Had the pleasure of joining a group east bay friends I haven’t seen for a while to blind taste a bunch of Syrahs. Always interesting and educational to taste blind.
Flight 1
A) Lovely nose with hints of spice, crushed berries/rocks, then beautiful deep violet/boysenberry fruit, mouthwatering acidity, good fine structure. Outstanding, has to be a quality French wine. 2016 Halcon Syrah “Elevacion”
B) Slight rubber note on the nose, nice mainstream dark red fruit, high acidity, good structure, seems young. Nice wine. 2006 Novy RRV Parson’s Vineyard.
C) Light dusty spice nose, medium ripe, some oak? Quite intense, almost a bit too much. 2014 Waxwing Lester Family Vyds SCM.
D) Some ripeness showing on the nose, fairly ripe palate though not syrupy, dense, oak? OK. 2012 Zepaltas Rosellas.
Flight 2
A) Quite dark deep violet color; deep, dark fruit, well structured, first hit is intense, you think this is going to be a ripe wine, but quickly turns more violet and savory, mid palate is a bit lacking, then the tannins clamp down and just grip your mouth. Thankfully missing most of the dead rat fur that permeates previous vintages I’ve had of this wine, though there are signs here as well. So structured, can it survive to turn into something drinkable? Too much, too structured, undrinkable at the moment. 2015 Levet Cote Rotie Chavaroche.
B) Medium body, showing some browning, has some age; pleasant nose with some notes of age, then nice, moderately resolved medium dark red fruit, good balance. Quality California Syrah with 10-15 years of age. If this bottle is representative, drinking well, but drink up. 2005 Edmunds St. John Syrah Wylie-Fenaughty.
C) Strong oak nose, decent medium dark red fruit, good acidity, but oak, oak, oak. 2015 John Duval Shiraz “Entity”.
D) Bit of oak on the nose, OK fruit, shows typicity of dark red Syrah fruit, but no particular complexity or interest, and oak dominates. D’Arenberg Shiraz “The Footbolt”.
Flight 3
A) Medium red fruit, strong acidity, some nice savory/olive complexity, fine structure. Very nice. 2013 Gilles Robin Crozes-Hermitage Cuvée Albéric Bouvet
B) Color shows some age, fairly strong appearance of oak on the nose, ripe fruit, prune notes, oak, high acidity, bit OTH, not pleasant. Oh my, 2002 Saxum Syrah Bone Rock.
C) Light nose, nice medium dark red fruit, solid, tasty, though a bit one dimensional. 2003 Peay Syrah Estate.
D) Light oak on the nose? Fairly big and ripe, but not syrupy or overdone, decent balance, grapefruit notes, slight prune note. 2010 Carlisle Syrah Papa’s Block.
Flight 4
A) On first pour this is a bit one dimensional, a little ripe, though there is decent depth of fruit. Some air brings out more depth and structure, gains complexity. Knowing this wine, pop-n-pour is not a good way to evaluate. Improves significantly later in the evening. 2014 Lagier Meredith Syrah.
B) Hint of pickle on the nose, grapefruit pith, not a lot of fruit here, turns bitter and a bit overly tannic on the finish. 2017 (?) Harrington Syrah McEvoy Ranch.
A few comments: I continued sampling the wines later in the evening, adding some thoughts to my notes to more fully represent the wines as they opened with air (I had double decanted my two wines earlier in the day, the Gilles-Robin and Peay, but I think most of the others were opened at the venue).
Halcon continues to impress. The latest evolution of whole cluster inclusion is taking the wines to a new level. I was convinced the Elevacion was a French wine, possibly the Gilles Robin I brought. But after reveal, it was clear that the Halcon was even better than that wine. WOTN for me and a number of other tasters.