What Was The Last Syrah That You Drank?

Mine was a 2002 Relentless, and it was very good.

1999 Araujo Eisele. Really really good.

A 2006 Tansley Thompson Vineyard. Excellent!

Hernder Estates 2007 Barrel-Fermented Syrah icewine. Deelish!

A few:

2011 Halcon Vineyards Syrah Alturas - USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands (9/22/2013)
Dark garnet/violet in color, not quite opaque, this is electric with dark, silky boysenberry/pomegranate fruit with a slightly tart feel, mouthwatering acidity, and a layered/complex finish. Great syrah, but not for those expecting a big, ripe style of wine. (92 pts.)

2004 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie La Turque - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (9/22/2013)
Medium garnet color, medium body, almost burgundy-like in weight; nose is light, shows just a bit of mature oak; palate is moderately rich, somewhat sweet and ripe, good acidity, round and smooth, blunted somewhat by oak treatment. No hard edges, very silky and polished, but the ripe sweetness is distracting, and the lack of any obvious complexity makes this little more than an uninteresting cocktail wine. Those seduced by the high scores and prices for this wine should seriously consider exploring the genre a lot more deeply to find out where Syrah’s greatness really lies. (88 pts.)

2008 Peay Vineyards Syrah La Bruma - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast (9/21/2013)
From a half bottle: opened too early, but that’s what halves are for :slight_smile: quite dark garnet, nearly opaque, there is just a hint of the smoke of the far away vintage fires, but it is barely noticeable, and might even add to the wine at such a low level; palate is dark, mouthwatering medium intensity boysenberry/blackberry fruit, plenty of acidity, fine tannins, smooth finish. Drinking quite nicely even this at this early stage, and should easily go a decade or more. (92 pts.)

2003 Dehlinger Syrah Goldridge - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (9/14/2013)
Probably still on the young side to open this, but it was staring at me. I really like the nose on this, with a combination of dark fruit compote and an interesting savory note; lots of intensity on the palate, fairly ripe, slightly high toned fruit, but very well balanced with a good dose of acidity, along with some moderate tannins. This will go very well with our dinner of 16-hour smoked brisket! (91 pts.)

2009 Louis Barruol Crozes-Hermitage Tiercerolles - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage (9/12/2013)
Opens with what seems like a bit of light bandaid brett, though not obtrusive; a dense, deep, brooding palate of dark blackberry fruit, with a nice higher register note of acidity for lift, some moderately rustic tannins, and a bit of an abrupt finish. There’s some good components here, but it needs time to show whatever it’s going to become. Revisit in 5 years. (90 pts.)

1999 Robert Michel Cornas La Geynale - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas (9/5/2013)
Still quite youthful in color, dark, nearly opaque garnet, with a nose of newish leather, some crushed berries, bit of sandalwood; nice, fresh medium dark berry fruit, bright acidity gives it a dark raspberry note, some slightly rustic tannins and a little chalk come through on the finish. Could probably use a few more years, though hard to say if the structure is going to resolve. (92 pts.)

2008 Copain Syrah Halcon Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands (8/27/2013)
This note is from a bottle open for 24 hours. Very dark, opaque black/garnet, nose is crushed berries, creosote, anise, spice; This ain’t your father’s California Syrah, dark, and structured, with brooding boysenberry/pomegranate fruit, good acidity, and some fairly hefty tannins. A little hard to predict, given its backward, structured nature, but I’m putting a note on my remaining bottles “do not open until after 2023” and keeping my fingers crossed this evolves into something really special. Do not open one of these now. Don’t do it. (92 pts.)

2004 Copain Syrah Hawks Butte Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Yorkville Highlands (8/13/2013)
Very dark, opaque garnet, no sign of age in the color; quite an interesting nose, with deep fruit compote, underbrush, hint of dried herbs; nicely intense, ripe, deep, dark raspberry fruit, shows some sweetness of the vintage, but with good balance, nice acidity, still some chalky, grippy tannins. This is in the mold of the pre-2007 Copain shift, riper and more voluptuous, but an excellent example of California syrah, quite drinkable now if you can tolerate some tannins, but probably needs another 5 years to start showing more complexity. I would give this a drinking window of 2015-2025. (89 pts.)

2012 Domaine Yves Cuilleron - Syrah Vin de France Les vignes d’à côté

Wendouree Shiraz '08, Fox Creek Reserve Shiraz '99, Dry River Pinot Noir '01 on Monday night. Ooops, the last one said Pinot Noir on the label :wink:

1998 Gallet Cote Rotie. Great bottle.

Any relation to Tensley?

2008 Scholium Project Androkteinos last night. It hit the spot.

01 Chapoutier Cornas which was interesting, and '07 Gonon St Joseph which was spectacular. If a wine critic had as much pull as RMP used to have, I would predict that he/she would be able to make Gonon St Joseph the next big international cult wine, like RMP did with Chave Hermitage, driving the price up steadily

'10 Arnot-Roberts Clary Ranch alongside a '12 Apsara Las Madres

2007 Lillian - a bit on the biggish side, needs a little more time to integrate.

'09 Guigal cotes du rhone. '09 Emmanuel darnaud crozes-hermitage

2009 Ojai Syrah Melville Vineyard - decanted about 2 hours and enjoyed with a nice rib eye. Great!

Bought a bottle of “La Boutanche” syrah while in San Francisco this week. Bi-Rite had it for $17. Came recommended by the clerks there, but the real selling point is the one liter bottle featuring a hawaiian-shirted pig kicking back. Screw cap, too.
Great wine, though. Certainly worth the money. Relatively low alcohol, seemingly no oak. Borderline refreshing. Uncomplicated but not dumb.
Check the label:
http://bit.ly/1aq7kqQ

Would love to hear about this one

07 Copain James Berry last week
yum

  • 2007 K Vintners Syrah Motor City Kitty - USA, Washington (9/12/2013)
    Last of 6 bottles, can’t say I was wowed by any of them. Extracted ripe fruit, a little down on the vanilla this time but still is kind of a mess with the alcohol.


  • 1999 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie (8/28/2013)
    Really starts to sing 90 minutes after being opened. Well balanced, integrated smooth tannins–outstanding mouth feel. Excellent mix of dark fruit, olive juice, cured meats and earth. Singing!!!


  • 2006 Cayuse Syrah Cailloux Vineyard - USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley (8/17/2013)
    Brought to a BBQ. Bottle got pleny of air as it was opened 7 hours ahead of time seeing 90 minutes in the decanter. Bottle showed lots of blood, iodine, cured meats, olive juice, blackberry and boysenberry. Really balanced, great mouthfeel. Didn’t really get the funk I’ve seen in previous bottle. Excellent.

A 2001 Rene Rostaing Cuvee Classique - it was also okay.