Also cracked this last night after stumbling upon this orphan btl whilst looking for my LaTurque '61:
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Alesia Syrah ChilenoVlly/SonomaCoast (14.1%; www.RhysVineyards.com) AlpineRdWnry/Woodside 2004: Very dark color w/ little bricking; beautiful very cold-climate/cracked black pepper quite Rhonish/roasted/smokey/espresso very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/very spicy/peppery/pungent some toasty/smokey/oak some whole-cluster/peppery very complex nose; quite tart/tangy very strong c-c/Syrah/black pepper some w-c/peppery very Rhonish/pungent/roasted/espresso/smokey very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/very peppery some toasty/smokey/oak quite complex/Rhonish w/ light fairly smooth tannins; very long/lingering quite tart/tangy very stron w-c/peppery/c-c Syrah/black epper quite Rhonish/pungent/espresso rather toasty/smokey/Fr.oak very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah quite complex finish w/ light smooth/fully-resolved tannins; this is how Guigal would make a LaLaSyrah in Calif if they could; reminds a lot of the Failla HudsonVnyd Syrah but w/ more intensity and less black olive tapenade/Carneros character; a terrific fully-mature Calif Syrah that may just be a little too much of a good thing for some folks. But not for me.
Tom
$39.00
A wee BloodyPulpit:
- First tasted this back in April 2007:
When first tasted, it was quite reductive & stinky. But like most such reductive wines, that character aged away.
This is, of course, KevinHarvey’s label for Rhys wines made from purchased grapes. I was not expecting a whole lot from this and maybe a bit on the tired side. It way over-delivered.
Tom