Xpensive Winos do syrahs that are neither Carlisle nor Central Coast

WINE TALK
1

Have you ever had a period of time where the wines that you drink just don’t do it for you? I know that I sometimes go through a drinking cycle where wine after wine that I open is less than inspiring. I recognize that this means that I am not very European and view wine as more than just a beverage—after all, how often does one expect inspiration from the skim milk with the morning cereal? But if I am dropping $30, $40, $50 or more on 24 ounces of beverage, I am always seeking, if not a transcendental experience, then at least one that makes me sit up and say to myself, “Damn, that’s really good wine.”

Last night’s dinner was one of those “Yeah, the milk is reasonably refreshing and not sour—it’s fine” experiences. What shocked me is that this somewhat banal experience came at the hands of my great wine love, syrah. Our group loves syrahs, and it is safe to say that we drink more SQNs, Saxums, Lillians, Albans, Jaffurs and Carlisles than the average bear. Of course, other than Carlisle, all of those are from the Central Coast. Now I can hear you say, “Well, of course, Page is not going to like those other syrahs. His palate has been bombarded with the ripe density of Central Coast syrahs and he cannot appreciate the grace that one gets from Northern Rhone or the better North Coast syrahs.” All I have to say is that while it may be true that my palate, like my nose, is a blunt instrument dulled by years of ponderous wines, it was just last month where our group had a dinner completely devoted to Northern Rhones, including a bunch with a few decades of age on them, and that was, for me and others in the group, a transcendental experience—plenty of farkin’ delicious wines on that night. When one of your WOTNs is a chardonnay (and I really don’t even like white wines), as it was for me last night, you know that something is wrong.

But let’s start with the positives, which originally caused a sense of dread in me. We had the dinner at Palate Food & Wine along the Avenue of Cars in Glendale, CA. Palate has gotten very good reviews and the food looked delish on the website (of course, if you cannot make the food look good on your own website, you need either a new website designer or a new chef). Palate is also 30 miles from my house and the clusterfu*k known as downtown LA is situated right between the two points. Plus last night there was (i) the first Dodgers playoff game and (ii) a Lakers preseason game. Fortunately the Dodgers game started at 6.35pm so that by the time I approached Chavez Ravine, everyone was comfortably in their seats watching the first inning. 70 minutes door to door is long but manageable in my book and return home trip took all of 33 minutes as we got out of the dinner in the 8th inning.

But man was the trip worthwhile. Bennett Traub, our host with the most last night, worked closely with the chef/owner Octavio and the somm Steve at Palate and it came off flawlessly. Every dish was at least a ground rule double and there were a few shots out of the park (the pork rillet/ham & eggs and the braised short ribs with creamed horseradish were oh so tasty). If you are anywhere near Glendale, check out Palate.

Onto the wines.

We started with two chards, the 2005 Salinia Heintz and the 2006 Ceritas Porter Bass. Both were better with the pork and salmon spreads from mason jars than by themselves, but the Ceritas was too lean and austere for me. The Salinia had a bit more roundness and fruit forwardness (without being buttery and oaky) and I found it quite nice.

I was not crazy about the Washington syrah flight (and yes, there was no Cayuse—we’ve had a fair amount of Cayuse and let’s just say that the group is not crazy about them). I found the 2003 Betz Cote Rousse to be full of over-ripe dark berry fruit with a tart citric streak—it really reminded me of a lot of the Pax wines that I have had recently (and Pax wines are referred to by fellow Wino Marc Abrams as TLS—tart liquid, well you get the idea). The Copain 2002 Cailloux & Cocinnelle was my favorite of the flight—a solid B performer, with enough balanced fruit and minerality to make it enjoyable if not awe-inspiring. I liked the 1999 Dunhum Lewis at first but felt that it faded rather quickly in the glass.

The next flight was a smattering of Napa syrahs. I have had the 2002 Lewis before and while it was quite good initially two months it quickly fell into somewhat below averageness. This bottle was not as good as the earlier bottle. The very ripe fruit provided initial pleasure but it became mediocre fast and the nose became very funky and alcoholic. What shocked me most about the 2002 Scholium Scheria is that it actually tasted like wine, a rarity for me for Scholium wines and I kind of liked it. It was intensely primary and, upon deeper analysis, disjointed and the nose developed into something that was both fascinating and horrific at the same time. The 2001 Lagier Meredith was my WOTF—it was a very good wine and I am sure that I would be happy to drink it with a dinner any night (although not good enough that I feel compelled to seek out more LM). As has been the case with other LM syrahs in the past, balance is the key here and there were no sharp edges or disjointed streaks in the wine. I also like the 2000 Araujo, which I felt continued to improve in the glass.

