Dry Stack Cellars Marie's Block Syrah 2006

From the Bennett Valley - the newest Sonoma AVA - this syrah is very big and very bold. A measly 300 cases of this supremely dense blackish purple darker than concord grape juice wine was produced. While this style of wine is going a bit out of fashion, I still highly respect winemakers that can pull off a ballsy New World syrah without making it syrupy, overly sweet, or one dimensional. This is just such a wine.

With a rich meaty nose, the toffee and stewed black fruits complimented the chocolate, cherry, and coffee aromas that made this smell like a Willy Wonka experiment gone right. The palate was somewhat sweet up front, but very dry in the back end, with proper tannic grip. This is quite alcoholic and extracted, but its concentration is superb and it sits on the good side of the cusp of overdone wine. This is in almost every way a bruiser (albeit with just enough of a soft heart to garner our sympathies), and is clearly an American wine made for high fat American food.

Very Good+
$38 at North Berkeley Wine Merchants

Neyers Cuvee D'Honneur 2004

I have been consistently impressed with Neyers' wines. As many probably know, Neyers was created by Kermit Lynch importer Bruce Neyers in 1992, and has grown to produce an incredible range of high quality wines influenced by the French wines that Neyers cut his teeth on with Kermit Lynch. With highly respected winemaker Ehren Jordan at the helm (of Turley), Neyers is making some pretty interesting and varied products that all have a great sense of personality.

At first when I opened this Cuvee, made in a Northern Rhone style - but with more fruit, and given its name in honour of Theirry Allemand, Auguste Clape and Noel Verset (who helped influence this wine), I was taken aback by its intense gameyness and heavy leaf notes. This is not what you normally see in California Syrahs or Syrah based blends. More like a backwards Cornas, in fact, at first this was somewhat unbalanced and I was disappointed. However, after a day in the fridge (which I assume was equivalent to a good decant), this opened up dramatically and really smoothed out.

The nose shifted so that mint, blackberry and currants predominated and the game and leaf took a secondary character. The palate was equivalent to the colour of the wine: rich and black. Game was dominant on the first day, but then out came chocolate, plums and blackberries. In the end I was quite happy with this wine, although I have to admit I prefer the better QPR of the lakeville road syrah. However, I feel with time this could be really outstanding. Sourced from the famed Hudson vineyards.

VeryGood+ to Excellent (after the fridge); Good+ to Very Good (upon initially opening)

$45 ($38 on sale) at Dean and Deluca in St. Helena

Quinta de Viluco QV Syrah 2005

A Chilean syrah from the Maipo Valley. This was absolutely intense in colour with blackish purple filling the glass with a formidable approach. The nose was all big dark fruit and confection, with definite alcohol. The palate was softer than expected, however, and very concentrated. I noticed simple but intense plum, chocolate, blackberry and licorice. Good balance, and a good value for a 'big' new world style syrah. Many would undoubtedly like this, but I prefer a little less sugar and a little more roughness when it comes to massive syrahs. Either that or go for the elegance and layering of a Northern Rhone style. Still, if I could get this in Canada at this price point, it would be tempting to drink this pretty often.

Very Good

$17.50 at North Berkeley Wine Merchants

Neyers Lakeville Road Syrah 2007

Damn. I have to admit that Neyers is pretty much the ideal when it comes to adapting old world varietals to the new world climate. This syrah is an absolutely incredible adaptation of a full bodied Hermitage, with serious depth and weight. So delicious.

On the nose this was big and grapey, but not in cheap way - notes of black fruit, licorice and earth turn into quite a massive palate with lots of extract and bramble. Intense dark fruit predominates, but with a cigar box savory quality. This is the ideal big bodied new world syrah with old world style and 'roughness'. Neyers is clearly special and I am looking forward to hopefully visiting them in a few weeks.

Excellent

$28 at K&L

Alfero Family Estate 'A' Syrah 2006

A small production santa cruz mountains syrah, this reminds me of a crozes-hermitage in many ways. A spicy, pepper nose with rich dark fruit, chocolate and licorice as typical for syrah - very forward. The palate was unexpected for California in its restraint and high acidity. An explosion of earth and blackberry that is both mouthfilling and smooth. Not at all a 'sappy' syrah and texturally very bright. Distinctly California, but born of food friendliness and versatility rather than power. Not complex, but a good everyday dinner wine.

Very Good

$21 at Vintage Berkeley

Herman Story Lerner Vineyard Syrah 2005

I got this Santa Ynez Syrah on a great bargain from the BCLDB downtown. I am increasingly impressed by Santa Barbara county wines from California, and I enjoy very much their much lower price points compared to the Napa powerhouses. It's amazing how a fantastic vineyard that has been producing fantastic wine for 40+ years in Santa Barbara County is outpriced by a startup in Napa.

