2006 Tor Syrah Rock Hudson- USA, California, North Coast, Carneros (12/20/2009)
Popped, into the decanter, then into the glasses. Nice nose of mainly fruit with a little bit of espresso. Verry nice in the mouth, pretty well balanced acidity/alc/tannins. Plenty of fruit in the mouth, but not a whole lot of complexity or spiciness. Drinkable now.
2006 Hudson Vineyards Syrah- USA, California, Napa Valley, Carneros (12/19/2009)
Popped, into the decanter, then into the glass. Wow. Purple. Nose of dark fruits, tar and dark chocolate. Wow again, sweet fruits, earth and the spiciness I want in a Syrah. Two small pours and then back into the bottle with the remainder. Will revisit this after the Donkeys game. Still tasting this minutes later while cleaning the glasses. Big and bold…will buy again.
The LasMadres vnyd of JohnPainter is just a stone’s throw away and produces Syrahs of much the same style
and quality. The VIE is my favorite from there. And John will be producing Syrah under his own label soon.
But Hudson and LasMadres are two of Calif’s greatest Syrah vnyds.
Tom
Don’t forget Michael Havens Hudson syrahs - always great year in and year out. And another one producing great Hudson syrah, but not labeled as Hudson, is Cakebread . . . They bring in numerous clones each year and blend all together - but some are definitely better than others . . .
Thanks for the notes Todd. The 06 Tor Hudson was one of my favorites of the year. Just ordered a couple more last week. I’ll keep an eye out for the Hudson Vineyards version as well.
Larry: Thanks for the reminder on Havens. Incredible prices available at the moment.
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