Top US Syrahs

This is fun… I will play:

SQN
Alban
Andremily
Carlisle (QPR!)
Booker

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That is a fair point. Sorry for being a bit rude with my response. Try one with about 8-10 years of age on it if you get the chance.

From the vault:

If you can find them, Dehlinger and Kathryn Kennedy from the late 90s prove that CA Syrah can age nicely. Fully fruited but savory …

That was a long wait for that name! Definitely belongs on the list. A long, excellent track record.

I’ve also had some outstanding syrahs from Copain.

Big ol’ +1 on ESJ
Arcadian
Arnot Roberts (a little more hit or miss but when they’re on, they’re really on)
Bedrock (same as A-R)
Gramercy (same as BR & A-R)

Less serous but a whole lot o’ fun to drink frech and with a slight chill
Haarmeyer
Stirm (carbonic)

I know that’s more then 5 sorry for the party foul. champagne.gif

Cayuse
No Girls
Reynvaan
Lagier Meredith
Keplinger

Peay
Jaffurs
Cabot
Arnot-Roberts

*if we’re considering qpr-it’s Cabot.

I kind of like it that it took 21 posts…very ESJ ish

Reynvaan
Bedrock Hudson T n S
Gramercy Les Collines
K Vintners Hidden
II Vintners Stones

SQN
Alban
Saxum
Cayuse
Booker

completely agree with 1-3 (haven’t tasted Scherrer).
also agree with your statement about Qupe and Copain
I also like Cayuse and the A-R Clary.

I also very much enjoyed Todd’s Syrah. If you haven’t tried it, check out the Matello/Goodfellow Deux Vert Syrah. IMO, best to hold at least 5 years, but a very nice wine, esp for the price.

I think Qupe (pre-sale) and Edmunds St John definitely belong on the short list. Both have demonstrated enormous capacity to improve with age, across most (if not all) vintages. Around 15 years out, they have surpassed most others, in my opinion. I’d also put Copain on there for the wines Wells made from 2007 on. I’ve been opening quite a few over the past couple of years, and many have been great. Cayuse is tough for me because they are so variable as they age. The best bottles are lights-out good, but many are too funky for me. I’ve even dumped a couple down the drain. So, I guess I have only 3 names on my list.

Bob Lindquist will continue to make Syrah etc under the Lindquist Family label.The new owners of Qupe will make wine at Laetitia, which they also bought.

Would be nice if someone with experience with a lot of these wines could group them into “Leaner/Northern Rhone Style” vs. “Opulent/Big Style”

A bit surprised not to see Colgin and Kongsgaard on there. They would be part of my top five domestics, alongside Ovid, Jonata and Donelan. Just missing would be Araujo. I haven’t tried my Tynan yet.

Jonathan

Arcadian
Rhys
Cayuse

To put 5 on my list would require me to add a couple names with whom I have extremely limited experience (Wind Gap; Halcon; Cabot; Qupe; Ojai; Ramey, for example)

Two others I don’t see mentioned that have had good experiences…

Failla
Colgin

Favorite Producers (and Bottle)
Alban Lorraine
Cayuse Armada
Saxum Bone Rock
Carlisle Papa’s
Bedrock Grifffin’s

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So many great Syrah’s out there. It’s hard to narrow to only five. I list the ones I have most experience with. I factor in value in my list.

Carlisle
Betz
Dehlinger
Lagier Meridith
Cayuse

As an aside I had a bottle of '05 Carlisle Sonoma a few weeks ago that was amazing. This was a $20 bottle that was way better than many wines 5 times the price.