He has picked a pretty good group of Syrahs and none of them are ones I’d throw out of bed.
I think Eric has accurately nailed the problem of slacking sales of Syrah in Calif. Many writers attributed it to the diversity in style of Calif Syrah. Baloney, I say.
My own theory is that, while some superb California syrah was being produced, too much of it was generic fruity, oaky red wine with little to distinguish it. Too many acres had been planted in the wrong places by producers less interested in making great wine than capitalizing on what they had hoped would be a trend. Consumers had identified syrah as mediocre, and often more expensive than other generic, mediocre wines.
which I think pretty much nails the situation.
Glad to see BobLindquist get some good press. The Sawyer-Lindquist Syrah is a wonderful Syrah. After Bob was ordered off to the woodshed (where he found SteveEdmunds hanging out) by Parker, he deserves some kudos.
Anyway…one of Eric’s better columns.
Tom
He tasted through a good group of moderately priced syrah from the '10-'12 vintages. He did mention that many of the wines lacked complexity. I’m guessing that a bit of additional age would have helped.
I was reminded of what happened to me not too long ago on another board when I said I ‘liked’ Eric’s last article on CA syrahs, and the fact that he lambasted many CA producers for not planting in the correct areas, making too many ‘unbalanced’ wines. I was pretty much skewered on that thread by a few darling favorites there and here.
I love any article that spotlights CA syrah, because, IMHO, it needs all the attention it can get. To me, it still continues to offer some of the best value in CA wines period.
That said, some of the wines mentioned in this article are getting north of $50, putting them into ‘another’ category altogether.
And there were definitely plenty of ‘commissions’ and even an error or two (Martian is located in Santa Barbara County off Alisos Canyon Road, NOT up north) - no Jaffurs, no Tensley, no Ojai, no Stolpman . . . .
The challenge is that when articles like this are written, I believe they are going into their local stores and purchasing the wines - not asking for samples to be sent to them. Therefore, you’re bound to not include those who might be appropriate to do so.
All in all, though, gotta love some love for the variety . . .now let’s get him writing about CA Mourvedre (-:
Yep, 2010 and 2011 were cooler than usual years . . . but that’s not a bad thing for syrah, as it tends to ripen later than many other varieties. Though the 2010 summer was cool, we did have a heat spike in early September that ‘got things rolling’ and then coo, and then warm . . . And 2011 was not only a cool year, but a frost year down in Santa Barbara County, leading to a lot less crop than previous years.
Jury is still out on '12 - big year fruit wise but we’ll see what sort of ‘backbone’ most of the wines have over time.
I think that was answered in a different thread. Chardonnay has three elements casual wine drinkers, especially Americans, love. Ripe fruit, butter (diacetyl), and vanillin from oak. Cheap Aussie Shiraz had those three and sold incredibly well for a time. Now you have Apothic, etc.
Chardonnay has a great charming name, and to compare against Syrah there are no (grape) tannins to deal with in its youth, and it seems the majority of women who drink wine gravitate toward it, yet it’s not seen as too feminine for men to appreciate.
I love California Syrah. To me one of the best things about it is you can have some of the best offerings at a $30 - $40 price point. Try having some of the best cabs at that same cost. Ain’t gonna happen.
Yup…I’m 100-pts on that thought, Michael. To me, Calif and WashState Syrahs represent some of the greatest values in the wine market these days.
You can get some truly profound ones in the $30-$40 price range, as you suggest.
Tom
Surprised to see Qupe at the top.
The last time I was there a few years thought their Syrahs were just ok.
Maybe this one stands from their other Syrah’s.
My preference for Syrah is constantly changing, but I think my current favorites are Arnot-Roberts, Harrison Clarke, Jaffurs.
Also thought highly of Zotovich but think it is priced a bit too high.
There are so many wonderful Syrah or Syrah based wines out there right now and the value is usually outstanding. Unlike top Cabs even the most expensive rarely top $100.
My absolute favorite QPR right now is the Campesino Old Lakeville Syrah. The 10’ may be the best Syrah I have had from CA.
Can you compare the Campesino to Arnot-Roberts?
Looks like Campesino is still offering the berserker deal and I might want to order some.
Thanks
I would say similar in style. Campesino is very Northern Rhone like. Great balance and perfume on the nose. Palate usually has a great pop of fruit but with good structure and acidity. Had an 08’ the other night that was just wonderful. Started getting some secondary notes with the bottle age.
Hope that helps. A no brainer purchase for me every year.
I don’t buy syrah and it has nothing to do with the reasons stated by Asimov and many many others over the years. Syrah is to me simply not very pleasant on the palate in quantities of more than a few few oz. I know I’m not unique in this as my wife shares this sentiment as do 3 friends I regularly drink with. This is a quality shared by syrah from all regions of the world and also extends to a lesser degree to pure Merlot and Cab Franc.
Personally, I feel that there are palate impressions that go beyond what sugar/salt/acid/bitter do to your tongue and throat. Clark Smith also mentions some theories on the subject, but they are not variety specific. Syrah simply has a weird nasty “umami” impression that I can best describe as mild electric shock. It can be replicated by placing stainless steel silverware on the tongue. Some people react to this, most do not.
So please try to take this beyond the usual platitudes about: “You just need to find the right type of syrah”. Because for some of us it doesn’t exist.