TN: Syrah, Shiraz, Rhone Showdown (The Fig Tree, Charlotte, NC)

WINE TALK
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SYRAH, SHIRAZ, RHONE SHOWDOWN - Charlotte, NC (2/23/2022)

A fun night to check in on the differing treatments and stylings of the wonderful Syrah grape. All wines were of excellent quality with nearly every participant being surprised by the performance of a region they either had less experience with or avoided due to prior poor experiences.

The Olympics of Syrah
The first flight was really fun as we were able to sample excellent representatives from each of the respective regions. Preferences among this flight were far more personal rather than an objective quality distinction. All wines were excellent.

  • 1999 Shafer Relentless - USA, California, Napa Valley
    90 minute double decant; needed 3 hours. Can age another 5 - 10 years. Color was dark and intense. Although the nose was tight early, given some time, it revealed pure fruit aromas. Soft on the mouthfeel, notes of delicate cherries on the palate really shined. Clean drinking wine with an easy finish. Really good wine that is perfect for the post-Parkerized world. One vote for “Surprise of the Night”.
  • 2002 Kaesler Shiraz Old Bastard - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
    4 hour double decant; Color was rich blackberry with reddish hues. Old world on the nose with rustic red fruit. Delightful mineral mouthfeel, dark cherries flavor. Vibrant fruit. A wonderful combination of clearly New World fruit stylized with an Old World feel. Delicious wine. Surprise of the Night for three people and one Wine of the Night (WOTN).
  • 1996 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Crozes-Hermitage Reserve Famille - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage
    2.5 hour double decant. Color was a reddish-mahogany and comparatively Burgundian next to the US and Aussie wines. Delightfully aromatic nose. Old world through and through. Elegant on the mouthfeel with rustic notes of raspberries and red cherries. This wine continued to evolve throughout the evening. A wine to savor on any evening and a great showing tonight.

Battle of the “La Chapelles”
A joy of a flight. These wines were delicious and smooth with the comparative richness of the '85 carrying the day for most drinkers. Perfect with food, there was a real fear of drinking these too fast as they were in such a good place that too-quick consumption could be had if we were not careful.

  • 1983 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
    4 hour double decant. Color was a light mahogany with reddish hues. Clearly Old World. Soft, plush, and elegant. Aromas of rose petals. Notes of strawberries and raspberries on the palate. Beautiful wine only pales in comparison to the 85. Delicious on its own, the wine opened meaningfully when entrees arrived. Mature and delightful. Drink up. 2 votes WOTN.
  • 1985 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle - France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage
    4 hour double decant. Color was a light mahogany with darker reddish hues. Beautiful aromatic nose. Vibrant and rich, rustic fruits (plums and raspberries) on the palate. Plush on the mouthfeel. Savory finish. An elegant, yet vibrant, mature wine. 4 votes WOTN.

Young Guns
It’s hard to call 10 - 15 year old wines young but in this instance they were. All delicious and showing notes that garnered high scores from the professionals but each has years of life ahead of them.

  • 2005 Clarendon Hills Syrah Hickinbotham - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, Clarendon
    2 hour double decant. Needed 4 - 5 hours double decant. Dense purple in color. Classic Aussie Shiraz. Big flavors – blueberry, blackberry, and spice. Smooth, clean easy drinker but comparatively simple relative to everything we were drinking on the night. Needs a few years aging and/or hours of air to settle and evolve. Not its best showing on the night but would not mind having a half dozen of these in my cellar.
  • 2006 Mollydooker Shiraz Velvet Glove - Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale
    Double decant 5 hours in advance. Thick, dark blackberry color. Opulent jammy nose. Classic start to this well-known wine. Far more restrained and balanced on the palate – velvet mouthfeel (as advertised). Nice red cherry notes with hints of blackberry with gentle earthiness. Possibly the best Velvet Glove I have had although not my preferred style. Would be curious what this could do with an 8 - 10 hour decant or what it becomes in 10 years. One vote WOTN.
  • 2011 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
    14 (fourteen) hours in advance double decant. Thick, dark blackberry in color (nearly black). Delightful earthy nose. Far more restrained than expected. Delicious new world fruit with surprising balance. A great wine. This wine was well-served by the excellent treatment in advance for this “young” entrant. A wine you could easily drink over a couple of days. Four votes for Surprise of the Night.

For myself and probably the majority of the crowd, each of these wines needs two decades of aging or an excessive amount of air to reach its apogee. Nonetheless it was a great night of good food, fine wine, and even better company. Cheers!
Posted from CellarTracker

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2 Likes
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Great notes - thanks for sharing.

I’ve really enjoyed every bottle of Relentless that I’ve had Not sure if it is the touch of PS that is co-planted along with syrah or what, but it takes this wine into a different realm compared to any other Napa syrah that I’ve had (Hyde Vyd stuff is awesome as well - this is ‘different’).

The other notes sound fantastic - do you think the Velvet Glove will ‘evolve’ any further or just kind of ‘stay in place’ for eternity? Did it change at all throughout the night?

And since you gave the Alban that extra time, I’m sure it opened up much more so than it would have normally. Had a mag of 2005 Reva in Boston earlier in the month and it was beautiful but was not decanted . . . so we were able to follow its evolution but probably truly needed 2-3 days to actually do so.

Cheers.

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We discussed this over dinner.

Considering the wine had evolved since release to now (with the four hour double decant) I would expect the wine to continue evolving although likely at a comparatively slow pace (glacial?) versus other wines.

The wine did not evolve, in my opinion, during the evening. It was served during the final flight and the time had gotten away from us so there was less chance for this wine to change much beyond our initial tasting.

We are thinking of revisiting this wine in two weeks but with a 10 or 12 hour decant. I’ll post notes if we take another stab at this bottle.

Cheers.

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2002 Kaesler Shiraz Old Bastard - Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley
4 hour double decant; Color was rich blackberry with reddish hues. Old world on the nose with rustic red fruit. Delightful mineral mouthfeel, dark cherries flavor. Vibrant fruit. A wonderful combination of clearly New World fruit stylized with an Old World feel. Delicious wine. Surprise of the Night for three people and one Wine of the Night (WOTN).

Not surprised the Old Bastards from 01 to 04 are outstanding. Perfect for the I don’t like Aussie wines.
The 04 is off the charts! [cheers.gif]