Made you look. And I appreciate you doing that, as I wanted to at least put a light on what is a 10 year old CA syrah that has roots in the older world. It’s laudable that Pax followed his path and made wines that honored the Northern Rhone style. This does have a CA imprint, especially of the 2006 vintage which does flavor up the cherry but this all works for me and it’s terrific. Happy new year and thanks for reading.
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2006 Wind Gap Wines Syrah Sonoma Coast - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (1/2/2017)
7 years in between bottles, probably my longest span with any wine since I got on CT. I’ve had this stored since I bought it and the sediment trail up the side speaks to the length of time this has been resting. This has held up well and reminds me a lot of the 1998 Jamet we had last month. Tangy sweet cherry, pepper, cooked meat, olive and soy sauce. There is plenty of remaining acidity here, which marries nicely to the cherry fruit, which also remains vibrant. Light menthol, hard cherry candy and olive close the tangy finish. I sentimentally held this final bottle for a long time, as it was the first release after Pax left his original project and started Wind Gap–the wine makes me smile, it reminds me of how well CA syrah can do in this more classical style. For $35, it’s a helluva lot cheaper than doing Jamet from the same time period, that’s fo sho! It’s in a good place right now and so I’m not sure what more age could/would do and so drink up and enjoy, or age a bit more and let the next set of flavors pop through.
Posted from CellarTracker
Thanks Frank. My Sonoma Coast Syrah holdings start with 2008, so still some time to develop. Love what Pax does at Wind Gap.
Buek, I am glad you read the post. You know these wines and buy them, so it’s cool to share the bottle with you virtually. Impressed with the pepper and tangy cherry in this bottle. Drank just past a 1/3rd of it and given the low ABV, I don’t feel clubbed over the head!
Now I know what I need to open tomorrow. It may not be Sonoma Coast Syrah, but it will very likely be Wind Gap.
The oldest US Syrah I remember cellaring was the 1991 Havens, and it was excellent at 20+ years old.
Funny you should post this, as I brought up a 2006 Jemrose Gloria’s Gem (50/50 blend of Syrah and Merlot) tonight and after reading your note, pulled the corked. I bought a mini-vertical (2006-2008) at last year’s Berserker Day Auction, this was the first opened. I have had a few Jemrose Grenaches in the past, but never this.
Beautiful nose, a deft touch of oak. Tons of sweet fruit on entry, fully mature with a smooth finish. Label says 15.5%, which floors me, I would never have guessed, as the alcohol does not intrude in the least.
Crushed an '01 Arcadian Gary’s Vineyard Syrah tonight, 'twas delicious and I can’t wait to get some more of Joe’s wines. CA Syrah might take some time but it’s well worth it.
I remember fondly halves of the 1993 for $5. Today, I taste CA Syrah once in a blue moon. Does anyone make anything like the early Havens wines?
Paging Alan Rath:
Mid to late '90s Dehlinger estate Syrahs are drinking wonderfully now.
There’s not a single Lagier Meredith Syrah that’s over the hill (1998 was their first commercial vintage). Most have not yet reached their peak - very long-lived.
I have these too. I almost mentioned them in my post above, however these haven’t developed aromatically the way the Havens did, at least yet. They have held onto their fruit pretty well though.
I second that! I rarely drink them BEFORE they hit age 10.
Frank,
Nice note. Still enjoying some of the older 2002-2006 Pax Syrahs, and have had a few from the '97-'99 era in the last year or two from Jaffurs, Ojai, Betz and Cayuse that were all still showing well. Like a few others, CT shows my earliest domestic Syrah being from Havens. In my case, a 1993 opened about two years ago. That one had a bad cork and was oxidized, unfortunately, but experience with the other bottles convinced me that domestic Syrah can age nicely.
Cheers, ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers")
Steve
Wait how has nobody mentioned Colgin yet? Or SQN… Thats my crack…
Pricing and availability perhaps? Also completely different style.
I’ve had some recent '99, '00, '02 Jaffurs that were in prime time. Also some '05, '06 Io’s and some '02, '03 Ojai’s that were all beautiful. If I could only learn to hold all my CA Syrahs this long, I would be very happy.
At the risk of hijacking the thread, why wouldn’t CA Syrah age? Alcohol level? They certainly have the fruit and the extraction to develop.
Thoughts?
My impression is most would tell you they don’t have the acid backbone.
And I can say I have had a few flabby bottles that did follow that trajectory, as I tasted them both young and then 5 years down the road.
My wake up call was also a Havens, 2001.
I had an '08 Ojai Presidio Syrah last night that is only beginning to show the slightest hint of bottle age in the form of more open aromatics. I can see this going 20 years easily. Long live CA Syrah!