The next flight should be known as the Walter Page Memorial Flight as I contributed three of the four wines and there were some very strong/negative feelings about the wines. The less than is said about the under-ripe 2005 Sandler Connell the better—grapes of green olive ass was the best descriptor. Plus it has got one of the ugliest labels known to man–the designer behind the Martinelli Giuseppe & Louisa and the old Foley Claret must have worked extra hard on this one. The 2005 Holdredge RRV elicited very differing opinions—one end of the table hated it and the other liked it. Sitting in the middle, I found myself, well, in the middle. I think that it had nice dark berry flavors, but with light density on the palate and a brief finish. The 2005 Peay La Bruma was fine, but just fine, kind of like that morning glass of milk, and was sufficiently unmemorable that I really cannot recollect any details–that said, this was another wine that I would be happy to have with dinner tonight. The 2006 Jemrose Cardiac Hill was everything that one wants in a syrah, rich but not over-ripe fruit, nice mouth density, but something seemed to be missing (that je ne sais quoi?) that would have put this from the good to the very good or great category.

The final flight was a bunch of old bones. The 1993 Edmund St John Durrell was shot. I didn’t really fancy the 1995 Edmund St John Durrell (and I used to love this wine) as I thought that the fruit had left the building and all we had were the secondary flavors; some folks really liked what it had to offer, but I prefer rich fruit in my syrahs so this may be more about me than about the wine. The 1997 Dehlinger was still pretty fresh for a 12 year old—not a showoff but enough muted red fruit to keep things interesting, just as I would have expected from an older Dehlinger syrah. I will let others describe the 1995 Arrowood Saralee’s. All I remember is that it was solid and not something that I was compelled to drink with the drive ahead of me.

We ended with a 1959 Ch Gillette Crème de Tete. I always feel that those of us born in 1959 need to stick together, but I have to be honest, just like your humble scrivener, the Gillette has seen better days. I thought that it was a bit oxidized, but it was a great treat to try a birthyear wine in my 50th year in any case.

As always, it was fun getting together with the guys. And shout-outs have to go to Bennett Traub who created with Palate a great dinner. And no doubt Bennett will have much better notes (and much different impressions—he was at the other end of the table). Bravo Bennett.

2

Walter, I must respectfully disagree with you on the 2005 Sandler.
IMO, one of the better CA Syrahs from the last decade.
Decidedly elegant with the Cote Rotie-Like herbal notes.
Not overblown like 95% of CA Syrah.

I love this wine and just ordered another case from Ed.

TTT

3

Walter, Fun read and I even think I understood most of your references this time! So are you going back on your promise not to write unless you host or Carlisle is involved?

4

It has been expanded to dinners involving syrah and the Little One thinks that involves his dinners also, but that is just because his dinners usually involve syrah.

5

Arnot-Roberts?

6

It was up to our host to pick wines that were offered and I am not sure if any Arnot Roberts was offered. By definition, a dinner with 10 guys that involves US syrahs not including Central Coast, Carlisle (which we drink all the time anyhow), Pax (which we generally don’t like) and Cayuse (which we definitely don’t like) is not going to be comprehensive. There was also no Paloma, Failla, Novy, Radio Coteau, Anthill Farms, Kongsgaard, Colgin, Rudius, Pride, Shane, KB, Cabot or dozens of others that I cannot think of off the top of my head (but it would be fun trying that sometime).

7

Goes to show that you should NOT leave the Central Coast out when doing a US syrah tasting!!!

Just note that there are PLENTY of newer syrah producers on the Central Coast to explor - Dragonette, Blair Fox, Kaena. Kenneth-Crawford - as well as some whom you guys may not have tried for awhile (Fess Parker, Zaca Mesa, Gainey’s Evan’s Ranch bottlings). Many of these are simply stunning examples of the diversity of microclimates that exist within our area - and how winemakers ‘play’ with them . . .

Cheers!

8

Sounds like a fun evening on my home turf. Palate is all that, no doubt. And Steve and OB-1 are two of the finest in the bus. I also agree that the '05 Sandler Syrah is dame fine. Ed really nailed it. I’ll wait to read Bennett’s take on the ESJ wines as I feel they re often stunning examples once they reach maturity. Talking about Central Coast Syrahs and not mentioning the Ojai Vineyard is quite an injustice, I’m just saying. And last but certainly not least, a Page post without lyrics, the shame of it.

