TN: Syrah blind tasting

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.

Niice!

YES on Halcon - so often mistaken for a good French Syrah, and I’m victim to its allure as well. That’s why I bought some on BerserkerDay, and while I’m trying to let it sit and age, now I want to crack a bottle tonight with pasta!

Really interesting notes - and with this variety especially, time open either in the bottle or glass is usually your friend

Did everyone double decant before the tasting? If not, that’s just another variable to throw in there, right?

Interesting notes on the Saxum - one would think the oak would be ‘integrated’ after 15 years or so in barrel, right? I’m sure that surprised most of the table.

Cheers.

Fun notes. Wish we had more like this where impressions are first, then the reveal.

Nice notes. Thanks for posting!

Thanks, Alan. Really interesting notes.

A couple of comments:

I hadn’t been keen on Levet until a friend served the remains (maybe 2/3 of a bottle) of the 2010 in 2016 that had been open three days. Wowsers! What a wine. I bought a bunch. I posted on a bottle of the '10 that I opened recently, which was just beginning to show its stuff. I’m a convert to Levet, but I think they do need time and/or a long decant, so I can imagine a '15 not showing that well if it had been more or less popped and poured.

Surprising that an ESJ would have crested at that age. But his Parmalee and Bassetti '05s were pretty fruit forward and early maturing, in my experience. Not sure if that has any relevance to a wine from the Sierra Foothills, but those did seem somewhat atypical.

Nice notes, Alan. I need to try some of the Halcon wines. I will definitely be looking for some next year during BerserkerDay!

Ed

Ed, highly recommended. You should have dropped in to try some wines!

Alan Rath wrote:
Ed, highly recommended. You should have dropped in to try some wines!

I didn’t want to crash the venue! The tasting was at a golf/social club a few blocks from where we live, and I saw Alan in the parking lot and met Paul. I was on my way to a yoga class so I was a little under-dressed for the occasion! I hope the venue worked out for you! Cheers.

Ed

Based on your notes did you like many of these wines?

I was on my way to a yoga class so I was a little under-dressed for the occasion!

Yoga class? In tights?

Eeeeek!

Greg T wrote:
Yoga class? In tights?

Eeeeek!

Ah, no. T-shirt and gym shorts. Tights are not required for yoga where I practice.

Thanks for the notes Alan. Not surprised at the Levet note. I like Levet, but the 15 Chavaroche is in a stage right now that is best describe as “not fun to drink”. We had some last year.
On the other hand, a 98 opened a few weeks ago was easily one of the wines of the night in a really good lineup (Chave, Jamet, Allemand). I don’t think they show well young at all.

I have been opening some 2005 ESJ Syrahs, and this bottle is not typical. I had the same wine in mid-June, and it was not at all peaked or even showing real age.

‘Rat fur’ similar to mouse droppings? Sounds natty to me.

Great to have these notes, Alan, thanks for posting. Loved how you took us through your immediate impressions this way. Halcon–maybe some of it is the vineyard? The Myriad Halcon Syrah is one of my favourite of all Mike’s wines.

I have left Crozes for way too long—I need to get back to explore some of what it can offer. We’ve all talked about how Cornas and even Cote Rotie have skyrocketed in price. Gotta get into Crozes and some St. Joseph.

Haere Ra,

Mike

Sorry to hear about the 2015 Levet Cote Rotie Chavaroche, as I have some of that in my cellar. Perhaps it will improve with age, as I’m not big on Au de Rat!

Bury them for 10 years and you’ll be fine.

I find it amazing that anyone would consider popping and pouring a young (15) Levet a good thing! Top of the list on how to get a wine to show poorly.