TN: CowanCllrs Syrah BennettVlly '10....(short/boring)

WINE TALK
#1

Cracked this last night:

  1. CowanCllrs Syrah MoaveniVnyd/BennettVlly (13.2%) CowanCllrs/SantaRosa 2010: Med.dark color w/ some bricking; slightly reductive that clears to very strong c-c/black pepper rather blackberry/Syrah quite Rhonish/roasted/smoked meats/w-c/pungent beautiful quite complex nose; rather tart/tangy rather c-c/black pepper some blackberry/spicy/Syrah ght metallic/tangy quite Rhonish/w-c/smoked meats/roasted quite complex flvor w/ light gentle drying tannins; very long/lingering some tart/tangy/metallic/drying quite Rhonish/w-c/roasted meats some blackberry/Syrah rather c-c/peppery quite complex finish w/ light smooth tannins; an absolutely beautiful very Rhonish Calif Syrah probably at its peak or slightly beyond; starting to show a bit of drying out character, but tannins fully resolved and starting to lose a bit of fruit; beautiful Calif Rhonish Syrah.

A wee BloodyPulpit:

  1. JimCowan (Florida Jim) is, of course, no longer making wines, but he made some great ones in his brief run. Think he started making wines from working w/ SteveEdmunds. About as good a mentor as you can find. He made some excellent skin-contact/ViniMacerati SauvBlancs as well.
    Tom
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#2

w-c? c-c?

#3

Whole cluster maybe?

#4

Sure beats water closet

#5

Sorry, David.
Whole-cluster
Cold-climate
Tom

#6

Thanks. In other contexts you have used c-c (or at least cc) for Contra Costa, which clearly didn’t fit.

I don’t find this wine to be so cold climate influenced, but then my perception is a little skewed by all the A-R and Pax/W-G Syrah I have had over the years.

#7

Yes, I don’t think it’s a cool climate area.

-Al

#8

Well, Al… my impression that BennettVlly is fairly cool climate compared to surrounding areas. Mostly from time spent up there w/ GardnerBritt/CraneCanyon. Certainly compared to SonomaVlly. But certainly not as cool as Carneros/TaylorRidge/Occidental Hills/PetalumaGap. But I often find a c-c character in the Syrahs to varying degrees.
Tom

#9

My experience with Bennett Valley is about extremes.
It actually fills with fog over night but clears after about 10:00 am to pretty hot temps. Temps recede with the setting sun and the fog rolls in.
Of course, there are days without fog and days without sun but my description is what I found to be the norm.
Fortunately, I seldom get water closet aromas from the Syrah there.

And, FWIW, the last bottle of this I had showed no fruit for over an hour; closed as few wines I’ve seen. Thereafter, it opened nicely but always emphasized its savory nature. I think it has a ways to go but predicting is a dice roll.
Best, Jim

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#10

I’ve been holding out on the few bottles of this that I snagged, knowing where Jim’s inspiration came from. A recent bottle of pinot…think it was the '10 Sonoma was very solid table wine (in a good way - it paired with the food and did not demand specific attention be paid to it to get pleasure with the meal).

Of all of Jim’s wines, I think I enjoyed the Mourvedre Rose the most. That was such a lip-smackingly good wine.

Cheers,
fred

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#11

Jim’s 2010 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir was lovely, I went through half a case. I think I have a bottle of the 2010 Syrah left.

-Al

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