FRIDAY NIGHT GRAND CREW: CALIFORNIA SYRAH AND GRENACHE SHOOT-OUT - My Place (1/22/2010)
An always fun and loopy Friday night tasting exploring great California Syrah and Grenache. All wines served blind. The group knew that the line up of 10 wines had 3 or 4 bottles of Grenache. In addition to our typical ranking, we all tried to identify which wines were Grenache. Blind tasting continues to be the great equalizer as each wine received at least one vote identifying it as Grenache!
WELCOME WHITES
Fun to taste these two Rhone Ranger whites (purchased off the lists at very different price points [$20 vs. $100]) side-by-side blind. Both very nice. The MM is one to drink now and the SQN to lay down.
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2008 McPrice Myers Terre Blanche - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley
Full, rich, aromatic nose. Sweet apricot, peach and flowers. Palate is rich and pure. Full bodied and luscious with loads of tropical and spicy white fruit. A big wine, but in balance. Blind this was unanimously favored over the SQN – though Chris astutely noted the SQN would be better in the long run. (93 pts.) -
2007 Sine Qua Non Body & Soul - USA, California
Tight nose (relative to the more flashy McPrice Myers) that reveals sweet pears and apricot. Palate is rich and dense though tightly wound and holding back. Primary notes of toast and rich white / tropical fruits. Has plenty of upside. (91 pts.)
SYRAH OR GRENACHE?
Terrific flight with not a dud in the bunch. But what are the odds that we’d have two '99 Araujo Syrah and two Atlantis Grenache?!?
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2000 Alban Vineyards Grenache Alban Estate Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
Nose is rich with tons of depth and layers. Raspberry, strawberry, asphalt, smoke, char, olive and graphite. Palate is medium-to-full bodied. Black fruit, spice, meat and more char notes. Great length and wildly flavorful finish. Opened (but not decanted) 4 hours prior to tasting. I loved this and really don’t get the overt “burnt tire” notes that are in most CT notes. (95 pts.) -
2004 Outpost Grenache - USA, California, Napa Valley, Howell Mountain
Straight forward nose of fresh strawberries. Palate is medium bodied with round (but not rich or dense) fruit and juicy acidity. Lifted. Quite tasty, if a bit simpler than the rest of tonight’s line up. My #10, Group #9. 5 guesses for Grenache (by far the most of any wine). (92 pts.) -
1999 Araujo Estate Syrah Eisele Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Dark ruby. Meaty, asphalt, black fruit, stemmy nose. Yum palate has rich and intense fruit. Bold in flavor but with a distinct brightness (from acidity) that provides balance and length. My #8, Group #7. 1 guess for Grenache. (93 pts.) -
2005 Pax Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
Inky black color. Rich nose is full of black fruit, asphalt, cream, meat, black olive and spice. Yum palate. Big, rich and boldly flavored. Complex and exotic with flavors that echo the nose. Long, spice, peppery finish. My #3, Group #2. 2 guesses for Grenache. (96 pts.) -
2006 Saxum Syrah Bone Rock James Berry Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Dark ruby. Primary nose is full of fresh black fruit and spice. Palate, rich and delicious. Dark fruit with asphalt and coffee. Big bodied with richness and density. Excellent. My #5, Group #6. 1 guess for Grenache. (95 pts.) -
2006 Copain Syrah James Berry Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
Purple color. Forward nose of raspberry, cream, toast and vanillin. Palate is rich with spice, meat and black pepper. Not as full bodied as other syrahs in the line up. Very chewy in the finish. My #9, Group #10. 1 guess for Grenache. (93 pts.) -
1999 Araujo Estate Syrah Eisele Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
Amazingly and quite randomly our second bottle of this in the blind line up. Dark ruby color. Nose of strawberry and meat. Palate is high toned and complex. With black fruit and spice. My #7, Group #5. 1 guess for Grenache. (94 pts.) -
2004 JC Cellars Syrah Fess Parker Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
Inky purple. Rich jammy nose of black fruit, vanilla and toast. Palate is round, rich and creamy with sweet black fruit and spice. Quite long with really pure fruit. An excellent showing and seemingly great value. My #4, Group #3. 3 guesses for Grenache. (95 pts.) -
2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache Atlantis Fe2O3~2a, b & c - USA, California
Inky purple. Killer, focused and layered nose of exotic spice, liqueur and raspberry. Palate is rich and expansive with sweet fruit and long, long finish… Completely balanced. Pure and delicious. My #1, Group #1. 3 votes for Grenache. (99 pts.) -
2005 Sine Qua Non Grenache Atlantis Fe2O3~2a, b & c - USA, California
Another amazing and completely random coincidence to have a second bottle … and side-by-side with the other bottle, no less. Inky purple. Rich, luscious nose of strawberry, raspberry and asphalt. Wow. Red fruit, liqueur, exotic spice. Long, creamy finish. Delicious. My #2, Group #3. 1 guess for Grenache. (97 pts.)
BONUS WINES
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1998 Ojai Syrah Roll Ranch Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast
Nose has red fruit and spice. Palate has sweet berries, some toast. Good balance and juiciness. A late night bottle, so take this with a grain of salt, but probably time to drink up. (90 pts.) -
2005 Mollydooker Shiraz Carnival of Love - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
Nose is rich and decadent with big-time fruit. Rich, dense and concentrated black fruit, toast and spice on the palate. Totally delicious. I love throwing this into blind line ups – probably where it is best suited. But undeniably a great wine in the style. (95 pts.) - 2002 Bodegas Alto Moncayo Campo de Borja - Spain, Aragón, Campo de Borja (91 pts.)
Thanks to all for a great night!
Posted from CellarTracker