Blind tasting of 15 Syrahs and 5 Rhone red blends

Our blind tasting group held its monthly tasting recently to blind taste a theme of Syrah and red Rhone blend varietals from California which was honoured by most of our members with 4 obvious exceptions.

We had 16 people and 20 wines, all brown bagged and served without grouping Syrah vs. blends in 1 flight of 6, 2 flights of 5 and 1 flight of 4. Overall, there was an excellent showing confirming the high quality of CA Rhone varietal wines with varying degrees of taste profiles, mostly as a result of warm and cold climate sourced fruit and varying degrees of maturity.

We individually score each wine and vote at the end of each flight for the order of our preference. With varying palates all over the place, I find it quite amusing at the interpretations we get for the sane wine amongst 16 different palates.

Blind tasting are always enhanced by less table talk during the scoring period so that each gets what they translate into a score/ order placement without influence from other input.

Prior to sitting down for the first flight, 2 starter wines were provided by our host, the former owner of Jaffurs Winery and the venue for this tasting.

Starter wine #1- 2017 JAFFURS WINE CELLARS BIEN NACIDO VINEYARD SANTA MARIA VALLEY VIOGNIER- Viognier from this producer has been stellar over the years and this was no exception; It did have a different profile than what I expected in that there was an earthy, musty, chalky character not recalled from earlier vintages; also, this had more minerality than previous samplings; it had an oily texture to carry the lemon and lime fruit to the back end.
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Starter wine #2- 2017 JAFFURS WINE CELLARS THOMPSON VINEYARD SANTA BARBARA COUNTY GRENACHE BLANC- another gem from the gem of all local vineyards that Craig has sourced for exceptional quality Syrah over many, many years; this was crisp, lean and focused giving mineral driven honeysuckle accented melon, apple and pear notes.
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First flight of 6 served blind:

2014 SAMsARA TURNER VINEYARD SANTA RITA HILLS SYRAH- Yes, the spelling is correct with the lower case s; I’ve had only a few wines from this producer, Chad Melville, who is the son of my friend and owner of Melville Winery, Ron Melville ; following the dark, inky color came a nose that brought a smile to my face as I love pepper in Syrah and this had it in spades; another preference I have for Syrah is the predominance of blueberry fruit and this had it too; you can safely guess I’m going to score this wine high up in the flight; some spice and minerals also compliment the taste profile and the smooth texture from the soft tannins make this extra special; yes, I had it #1 in the flight, but after some stiff competition.
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2008 MELVILLE ESTATE VERNAS SANTA RITA HILLS SYRAH- this is made from 7 different clones from the estate vineyard, Estrella, Shiraz 1, Tablas 99, 174, 383, 470 and 877; definitely the oldest wine in this flight as determined from it partial rim bricking, the aromatics had a nice and welcoming invitation which upon tasting translated into earth and spice laden blackberry and black currant which past mid palate became dry and therefore astringent; this is one of those that I said to myself “Im liking it” re the nose, “Im liking it” re the initial taste, “Im liking it” re the feel and “not so much” re how it finished. ![fullsizeoutput_219a.jpeg|2043x3110](upload://x7rbf703qv1n1PII37BxTTf46lg.jpeg) 2014 STOLPMAN “ANGELI” BALLARD CANYON SYRAH- nice plum and black currant come in early and continue on in this nicely balanced, spicy and fruity wine; good feel and length and overall satisfaction in this full bodied beauty which competed strongly for my #1 in the flight. ![fullsizeoutput_219d.jpeg|2448x3264](upload://cwvyn3GECuJCwhMz584GxAUoP9d.jpeg) 2015 BECKMAN VINEYARDS ESTATE PURISIMA MOUNTAIN VINEYARD BALLARD CANYON SYRAH- a reserve wine blended from the top lots of the vintage; the color was intensely dark and it suggested youthful vibrance; the color nailed it as it was a highly extracted wine with loads of sweet black cherry in the nose with noticeable, unintegrated oak influence which prevailed thereafter along with licorice and black currant fruit. ![fullsizeoutput_219e.jpeg|2448x3264](upload://7TJeseGHWaWwQVKrUIOMV7hcz92.jpeg) 2016 DRAGONETTE CELLARS SEVEN SANTA YNEZ VALLEY SYRAH- 89% Syrah, 10% Grenache and 1% Viognier; it was first named after the 7 vineyard sites, but now represents precise clones and sites sourced from John Sebastiano Vineyard (54%) Stolpman Vineyard (30%), Kimsey (8%) and Spear (8%); the color had a deceiving, brown purple hue, but the wine was definitely young and vibrant; mint chocolate was first evidenced in the nose followed by black cherry/ berry fruit; good wine. ![fullsizeoutput_21a1.jpeg|2104x3264](upload://7i0BgU61ZSGKCH3kHAXVjQwsjPE.jpeg) 2016 STORY OF THE SOUL DUVARITA VINEYARD SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SYRAH- from a cool climate vineyard located west of the Santa Rita Hills AVA, it was previously known as Pariaso and was the first biodynamic vineyard in the county; the color was a moderate purple; the nose had some pepper, but less so than our first bottle in this flight, but enough; the taste profile included the pepper and spice accents to nice blackberry fruit; it was medium to full bodied and finished like it started. II’ve never heard of this label, but liked the contents.
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Second flight of 5 served blind:

