TN: 8 Syrah based wines from around the world

WINE TALK
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Held a single blind syrah walk around tasting over the weekend. Some really great wines and a couple of eye openers. Very pleasantly surprised by the Isole e Olena collezione syrah - great QPR given how well it held its own with wines 10x more expensive. The 2011 Araujo syrah was unfortunately corked.

2007 Penfolds Grange: Surprisingly evolved for its age. Mature notes of black cherry, smoked brisket, licorice and balsamic. Noticeable, biscuity oak notes. More ripe fruit notes, velvety mouthfeel and resolved tannins on the finish. Very enjoyable but, as it was served blind, I guessed a much older wine. Poured along with the 2001, which was monumental and much more youthful. Smoke em if you got em. 92 pts.

2004 Rene Rostaing CĂ´te-RĂ´tie La Landonne: I adored this wine. Extended air really brought out the best in this wine. Youthful, layered notes of black raspberry, oil cured, black olives, licorice root, smoked meat and white pepper. Lovely floral violet notes. Lively, olive brine laden palate with firm tannins. Just a meal in a glass. Begging for a spit roasted rosemary chicken. Delicious. 95 pts.

2019 Isole e Olena Syrah Collezione Privata Toscana IGT: A huge surprise. Youthful, varietal blackberry, fig, black tea, crushed minerals and white pepper. Focused and well defined. Great balance. No flab on this wine. Detailed finish. I do not think of Tuscany as place to grow Syrah, but this wine needs to make no excuses. Held its own in a tasting with blue chip RhĂ´ne royals. A great QPR wine and absolutely delicious. 94 pts.

2009 Delas Frères Hermitage Les Bessards: A show stopper. Crazy youthful. A wine of endless depth and purity. Notes of blackberry, grilled meat, iodine, garrigue, black strap licorice and violets. Amazing that each note is so focused and delineated, nothing blousy, nothing vague. Sculpted palate with perfect balance, offering more blue/black fruit, chiseled granite and long, fine tannins. Just a prototype for great Hermitage. Worth the ticket. 97 pts.

1995 Domaine l’Aiguelière Coteaux du Languedoc Montpeyroux Côte Rousse: Very mature and degrading a bit. Carolina bbq, grilled shishito pepper, blackberry and Campari notes. Racy palate. Smoke em if you got em! 89 pts.

2020 Thierry Allemand Cornas Chaillot “C”: Very, very youthful, though absolutely approachable. Extended air reveals a face full of violets, orange rind, juicy blackberry, Moroccan spices and tree bark. Racy, red fruited palate with more orange and bright, black fruit. Coating, firm finish. Everything is there and the wine is complete. Time will bring nuance and layers. Now? Food wine! Or perhaps lay this down for a bit. Loved it. 95 pts.

2001 Penfolds Grange: A monumental wine. Laser focused notes of black fruit, chalk, black licorice, spice box. A bottom note of brown sugar. Endless depth on the palate. Huge energy. Powerful but not brawny in any way. More taught. Everything in perfect balance. Reminds me of a great Lafite. Amazing to me that this is Australian Shiraz. Exciting. 100 pts.

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Thank you for posting, especially re: 2001 Grange. I still have a bottle or two, sounds like a bit of life left but in the perfect drinking window?

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The Isole e Olena Syrah is one that I’m surprised isn’t talked about more. For me it tastes of the grape, but also of Italy (I say that rather than Tuscany, as we can find ourselves thinking of overoaked/overworked super Tuscans, and it’s nothing like that cliché).

I’ve not found any others in the region that appeal (e.g. Case Via is often talked up as a good one, but didn’t have much appeal for me), but there’s definitely a presence in Maremma, where Sangiovese has struggled. Worth a taste of such Syrah wines if seen in an enoteca, as it feels like there’s potential.

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No hurry at all. The above notes were after about 3 hours of air (double decant). So certainly in the drinking window with a sufficient decant.

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I should also point out that I try to make the “scoring” about the quality of the wine, not about my style preferences. The Grange and the Delas were monumental wines and deserved the accolades. My WOTN was easily the Rostaing Cote Rotie as that is how I like my syrah. Layered, meal in a glass complexity is what I seek most from the rhone.

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This is a great demonstration of the value of tasting notes. Your detailed and evocative descriptions made it clear that the Rostaing CR was the wine I too would find most enjoyable. Even though it was outscored by the Grange, a wine that, impressive as it is, isn’t a style I would choose to drink through the course of a meal or an evening.

The value of those notes remains whether I know if you score based on personal preferences or not.

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