She was given to me to put things right
And I stacked all my accomplishments beside her
Still I seemed so obsolete and small
I found God and all His devils inside her
In my bed she cast the blizzard out
A mock sun blazed upon her head
So completely filled with light she was
Her shadow fanged and hairy and mad
Our love-lines grew hopelessly tangled
And the bells from the chapel went jingle-jangle

9

Good to see Salinia mentioned. Kevin makes great wines in a rogue manner that seem to fly under the radar. I just recently opened one of the '05 chards and thought it was excellent too.

10

Not sure when or if Bennett will post but I will add some of his impressions about the wines. It was uniform throughout the group concerning the Sandler–I actually liked it more (or perhaps disliked it less) than the others at the table and Bennett really didnt like it one bit. As far as the older ESJ’s, Bennett really liked the 95, but not the 93.

And as far as not including lyrics from BJM, Pineapple Thief, Guster, The Doves, Porcupine Tree or Catherine Wheel (or even Todd or Mott the Hoople), well, my apologies. I agree that it is shameful and there are no good excuses.

11

I’ll post more detailed notes in the next day or two, but I’ll comment on a couple of things now:

Sandler. I agree with Walter, this wasn’t a great bottle. When opened the dominant character was green olive. I like that in a syrah, but here it was so overwhelming it pretty much shut out any other flavors, nuances, or complexity. As it aired, a distinctly soapy quality emerged. Not an enjoyable wine, my guess is it’s a bit too underripe. I appreciate the effort to avoid the overripe/raisiny/high alcohol style of syrah, but this one didn’t work. Maybe other bottles are better, but the things I didn’t like in the wine didn’t seem to be related to bottle storage, cork, etc. It wasn’t my least favorite wine of the night (that would be the Lewis), but definitely one I did not particularly enjoy.

'93 ESJ. When I first smelled this one, I thought, as Walter wrote, that it was “shot”. Rather sullen, seemingly a bit muddy/dirty, and with a hint of oxydation. But to my surprise, as it sat in the glass, the oxydized notes disappeared, and the fruit began to emerge. It showed some real depth, richness and complexity, although for sure in a darker, earthier, and rather brooding style, especially compared to the much brighter and fresher '95 ESJ. I had bought this bottle on release and stored it perfectly since then, and the fill was excellent, so I don’t think the bottle was damaged, but you never know. I’ve got 2 more of these, so I’ll need to open another soon and see if this one was a bit of an aberration. Overall, I enjoyed the '95 quite a bit more tongiht, but I’m not prepared to say that all of the '93’s are OTH.

More later.

12

so here’s my full take on the dinner. First, thanks for the notes, Walter, even if you think the wines lacked that certain je ne sais quoi, your notes certainly have it. But I guess where you saw the glasses half empty (of skim milk), I saw most of them at least half full, and the milk was whole and sweet. While I agree there was no “wow” wine that knocked our collective socks off, I thought this was one of our most consistent and enjoyable tastings, with fewer flawed or poorly made wines than is often the case, even if there wasn’t a true home run. Is a tasting with a couple of fantastic wines, a few good, and several really bad or flawed wines necessarily better than a tasting with mainly very good wines but no grand slams? I suppose that depends on your mood and your expectations, but I really enjoyed the wines more than Walter (or many of our other members, judging by the email traffic after the dinner).
Since I knew that Walter was doing the initial posting, I didn’t take detailed notes, so this will be overall impressions rather than detailed tasting notes.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Washington flight. My experience with Washington syrahs is limited, mainly a few Cayuse bottling which I have found wildly variable, with most of the recent vintages way too over-the-top and roasted for my taste. Not these three wines, all of which were quite well balanced. Both the Betz and Dunham were big, fruit-forward wines but well balanced enough to be aging very well, with no pruney/raisiny or volatile notes emerging. Deep ripe blackberry fruit that doesn’t go overboard into Chambord territory. The Copain was more traditionally “Rhoney” in character, and better balanced than the 2004 we had at the dinner that Wells attended a few months ago. Nice olive, bacon and violet notes here in more restrained profile than the other two wines.

The Napa flight included both some of my favorite and least favorite wines. The Lewis was very overripe, pruney and showing strongly volatile notes that suggest the wine is cracking up, perhaps under the burden of a lumberyard of oak. Not good at all, probably my least favorite wine of the night. Walter captured the Scholium pretty well, it’s a fairly “normal” wine for a Scholium, but seemed disjointed with acid poking out as it aired. Still, not a bad wine at all. The Lagier-Meredith is a great wine, IMO, not showy enough for “wow” perhaps, but a beautifully balanced wine of richness, power, and finesse that still has years of development ahead of it. The Araujo, from a challenging vintage, was just OK to me, a bit heavy and needing a bit of acid to lift the wine and give it shape, a bit dull, but still pretty good although as the most expensive wine in the flight, not one I would seek out.