Here we have a beautiful nose of scorched earth, herbs and game. This VERY southern-Rhone like nose (i.e. almost grenache like) expanded into a very syrah-like palate: creamy raspberry and blackberry, rich and full and toasty. Even though this has high alcohol (15.9%) the wine carried it very well and was structured, balanced and packed a great flavour punch. I liked this a lot better than most of the high octane Aussie wines at the same price point.
Excellent
$46 ($32 on sale) at BCLDB

An Ojai Trio

Ojai Vineyards is one of California's more controversial wine producers. The winemaker, Adam Tolmach made his name with high octane alcoholic super intense wines. Later, he wrote an article decrying the overuse of alcohol in California wine. So, where does he sit now? It seems that he is planning on restraining his winemaking. The vintages and wines I will be tasting are pre-declaration, however, so it will be interesting to see how they turn out. As a note, NONE of these wines had alcohol percentages listed (despite the BC law otherwise), hmmmm.


Wine #1: Ojai Vineyards Santa Rita Hills Chardonnay ‘Clos Pepe’ Vineyard 2005

Here we have a nose of toasted nuts, mainly almonds, and rich round apple and pear. The palate was replete with pineapple, toast, banana, and citrus – predominantly lime. With a nice balance of acidity and lushness, this wine reminded me of a perfect meringue. Full and long in the mouth, with great punch and clarity.

Excellent
~$50 at Marquis





Wine #2: Ojai Vineyards Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir ‘Clos Pepe’ Vineyard 2004

The nose was all spice and strawberry – in fact I detected a very distinct blend of mulling spices, making this a great Christmas wine. The palate was actually less fruity than expected, and had great notes of cinnamon, clove, orange rind (dried and slightly bitter), and musty earth. I really enjoyed the palate – it was a cut above most New World pinots I have had. There was a touch of heat on the back end, but this was not at all offensive or extreme. And, it was freakin’ amazing with Foie Gras

Excellent
~$50 at Marquis


Wine #3: Ojai Vineyards Santa Barbara County Syrah ‘White Hawk’ Vineyard 2004

Here is where I began to understand Ojai’s reputation. This was a mother of a syrah: a huge nose of roasted red fruits such as cherry, chocolate, game and scorched earth. Very big and juicy, almost creamy with rich chocolatey and dried fruit flavours on the palate. Very tasty, but too alcoholic and big for me – even unbalanced. The extraction is a little crazy and overwhelmed the palate somewhat. Maybe with a super rich red meat dish this would work better.

Very Good to Very Good+
~$50 at Marquis


So, in the end I was quite impressed with this Ojai trio, and didn't think they should be that controversial, except for the Syrah. I definitely recommend seeking these guys out and giving them a try, no matter what your predilections. You may, in the end, not like the wines, but you will learn something in the process.

Rosemount Balmoral Syrah 2001

One of the few 'shiraz' based wines in Australia to go by the name syrah, I suppose in an attempt to suggest this wine's similarity to a French Rhone-style syrah rather than an Australian fruity concoction. I definitely thought this mostly succeeded in that respect.

The nose was creme de Cassis and distinctly floral violets with hints of vanilla. The palate continued the trend but added a brilliant core of acidic minerality and a smoky bacon component, much like a Northern Rhone syrah. However, the character of the cassis was unmistakably Australian, which made for a pretty unique combination. All it was missing was a bit more weight and depth, which could come with either age or a different vintage.

Very Good+
$70 at BCLDB

Doyenne Syrah 2004

Doyenne is the Rhone-style wine project of Washington's famed Delille Cellars. My several samplings of Washington syrahs have convinced me of this grape's viability in that state, and I think there is great potential for its future development.

The nose was extremely rich and fruity with cherry cola and game aromas. The palate was a big punch of fruit, cassis and chocolate, with a very long back end. On its own, this was good but not fantastic and I think needs a little more work (or perhaps a better vintage). However, when paired with braised lamb this was a beauty - the lamb bringing out an intense mocha flavour and complimenting the richness of the wine very nicely.

Very Good+ (on its own)

Excellent (with braised lamb)

$55 USD ($80 CDN) purchased in Seattle

Kestrel 'Kestrel View Estate Vineyard' Syrah 2003

Produced in the famed Yakima Valley of Washington, this syrah bucks the trend and comes in at 13.8% ABV. I find Syrah from WA can be a bit too rich and creamy for my tastes. However, Kestrel offers quite a different take on Syrah from some of the other producers.

Wow - syrah rarely tastes this good for $40. That is, if you like a brambly, southern Rhone style or Languedoc style version of syrah. While this had greaty purity of fruit, it did not come across at all like California syrah or Australian Shiraz. Rather, it had a rich peppery, scorched earth, dark fruit palate with blueberry and mocha notes. Ending with a 30 second finish, this had nice balance, was amazingly well rounded, and simply delicious. A perfect pairing with a simple cheese pizza.

Excellent

$40 at Everything Wine

Antu 'Ninquen' Syrah 2005

The second of my friend's attempt to familiarize me with South American terroir. I certainly get a sense that the Colchagua Valley has a lot of potential for syrah, although the Polkura I had earlier far surpassed this representation.

