2004 Darioush Shiraz Signature- USA, California, Napa Valley (1/13/2010)
Decanted, poured immediately, enjoyed over 4 hours.
As expected, a very full & rich wine. On the palate (blueberry, plum) it had a spicy/dusty pepperiness that lead into sort of a creamy sweetness, milk chocolate. Tannins were moderate, but the huge fruit and body of the wine masked it well. Acid was perfect. The nose had a little mint, maybe eucalyptus or tobacco, along with thyme, nutmeg, and cinnamon. It was really hard to pinpoint exactly what it was. So I stopped trying and just enjoyed the pleasant aroma!
The wine started on the heavy side and finished on the heavy side. No heat, which is rare for a big Syrah these days.
Very impressive wine, best Syrah I have had in about a year (since the Radio Couteau Timbervine).
Drink now (decanted or with food) or hold for 8-ish more years. Pretty wide drinking window on this one, it seems. (93 pts.)
As to the wines, yeah the Shiraz and Viognier are still their strong suits, but overpriced. I think the last cab I had was 2001/2002 and it was just mediocre at best, and for the coin it was a rip.
Im on thier list and called and told them to hold shipping until its nicer and that one of my shippements was done in below freezing weather and a cork was buldging out.
They responded drink the bottle and we’ll replace it, if its bad we will replace the whole shipment.
PS I really enjoyed the HUGE 2007 Shiraz that I opened.
I haven’t bought a Cab since the 2002 vintage (which I drank recently, and it was spectacular). They had a nice Cab from about 1997 until then, but I agree with everyone that for some reason it went downhill quickly. That Shiraz will make me take a trip to the tasting room to see how the Cab, and everything else is holding up these days.
They did once made some really nice wines, that '04 Shiraz was one of them. I am willing to give them another shot.
They also make a late harvest Sauvignon Blanc that I remember being pretty impressive.