The “Young Turks” flight was interesting to me, as I had never tasted three of the four producers in the flight. I agee with Walter on the Sandler, this was not a good bottle. When opened the dominant character was green olive. I like that in a syrah, but here it was so overwhelming it pretty much shut out any other flavors, nuances, or complexity. As it aired, a distinctly soapy quality emerged. Not an enjoyable wine, my guess is it’s a bit too underripe. I appreciate the effort to avoid the overripe/raisiny/high alcohol style of syrah, but this one didn’t work. Maybe other bottles are better, but the things I didn’t like in the wine didn’t seem to be related to bottle storage, cork, etc. The Holdredge was much better and I thought it was a really nice wine. Plenty big and rich, but still restrained enough to highlight the bacon fat and violet notes I really enjoy in syrah. Still very young but seemingly very well balanced for aging. My favorite in the flight was the Peay, which was probably the lightest and most elegant wine in the flight. Wonderful fragrance, silky and complex, this is kind of a pinot-styled syrah in terms of body, but with classic syrah flavors and real depth. Walter’s notes on the Jemrose are dead-on, a very good big wine from a vineyard also made by Carlisle, this has similar flavors to the Carlisle version of Cardiac Hill without quite the same mid-palate thrust that makes the Carlisle version so amazing. Still, it’s very tasty and full of fruit and power.

The “Old Traditionalists” flight was my overall favorite. The 1997 Dehlinger was remarkably young tasting, still loads of primary fruit that’s very fresh and medium bodied. Higher in acidity than most but very well balanced, classic syrah flavors and elegant, like a more mature version of the Peay, in fact. The 1993 ESJ “Durrell” performed oddly. When I first smelled this one, I thought, as Walter wrote, that it was “shot”. Rather sullen, seemingly a bit muddy/dirty, and with a hint of oxydation. But to my surprise, as it sat in the glass, the oxydized notes disappeared, and the fruit began to emerge. It showed some real depth, richness and complexity, although for sure in a darker, earthier, and rather brooding style, especially compared to the much brighter and fresher '95 ESJ. I had bought this bottle on release and stored it perfectly since then, and the fill was excellent, so I don’t think the bottle was damaged, but you never know. I’ve got 2 more of these, so I’ll need to open another soon and see if this one was a bit of an aberration. Overall, I enjoyed the '95 quite a bit more tonight, but I’m not prepared to say that all of the '93’s are OTH. The 1995 ESJ, on the other hand, was very much alive and in a perfect state of maturity. Very complex and fragrant, great nose, medium body but with good richness and depth, not thick, and very long. Perhaps my WOTN, along with the Lagier-Meredith. Finally, the Arrowood was also in a very good place, more straightforward and a simpler wine than the ESJ, but a bit richer and also very well balanced.

As for the 1959 Gilette, I gotta disagree with Walter’s comment about oxidation on the wine. It is certainly a very mature wine, like most people born that year, but a long way from OTH. Gilette will never be as complex or profound as one of the top Sauternes like Suduiraut, but this was creamy rich, with delicious caramel and apricot flavors, and the last few ounces I took home are still good 3 days later.

Next month we’ll swing for the fences. As for this month, I’m happy we got on base and had a few RBI’s in the process.

13

Hey Bennett - Thanks for your impressions. Too bad the Sandler was not a sound bottle, I think it’s a wine you would enjoy. I have a single bottle of the '95 ESJ Durrell. Will probably hold off a little longer before popping it.

As a side note, we are serving the '05 ESJ “Wylie-Fenaughty” Syrah, which to amazement is drinking very well at this young stage in it’s life.

14

Curious, were these popped and poured or opened earlier?

15

Most were opened at the restaurant. I dont think that the old bones were opened much before serving.

16

Walter is correct, nothing was opened much more than an hour or so before being served.

In thinking about it, it is possible that the '93 ESJ would have benefited by given a slow oxygenation regimen, i.e, opened several hours in advance without decanting. I’m going to try that with my next bottle if it shows the same as the bottle we had at this dinner immediately after opening.

17

Nice job gentlemen…sorry I missed this dinner as I have been longing to try Palate. Although quite a schlep from the South Bay, it is good to have a new venue added to our rotation.

Cheers!
Marshall [cheers.gif]

18

Getting home at 10pm was no issue (less than a half hour), but getting there was no fun (70 minutes).