2006 Rhys Alesia Fairview Ranch Syrah

WINE TALK
1

After all the talk on the boards today about Saxum, what else could I open up when I got home but a California syrah? Don’t own any Saxum, and needed to taste this before the Rhys offering anyway, so this was a natural pick. Those who didn’t make the Carlisle list, take note of this wine - it might be time to beef up or start your Rhys purchase history :slight_smile:

  • 2006 Rhys Alesia Syrah Fairview Ranch - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (1/11/2010)
    Color is dark opaque purple with ruby edges. The nose opens up to reveal forest floor, vanilla oak, a hint of meat, and dark fruits. The palate brings primary purple-black fruit of the slightly cool climate variety, oak, a hint of garrigue, and black pepper on the finish. Some tannins present, but very approachable now. As a casual syrah drinker, this delivers pretty much everything I want out of a QPR syrah. While not necessarily similar in style to Carlisle’s entry-level offerings, this delivers similar quality at a comparable price, and I would guess this will be available even to newcomers to the Rhys waitlist. (89 pts.)

Posted from CellarTracker

2

Thanks for the note Alan. The pre-release letter said they would only be $25. I haven’t popped my bottle yet but I did try one with the Cabots and I would say it’s a buy at that price.

3

+1

4

I filed mine away, perhaps I should take it out and see if I need to buy some more

5

It’s a good bottle, for sure…worth the price.

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6

I really, really enjoyed my bottle of this and I will be buying more. FWIW, I liked it significantly more than the entry-level Carlisle’s, but that’s probably just my stylistic preference.

7

Indeed, guys - I’m enjoying more of this on night 2, and it keeps getting better - perhaps I was a shade stingy on my score. Ryan, I did mention this as an alternative to the Carlisles on the ‘didn’t make Carlisle list’ thread on the other board too - very close in price in quality, with a slightly cooler climate profile for the Alesia in my estimation.

The tough part is, with my limited budget and need to get Rhys and R-M pinots, I’m not sure I’ll have $$ left for this! Decisions, decisions. Sigh.

8

I, too, am saving half a bottle for tomorrow to see how it develops…

9

This wine has held up well and continued to improve on night 3. I’m upgrading my score on this to 89-91 to reflect this; on night 2 and even moreso on night 3, it’s getting a slightly roasted note, a bit nutty, on the palate, that kind of reminded me of 07 Vieux Donjon in a way. Really quite nice, and arguably a tad more complex than the Carlisle appellation wines I’ve had, though to be fair this has a bit more age on it.