TN: Jaffurs Syrahs/BienNacido&Thompson '16...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
1

In celebration of placing my latest Jaffurs futures order, I tried the latest ones over the last few days:

  1. Jaffurs Syrah BienNacidoVnyd/SantaMariaVlly (14.7%; 15 brls) 2016: Very dark/near black color; very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/spicy bit c-c/black pepper classic BN black cherry some toasty/Fr.oak lovely SBC Syrah nose; lightly tart very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe BN black cherry bit peppery some toasty/oak bit alcoholic big/rich/lush/smooth beautiful BN Syrah flavor w/ modest ripe tannins; very long/lingering very strong blackberry/boysenberry/SBC Syrah/spicy bit c-c/peppery strong BN/black cherry/black cherry cola some toasty/Fr.oak beautiful finish w/ some hard/chewey tannins; a classic Jaffurs BN/black cherry Syrah that should go another 5-10 yrs. $37.50 (futures)
  1. Jaffurs Syrah ThompsonVnyd/SBC (14.6%; 10 brls) 2016: Very dark/near black color; very strong pungent/licorice classic Thompson peppery intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah very slight alcoholic some toasty/Fr.oak some complex nose; fairly tart/tangy/bit citric very peppery/classic Thompson intense blackberry/boysenberry/ripe Syrah/very spicy some toasty/smokey/Fr.oak structured bit complex beautiful flavor w/ ample hard/chewey tannins; very long/lingering very strong Thompson/peppery intense blackberry/boysenberry/SBC Syrah/spicy slight earthy some toasty/Fr.oak finish w/ ample hard tannins; needs another 5-10 yrs; a pretty classic big/peppery Thompson Syrah. $37.50 (futures)

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. DanGreen purchased Jaffurs in 2016. So these two wines were probably fermented under Craig & Dave’s watch, but raised to maturity by Dan. People were certain the sky was falling when Craig sold, but I’ve not seen any signs of that and only minor stylistic changes in the whites.
    I liked both of these Syrahs quite a lot. Both were characteristic of their vnyd sources. The Thompson is a big/brawny/muscular/extracted Syrah w/ the classic Thompson pepper. The BN is a little more refined/high-toned classic BN black cherry Syrah. Both a big wines & need age.
    Tom
2

Nice notes Tom.

Young Thompson Syrah has always shined out of the gate, but it is over the long run that I find impressive. We did a retrospective over a couple of years ago for many of the Jaffurs Thompsonss {94 and 98-13} and they were fantastic and yes, they had that classic Thompson pepper which I believe comes from partial stem inclusion.

I agree with you Tom re the changing of the guard having little if any effect on the quality coming out since Dan took over. One thing I believe is responsible is, unlike what happened when Burt sold Williams Selyem in 98`, the vineyard management has continued to be as Craig and Dave preferred and instructed.

3

Tom, you bought all of these on futures. Are any of them directly available from the winery now?

4

Larry,
Don’t know, but probably are. The distributor (Fiasco) doesn’t typically bring them into NM.
Tom

5

Thanks for the futures reminder. I will place my order today. 25% off these wines is a deal.

6

Are the half bottles not available as futures?

7

No, they are not, but if you are a club member, you still get 15% off your purchases.