TN: ObsidianRidge Syrah '05...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

My Produttori last night was too tough to take, so I cracked:

  1. ObsidianRidge Syrah ObsidianRidgeVnyd/RedHills/LakeCnty (15.3%; 3 brls;
    www.ObsidianRidge.com) Napa 2005    : Very dark, near black color; strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/slight boysenberry bit black pepper/black olive bit smokey/smoked meats/Rhonish/earthy quite complex beautiful nose; lightly tart very rich very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah some peppery/cold-climate fairly earthy/dusty bit loamy/compost pile light toasty/smokey/oak some Rhonish/smoked meats structured complex flavor w/ light bit hard/rustic tannins; very long lightly tart bit hard/drying strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/spicy lightly black pepper some earthy/loamy/rustic bit smoked meats/Rhonish almost Cornas/rough/rustic complex finish w/ light hard/rough tannins; quite an interesting Syrah that reminds more of rustic Cornas than Calif; one of the best LakeCnty reds I’ve ever had; probably on the downside but very interesting Syrah. $30.00 (SWC)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. ObsidianRidge: Who be they?? There is a ObsidianRidge wnry on the LakeCnty WebSite listed. Located in Kelseyville. Going to that link takes you to Tricycle Wine Partners on ArnoldDrive in the town of Sonoma. From the map there, ObsidianRidge is clearly in LakeCnty, but on a ridge in the MayacamasMtn range, which apparently extends into LakeCnty. They clearly are one in the same, but seem to downplay any LakeCnty connection & emphasize their Napa connection. The import oak from Hungary to make their own barrels. PosiedenVnyd is their other source of grapes, down in the Carneros. A bit of a strange operation to me. Focus is on Cab.
    Tom
2

Tom,
Taransaud created a joint venture with them and now sells the barrels under the Kadar brand.

Guess who sold them??

The wine is made in Sonoma on 8th St…next door to fifty others.

They also.make Cabernet under this label and Pinot and Chardonnay under the Molnar Family and Poseidon labels. Carneros fruit from a vineyard they own is used.

All these wines are well priced…something people seem to appreciate…

3

Thanks for the inside info, Mel. I saw they had an Hungarian connection & were bringing in oak
from Hungary. Anything to particularly commend Hungarian oak for?
Tom

4

They are very good for Zinfandel as the trees grow on volcanic tufa, and thus are very dense. This helps preserve the fruit.

When Taransaud got involved, they built a new stave mill up where the forests are. Previously, the wood had been dried in the Budapest region. The wood was stacked loosely and the WIND AND RAIN were allowed to blow through. The wood was dried for the same period but differently and this changed the nature of the flavor in the wine from ‘Christmas punch’ to something much more subtle.

I think this shows how relatively minor changes can make for very different results.

The oak is the same species as French, so the wood is very versatile.