2010 Carlisle Syrah Papa’s Block- USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (5/12/2015)
This one is ripe for the taking. From the first pour, it gives loads of meaty black fruits. Perhaps the best part, though, is the rich cocoa/mocha overtone that keeps it compelling and holds everything together. A rich, but balanced, treat. It will likely be fine for a few years, but my remaining bottles won’t last that long.
Nate, another timely note for the Board. Damn near opened this last night, but pulled the 10 Rhys Shoe syrah instead. Your summation is strong here, I like the rich but balanced description, too. Thanks a bunch for taking the time to post this.
I decided to celebrate the 4th of July y/day with getting this wine opened. I dig this wine because it satisfies when I want a syrah that is a bit more rich, yet not so much that I feel like I am going back 10 years ago to the big syrahs of that era. I have since stopped drinking all of those wines, yet I’ve never stopped buying and enjoying Mike’s syrahs. I dig the '11 of this wine, and the '10 ain’t bad either!
Nate offered his take above, one that speaks to the rich yet balanced aspect. Where I take the impression of this wine further is in the essence of the wine adding the whole cluster and acidity aspects. This for me is what takes the wine to a great place and I really enjoy it for those reasons. Bigger toned? Yes, a bit but there is plenty more here than just fruit and this is why I appreciate the syrahs Mike continues to kick out, at a damn fair price too, which he deserves a big thank you. Hey Mike, thank you.
2010 Carlisle Syrah Papa’s Block- USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley (7/5/2015)
I waited a couple years between bottles, with the last being in 2013. Opened this bottle last night, as I wanted something from the cellar that was a bit more fruit centric, plusher–so, go with the Papa’s as this consistently delivers. Here is the thing for me with Mike’s syrahs, what I like about them. They give me fruit with plusher textures. And yet, they have edges. Let’s use this Papa’s to make my point. First off, dark color, mainly a maroonish purple. There is the Carlisle texture, where there is a gentle, full palate presentation, not of the leaner side of things. This is labeled at 15.9% abv, and yet there is no booze nor distraction within the aromatic. And I wonder if the abv is lower, as I don’t feel bonked the head after a glass, FWIW. And to the point about having edges, this wine exhibits the imprint of whole cluster–garrigue, cooked meat, steak sauce, pepper, yet wrapped around all that is the plusher, dark raspberry and blackberry fruit. Oh, and there’s acidity too. This ain’t flabby or unbalanced, as there is a lively zing that sits in the finish of the wine, along with good structure. All in, this is just great CA syrah. I’m really lasered down to just a few syrah producers, and really mostly the fragile palate stuff that lies in the low abv spectrum of things. However, with Mike’s syrahs, with the Papa’s, Rosella’s and the AVA cuvees, these remain on my purchase list. Mike’s syrahs provide a great counterpoint to Copain and Wind Gap, more like the Riverain syrahs, and all of them fit on my short list for syrah I buy now and enjoy. Love this 2010 Papa’s.