2005 Summerwood Syrah Paso Robles- USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (9/29/2009)
– decanted for one hour before tasting –
– tasted non-blind over 2-3 hours –
NOSE: A rather straightforward bouquet of dark fruits, oak and smoky beef jerky.
BODY: lots of fine particulate matter; medium-full to full bodied; dark purple color of great depth.
TASTE: very ripe, perhaps concentrated, dark fruits – grapey, blackberries; oak; alcohol; hints of woody spice; hint of campfire smokiness; 30 sec. finish is shorter than I expected from this wine, given its weight, density, and alcohol (15.5%). Obviously a warm climate new world syrah. Definitely showing better than the last bottle I had. Solid, not spectacular.
2005 Summerwood Syrah Paso Robles- USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles (1/12/2011)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind on Days 1 and 3 –
NOSE: initially, ball-point pen ink; dried herbs; oak; hint of sourness like a Flanders Red ale – sweet; hint of minerality. A couple hours after opening, the Nose became oakier – this development was more pronounced on Day 3, at which time it also had a strong alcohol scent.
BODY: lots of medium-grained particulate matter present; black-magenta color of great depth; medium-full to full bodied.
TASTE: rich; smooth; juicy; a tad sweet; could this wine be in its sweet spot right now? more fruity than earthy; slight alcohol taste; surprisingly fresh-tasting; not roasted; sweet oak and very ripe plum notes get stronger with air; good balance of fruit-acid-tannin-alcohol; short-medium length finish (25 - 30 sec) of moderate intensity. This wine did get oakier and lost some flash as it saw air; on Day 3 it was an alcoholic mess. I say drink now, as a pop-n-pour, and would additionally suggest drinking it within 2 hours of opening; I do think this is a 90 point wine during the first two hours after it’s opened.
Score over first couple hours:
B: 50, 5, 11, 17, 7 = 90
No, but friends who have stayed there told me it’s nice. Ash and I used to be in Summerwood’s wine club – we dropped a year or two ago mainly for QPR reasons (their lack of ability to hang onto any one winemaker for more than one vintage was probably reason #2).