2005 Sandler Wine Company Syrah Connell Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley (5/6/2016)
Exactly a year since last tasted. Has a red/blackberry color showing some age. Nose is black olive tapenade, light campfire, and dark plum and cherry fruit. Excellent complexity on the attack as the olive, smoldering logs, dark fruit dance around. Rounded tannins and rawhide compose an absurdly long finish. Boy, has this aged gracefully. My only bottle, trying not to be sad. Unsuccessful. (94 pts.)
Here is a reboot to Brig’s note from pretty much one year ago exactly. What a great bottle of CA syrah this has turned out to be. Well done, Mr Kurtzman.
2005 Sandler Wine Company Syrah Connell Vineyard- USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley (5/10/2017)
Opened to enjoy through both Game 7s tonight of the NHL playoffs. I bought this bottle back in 2006 and it’s one of the oldest wines I have owned from purchase to uncorking, from way back in 2006. I gave this 2 hours of slow ox time before I poured the first glass. A diverse, beautiful mix of aromatics here, driven from the age and also the whole cluster that Ed used. BBQ smoke, bacon fat, pepper, menthol, spice, all mixing for something really unique. The palate, at least at this level of aeration, is pretty accessible. Moderately plush and pretty smooth drinking. The flavors? Much like the aromatic, lots of diversity and things going on. BBQ sauce, soy, licorice, plenty of tangy cherry and raspberry holding it all together. The finish remains alive, juicy, tangy, with a cool, menthol closing note…for Day 2, this filled in nicely and the tangier aspect from Day 1 has been augmented now by a deeper richness, which in my view makes this even better. My last note on this was 2015, when Ed came down for an August West/Sandler dinner we hosted for him. Based on that 2015 note and this bottle, the wine is aging slowly and gracefully. What a pleasure.
One of the nice things about moving out of my offsite is unearthing gems like this that have been hidden away for several years. I loved this wine from day one, and always found it to have a very N. Rhone quality to it. This hasn’t changed one bit. Visually still vibrant purple, with zero sign of aging, no bricking whatsoever.
The nose is opulent, with a wild mix of crushed berries, dry herbs (sage), white pepper, and spice. Fully resolved tannins provide a seamless palate, with some mocha coming through, along with plenty of dark fruit, iron, and meat. This is a complex wine that is ready to go now, but I feel should hold for at least a few more years. I have one bottle left, I think I’ll hold off a bit longer to see where it goes. Outstanding.