2015 JAFFURS WINE CELLARS BIEN NACIDO VINEYARD SANTA MARIA VALLEY SYRAH- 1-2% Viognier added; II’m bowing to the wine wiht graciousness as the nose is redolent of pepper and spice and I know Im going to like what follows and its the fresh blueberry fruit that makes this the perfect match for lots of love; the wine is beautifully balanced, rich, luscious and long; my #1 in the flight and perhaps on the night.
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2004 OLIVERHILL WINERY JIMMY SECTION McLAREN VALLEY SHIRAZ- 100% Shiraz aged in French oak, 1/3 new; the nose offered a polite invitation and I obliged, thankfully so, as it had a lot of redeeming qualities including dark chocolate and mocha accented black cherry and blackberry with sweet overtones at the end.
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2014 CERRO MITICO MYTHICAL RED RANCHO REAL VINEYARD SANTA MARIA HILLS- I could not find a lick about this producer nor the labelling that denotes Santa Maria Hills vs. the well known Santa Maria Valley; nonetheless, it gave up some goodies including aromatics of licorice, coffee and briary dark fruit; followed by more of the same on the palate along with chocolate covered blackberry fruit that finished as being transmuted into sweetened black cherry.
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2009 CARINA CELLARS SIBYLLINE CENTRAL COAST- 42% Mourvedre, 37% Grenache, 21% Syrah; this was more light weight and had a lighter flavor profile than all before it which understandably were predominantly all Syrah; it had sweetened plum, fig and prune notes from the nose through the tail; it thinned out at the back end; made by Joey Tensley whose home made wines were pretty good before he was even bonded and now he is considered a rock star by many.
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2013 DOMAINE JASMINKA LUCAS & LEWELLEN VINEYARD SYRAH- from a home winemaking endeavor involving one of our members and honoring his wife, this had some burnt toast and coffee in the nose, then sweet dark chocolate dark berries on the palate with smoke and toast most noticeable at the end.
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Third flight of 5 served blind:

2015 CARLISLE SIERRA MADRE VINEYARDS SANTA LUCIA HIGHLANDS SYRAH- 100% warmer climate Syrah; this came off pretty weird and disjointed and once revealed, I was surprised as I’ve had mostly stellar wines from Carlisle across the board; it had lots of dark fruit with an imbalanced dominance of toast and strong coffee.
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2008 JAFFURS WINE CELLARS LARNER VINEYARD SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SYRAH- no surprise here once revealed with a grand showing of this gem giving righteous amounts of sweet black cherry and black raspberry early on and all the way through with accents of toast and later on white pepper; it had some power, but more finesse along with a pleasant mouthfeel; I rated it the best in the flight as did the group.
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2014 les GRANIERES de la NERTHE CHATEAUNEUF du PAPE- a blend of 42% Grenache Noir, 24% Mourvedre, 19% Cinsault, 17% Syrah; this is essentially a second wine, generally blended from the estate’s younger vines; the nose had a hint of pepper and a strong hit of grapey flavors mindful of Welch`s Grape Juice, all of which pervaded throughout.
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2015 GUIGAL COTES du RHONE ROUGE- this carries a rep as being a fine QPR over the years and this bottle sort of held up as such with mild aromas and flavors which mostly included spicy blueberry with some smoke and spice being delivered to the back end in a light to medium weighted texture; it was definitely a “light weight” wine.
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2003 DOMAINE LA MILLIERE VIELLES VIGNES CHATEAUNEUF du PAPE- Brettanomyces dominated this immediately out of the glass; it was the 4-ethylphenol type, giving notes of band-aids, barnyard, horse stable and/ or antiseptic, take your pick.
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Fourth flight of 4 served blind:

2000 ANDREW MURRAY HILLSIDE RESERVE SANTA YNEZ VALLEY SYRAH- decanted in advance; it showed age in the color, had mature aromas of earthy, advanced blackberry fruit in the nose which moved on into to the taste profile, but it was laden with VA which in this case the acetic acid has led to some ethyl acetate and acetaldehyde evidenced by the aromas of dried out straw, roasted nuttiness and nail polish remover, so, I’m presuming this bottle has seen a lot of oxygen.
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2014 TENSLEY TENSLEY VINEYARD SANTA BARBARA COUNTY SYRAH- the vineyard was formerly known as Colson Canyon; this bottle was definitely youthful in color, the nose gave sweet and roasted black cherry, but another hit of VA took over and we got 2 in a row inundated with it; I’ve had this wine before and it was a huge, highly extracted, majorly reduced bomb; so much so, I almost lost my socks. I heard it had once been considered for being classified as a WMD; my dentist loved it for it teeth staining qualities that took extra time and product for the whitening process. It`s a very expensive wine when you add in the fee for the dentist, otherwise, not so much. {no photo}

