2003 Lafond Syrah Lafond Vineyard- USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills (12/28/2009)
Very nice ‘lightly aged’ Santa Barbara Syrah. Beautiful nose of baking spices, dark fruits, violets, and grilled meats - a touch of heat as well. Nice immediate attack of sweet dark fruit on the palate, substantial and silky mouthfeel, smooth transition to the finish, where the ripe tannins start to show a bit, with a dusty, chalky feel, and more red and black fruits. 20 second finish that holds very strong. (92 pts.)
Nice ‘cooler climate’ vyd syrah that usually falls under the radar. Usually good stuff for the money - and good to hear it’s aged well. Curious - what’s the ABV on this bottle? I ask because many 03’s were really pushing bigger numbers because of the late harvest heat that year . . .
Good to see you pimping syrah, my friend - keep it up! And get jumping on that grenache bandwagon too (-:
23.2 brix and 15.2 alc?!!?! Very strange indeed! Me thinks there was some soak up with those grapes after picking! Would be curious to see what their 07 syrah came in at . . .
And as far as CA Grenache goes, I know where you can get some (-:
I do recall that when we first tried it at the winery 3 years ago, it was oaky beyond belief. That’s why I made sure I held it some time, and now it is quite spectacular. I’d add a point or two to my score, as the wine continues to improve.
It’s whatever is in Eric’s CellarTracker photo database for the wine…check your wines, you’ll see that quite often a substitution is made, since not everybody shoots a photo of each wine in their cellar to upload to CT
I’ve always enjoyed Lafond’s Syrahs and Pinots, particularly for their price. I also have seen the benefit of aging them. You gotta wonder about the CT drinking window on the 2002 Melville Syrah, though: “Drink between 2059 and 2064.” I don’t think I’ll hold my remaining bottles quite that long.
Not too surprised this '02 Syrah is doing good. I think their StaRitaHills Syrahs are consistently good examples of cool-climate
Syrah. OTOH…had the '07 recently and was rather underwhelmed by it.
They used to have Zin planted at Lafond. Zin?? In the StaRitaHills?? That’s crazy…won’t ripen there.
But they seemed to get it ripened most yrs and it made one of the greatest Zins in Calif…huge cracked black pepper character.
And they’d make a Zin Essence from those grapes that was outstanding.
Alas…they came to their senses and ripped out the Zin some 5-6 yrs ago. So sad.
Tom
I don’t recall ever tasting their zin, but I was there last perhaps 3 years ago - probably didn’t make the cut.
Note - this is the '03 - the photo is the one from CellarTracker which shows the '02 vintage on it. I did go look for more, but the only place where I could find some (that was actually in stock, not a ‘computer error’) was at the winery, where they still have mags of this vintage. I’m considering it…
I still have a few bottles of their last zin produced (I thought it was their 05 but I could be wrong) as well as their Zin Essence - arguably one of the better dessert wines produced in our area!
I’m still amazed that more zin is not planted here, especially in the Eastern Santa Ynez area where it certainly gets warm enough to ripen the variety nicely. Bridlewood has a small amount planted that they produce a varietally labeled zin from - for sale to wine club and tasting room guests only. Have not tried, but others have told me they like it . . .
Surprised to hear about the 07 syrah, especially with how good a vintage it was in general down here . . .
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