TN: Two Old Calif Syrahs...(short/boring)

WINE TALK
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Stacey opened these two from her Dad’s cellar Mon night & invited me to stop by on Tues to try them:

  1. Drew Syrah OldWesty/AlisosVnyd SantaBarbaraCnty (14.5%; 75 cs) Buellton 2003: Very dark/near black color w/ some browning; some some toasty/oak peppery/blackberry/Syrah distinctly c-c/black pepper somewhat complex nose; some toasty/oak some blackberry/peppery/Syrah bit complex rather dried-out rather tannic/hard/astringent flavor w/ ample hard/bitey tannins; has lost a lot of fruit & pretty dried-out on the palate; only going to get more dried-out from here.
  1. AlbanVnyds Syrah Lorraine AlbanEstate/EdnaVlly (13.6%) 1996: Black color w/ some bricking; intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah strong toasty/charred/burnt/Fr.oak slight c-c/peppery slightly complex nose; fairly tart intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe very strong toasty/burnt/Fr.oak bit complex slightly drying flavor w/ modest hard/chewey tannins; starting to dry out a bit on the palate but still dominated by intense burnt oak & intense Syrah fruit w/ slightly ameliorated tannins; probably not going to get any better nor develop a whole lot of complexity. $27.50

More krinklefurt from TheBloodyPulpit:

  1. Drew: This Syrah was made when Jason & Molly were still down in SantaBarbara. His style down there was to make pretty big wines along the Jaffurs style. When he & Molly moved up to MendoRidge & planted their Estate near Elk up on MendoRidge, he changed his style, picked earlier, and made more balanced wines. At first, I wasn’t thrilled by the change but now I think it was the right move. I like their wines quite a lot.
  1. Alban: This was actually one of the better old Alban Syrahs that I’ve had. The tannins had started to ameliorate a bit, but it was still pretty hard/tannic on the palate, dominated by the charred oak and starting to dty out a bit on the palate. I don’t think it’s going anywhere from here & I doubt that it will ever develop the complexity that BobLindquist & AdamTolmach routinely achieve in their Syrahs. It’s John’s style and subtle & nuance are not what his wines are about.
    Tom
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One way to set off Charlie Chadwick is start talking about Alban Wines. His opinion of aged versions is pretty low.

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My opinion of aged Alban wines is not particularly high, either. The attraction of John’s (red) wines is that they are so extracted/massive when young that many people feel, with age, they will develop into magnificent wines. One Monktown attorney got sucked down that rabbit hole. They start out as huge monolithic wines and they finish up as monolithic wines. The tannins ameliorate but that’s about it. They just seldom develop that complexity that you routinely find in BobLindquist’s or SteveEdmund’s aged wines. Least that’s been my experience. They start w/ huge fruit & huge charred oak and that’s the way they end out their lives.
Tom