I have big love for this vineyard. I became enamored with it when I tasted the 2004 vintage from Lucia, and then subsequent Novy bottlings, to go with the Lucia’s since that time. I have verticals from both producers that I continue to enjoy and cellar. I have also visited the property, which sits squarely on the Pisoni estate. This is big time CA syrah, what CA syrah does for me and does well.
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2007 Novy Family Wines Syrah Susan’s Hill Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (10/15/2009)
Six months since my first bottle, we drank tonight’s bottle with a fairly short decant…about 90 mins. I am surprised at how soft this wine is drinking tonight. While I can sense and smell the whole cluster content in the wine–some olive and menthol appears but in softer tones–the stems don’t add the structure I expected. The nose shows a bouquet of light pepper, hint of heat and stems. I should point our that the oak shows more at pop and pour but fades into the wine with air so don’t judge the wine too soon. The palate is inky and grapey, an intense core of earthy blackberry and a finishing touch of licorice. What impresses me most here is the eveness of the wine, the dark profile and intense flavors…as a final comment, as with my note six months ago, this wine evolves significantly with air. After 3 hours open, the wine picks up more depth, more structure and the finish intensifies, adding some chocolate and redder notes. I would not judge this wine right away, as you will miss the quality and complexity of the wine. Very, very good and of the star caliber I found earlier in the year. -
2007 Novy Family Wines Syrah Susan’s Hill Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Lucia Highlands (4/18/2009)
Opened for about 45 mins. Florals, smoke and I keep coming back to a mushroomy or what seems like a musty,TCA type note. It’s hard to pin that note as flaw, but it keeps reminding me that there may be a bit of taint here. The palate is juicy with some tar, game and blue/black elements, along with a drying, mineral/pebble and some herbals, ala some whole cluster. We’ll have to see how this wine breathes out and if some of these off elements blow or fade off…after about another 1/2 hour, much better. Now we have a fuller wine, more plump, tar, and dark chocolate, along with some chalk and density. Still has the tight finish but we’ll so tomorrow treats it…at 3 hours, more evolution of the wine. Add some pepper to the nose, along with some stone fruit pit to the palate. Finish still shows the minerals but the fruit is more inky, more black in tone. The rest of the bottle goes down tomorrow, with 1/2 left…last glass. I really think a lot of this wine, as it shows so many complex features. The whole cluster signature stands out more tonight, added by some faint olive, mineral, dark and rich black fruit but with an edge, not sappy. There is still a lot of chocolate, likely buffeted by the new oak, but this wine has got it all going but it needs to settle in and pull the parts together. Has the potential to be a top flight wine…we will see.
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