2010 QUPE SAWYER LINDQUIST VINEYARD SONNIES EDNA VALLEY SYRAH- 100% selected top lots, cool climate Syrah sourced from young vines from this vineyard planted in 2005 using clones Alban 1, Alban PB and Estrella; made using 30% whole clusters, aged in 50% new French oak, decanted for 1 hour with a bit of sediment thrown; dark purple color; the nose had pepper and spice and everything nice; the taste profile had dried black currant which became more astringent at the finish to my despair.
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2013 WHITCRAFT WINERY MY FRIEND MATT`S VINEYARD AKA CLOVER CREEK SANTA YNEZ VALLEY SYRAH- this was an easy quaffer with pleasant aromas, ripe fresh dark fruit and decent mouthfeel; more specifically, the grapey flavors included blackberry, plum, black cherry and blueberry with mild accents of toasted lavender. {out of space}

This was another fine, blind tasting with the troops in the old familiar environs of the Jaffurs Winery barrel room where we have had numerous tastings and where the wines seem to just taste better.

Cheers,
Blake

I recently interviewed Jessica Gasca of Story of Soil on the blog. Very passionate young winemaker. Can’t help but root for her.

Great! Wish I could have been there.

Can you share more about her background, previous cellar experiences, wine making style, vineyard management preferences and the like? If so, thank you in advance.

After I sent the notes out to my email list, I got similar responses especially from members who were not there.

Blake, as always thanks for your notes.

I’ve discovered that I simply don’t enjoy Carlisle wines without at least five years of age on them so I’m not surprised by this showing.

Interesting lineup. I like how there are many producers I’ve never ever heard of before!
I’ve never been a fan of Carlisle’s syrah, which earlier versions had seemed too glossy but do enjoy Mike’s zins and petite sirahs.

Blake - Couldn’t tell if the Beckmen was just too young or if you thought it will remain as it is. I don’t have any of the '15 but have enjoyed it in the past and found it to be a good value for a wine that non-wine drinkers like and that I am fine drinking.

Steve, the Beckman was just too young. I’ve found their wines to to be very big and more fruit forward and in time, leaning toward better balance. This bottle just needs time IMO. It`s got all of the structure to evolve into a much better place than we experienced. BTW, it had the darkest color of all wines on this night.

Totally agree on the PSs.

Thanks. Agree on giving them time. I haven’t opened a '13 yet.

Thanks for the interesting notes.

I guess if I have to ask about why you didn’t post the prices, I can’t afford them :slight_smile:

I don’t have the prices in most cases, plus some of these are brought by the winemaker and a majority are in the “more affordable” price range= $20-40. A quick search on Wine Searcher should be helpful plus they show a market average price for most wines that can help.

I almost never post prices as that is a differential that varies from region and place and age as well as supply and demand. I may refer to a wine being a good QPR, but that’s usually is as far as I take it.

Great post! I need more Jaffurs in my life, but I drink it all too quick! The Bien Nacido Syrah is always favorite of mine.

Blake, have you tried Whitcraft’s ‘16 Syrah yet? They were pouring the ‘14 recently in the tasting room, and by comparison, the ‘16 is next level. I really like the direction Drake is headed with Syrah…

Blake, I know Jessica was working with Mattias at Sanguis and then over at Dragonette for a while. Larry has more info. She has a nice tasting room in downtown Olivas. Pinot is nice as well.

Yes, I tasted it at a local function with Drake pouring it and loved it. Drake stated “I’ve finally figured out how to make Syrah” and I agreed. It had that pepper and spice component I’ve repeatedly stated my love for in these and other TNs. It is a trait found in cool climate Syrahs which we have plenty of sources for in SB County.

BTW the best local Syrah I’ve come across IMHO other than just about every one Jaffurs has made, especially with Thompson fruit, comes from ABC. Jim blended varying amounts of Viognier into them and they are absolutely fabulous and long living.

Thanks Ryan

That’s a great lineup. You may like the Beckmen Purisima Vineyard Mountain Grenache (or PMV Grenache). It’s consistent every vintage I’ve had it in over a decade. The blend is usually over 90% grenache and completed with syrah which seems to richen it up. One of my favorites from Beckmen every year. Some of their 2015 syrahs were massive wines that can cellar for decades (Block 6 for example). Last year they sold some 1999 Purisima Syrah in the library section of the winery (same 2015 bottle you had) and it was still going strong.

Very interesting and impressive list of wines, my friend. And no surprise about your favorite Wines in each flight. It is a little challenging having wines with such different bottle ages on them together, no? And bummed that I wasn’t able to sneak any of my wines in there :slight_smile:

Ryan pretty much summed up everything about Jessica. She’s making some very interesting wines and is above all a wonderful person. She has a very cute Tasting Room in downtown Los Olivos that should be visited when people come to the area.

Cheers

I have had and very much enjoyed the Purisima Grenache, in fact, I’ve been tracking Beckman wines since inception as Steve is distant friend who I like as much as the wines.

Thanks for the tips that serve as reminders that I need to re-visit their wines more frequently.