaux's Enoteca a few yrs ago and bought it to try. His wines are just as good as ever. Gary's pretty much below most radars, but he shouldn't be. From his WebSite, I gather he's still making wines. No vnyds of his own...just purchasing grapes from some pretty good vnyds.
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4. Neyers: These Syrahs were all made under EhrenJordan's regime. The current winemaker is Tad Borchardt. All indications are that the quality of the Neyers Syrahs will continue to be just as good, if not better, as under Ehren's reign. The Neyers are, and continue to be, some of the finest, cold-climate Syrahs being produced in Calif. I've found the Cuvee d'Honneur (in hommage to ThierryAllemand, Ehren's French mentor) to consistently be one of the best and most Rhonish Syrahs around. But the OldLakevilleRd (Petaluma Gap) and the HudsonVnyd (Carneros) are no slouches in their own right. This particular batch of (mid-aged) Neyers Syrahs were amazingly good, as fine a batch of Syrahs from a single producer I've had in some time.

Between the Hudsons and the OldLakevilles, I thought the Neyers style dominated w/ the OldLakeville showing a bit more peppery/cold-climate character and the Hudsons more intensity of Syrah fruit w/ a bit less Rhonish character.

TomHill

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