Wind Gap-I need a history lesson

Opened a 2006 Sonoma Syrah. The cork has the name “Nom de Plume” with a corresponding website (not active now, I checked). Was this an early name Pax was considering when he bottled some wine but hadn’t yet labeled it? Or what’s up with this wacky cork?

Chad, not sure myself. Send Pax a note via the website and I am sure he’ll flip you an answer.

BTW, I’d like hearing your thoughts on that 2006. I have just one bottle left, and it’s been some time since I opened one, as the wine symbolizes the history of Wind Gap, being the first syrah. That aside, share your tasting thoughts, as that gives me some guidance as to when I should drink this last bottle.

If my recollection is correct, that was about the time Pax branched out with his own venture, separate from his partner Joe Donelan with Pax Wines. That venture ultimately became Wind Gap, but I remember Pax using that name in the interim.

I recall signing up for Nom de Plume, but Pax sent out an email before the inaugural release that announced that the name going forward would be Wind Gap. I may stand corrected, but somewhat ironically there may have been legal issues with the use of Nom de Plume.

I didn’t take specific notes and it’s been 3 nights, so my memory on details is a little vague. But overall I’d say this wine is in a really great spot right now. I think it will easily hold for another 2 years, then probably start falling off over the following few years. I drank it PnP on the first night, then simply recorked for second night with no notable fall-off. As best I recall, I’d say the nose had some blood/iron elements and a lot of black fruit. Palate was a little more toward the blue fruit range. CT notes have a lot of bell pepper references, but I did not find that. Finish is well integrated, tannins have smoothed out. Cheers!

Chad, big thank you. It’s worth calling out that your note here is only one of four spanning the last 3 years in CT. And, the references to bell pepper, those are arguably aged comments from even further back so we can place them in whatever context we want, I figure.

Hell, I have not drank the wine in over 5 years! Your note and effort on the wine is strong and we’ll take that for reference, buddy.

I’d like to do a Wind Gap dinner in 2015, with the OC gang, and sit back and look at say 8-10 bottles over the course of the body of work and see what we find. For the OC guys who may see this thread, we need to calendar this and do it up.

I’d like this.