On the nose I detected some smoke as well as a salami component. The palate was very oaky, with cassis and salami (not the greatest flavour). This wine is definitely oak chipped, which is unfortunate, but it does have decent acidity. While simple and highly sulfered there is a push towards flavour that makes the wine decent.

Good

~$20 at BCLDB

Pierre Gaillard Cote Rotie 2004

Northern Rhone produces,in my opinion, the most elegant expression of syrah found in the world. While I love syrah from all over the world, the Northern Rhone is for me the shining light that many years ago really opened my palate to the complexities of flavours besides fruit. Gaillard is one of the 'gang of four' top producers in the Rhone, so I was pretty excited to finally try out one of his creations.

This 04 was spicy, dusty, peppery and floral. The acid levels are pretty high and tightly wound. However, with air this evolved into a well balanced, earthy syrah with undertones of fungus. Sour earth strawberry (fresh and dried). Other red berry flavours open up with a few hours of decanting. The finish was long, big and bold. Good, but not worth full price.

Very Good+

$70 ($50 on sale) at Marquis

Polkura Syrah 2006

This Colchagua valley syrah is a small production (1350 cases) gem that challenges the many over-sulfered cheaper examples from down south. This was juicy on the nose, with blackberry and cassis. The palate developed into a fruity but savory well structured wine with notes of herbs, wood and chocolate. The medium length finish kept up the intensity, rounding out what amounts to a very excellent value Chilean wine worth seeking out.

Excellent

$33 at Steamworks Liquor Store (not related to Steamworks)

Boekenhoutskloof Syrah 2003

A rare venture into South Africa for me, and starting with one of the most renowned names for some reason put on sale at 30% off in a strange but wonderful discount program at BCL which seems to randomly select wines for 30-50% discounts regardless of quality. I think it has something to do with lack of information in the market, with many consumers not knowing about some of the slightly more 'obscure' producers from regions like Portugal and South Africa who are yet producing fantastic wines. Good for me.

This had blackberry and cassis on the nose, with the palate adding boysenberry or similar bitter berry. This also had an interesting almost funky fruit twist on the palate that I found it hard to identify. The finish concluded with a touch of menthol that rounded the wine out pretty nicely. Good stuff, but honestly far too pricey for what you get.

Very Good+

$70 at BCLDB (bought on sale for $50)

Qupé Santa Ynez Valley Stolpman Vineyard Syrah 2004

I've always been a huge fan of Qupé, run by cellar-mate and friend of Au Bon Climat's Jim Clendenon, Bob Lidquist. These guys punch out serious heavy-duty syrah with a style unique from both the Rhone valley and Australian Shiraz. This selection was one of their many single vineyard offerings.

The nose was big and black-fruit intensive. On the palate I got fig, plum, and other such fruits, with an inky texture and big pepper and spice flavours. This was well balanced and smooth despite its bigness and high alcohol content (15.6%). I think this is a very good expression of a true blue California fruit driven style. Unfortunately, this dissipated somewhat with an hour's decanting, which notched the rating down slightly for me.

Very Good+ to Excellent

$40 at Marquis

Mystic Wines Syrah 2005

Having enjoyed the Mystic Cab Sauv, I figured it was worth $30 to potentially find another great value bottle. Unfortunately, this syrah was highly disappointing given the precedent set by the Cab. The nose was heavy on dark berry liqueur that expanded on the palate into peppery smooth heavily ripened cherry and blueberry flavours. I found this a bit jammy and simple. Nevertheless, it's not horrible - it's just not speical.

Good+

$30 at Kitsilano Wine Cellars

Beckman Vineyards Purisma Mountain Syrah Clone #1 Santa Ynez Valley 2003

The new semester has started and I am finally back in town and able to taste some wine again (Asia is not the ideal place to find a good bottle). I have been very busy with a competetive law moot so it was nice to take a small break and try out a vineyard I've been interested in for quite some time. Beckman is situated in central California and has become more and more noticed over the past few years as producing some high quality crafted wines. Beckman is trying to bring some old-world style to the new world. Here's an explanation from their website: "With high elevations, a unique microclimate and the same rare limestone subsoil as found in the great Rhone region, this vineyard is perfectly suited for producing outstanding Rhone varietal offerings and serves as the source of our exclusive Purisima Mountain Vineyard wines. "

Without having known this before drinking, I definitely had the impression that the wine at least paid tribute to a northern rhone valley syrah, even if I would still describe the fruit as more new-world in style. So, on to the review

The nose was very plummy with a hint of cassis. The aromas carried a nice rich juicy character. With a couple hours in the glass the nose changed more into baked red fruit. The mouthfeel was very silky and well balanced, and the finish had a nice smooth texture.

As for the palate, I found the wine to be a little tart and acidic, especially upon first opening the bottle. I don't mean this in a bad way, though, but I think the wine would really benefit from pairing with food or cheese to mellow the acidity. Drinking the Beckman felt like drinking a tart rasberry pie and the fruit had a slight, but not overwrought, jammyness. Overall I think the winei s very well made, but while I like it, it is not entirely my style.

However, after several hours in the glass and sitting in an open bottle (I didn't bother properly decanting this one), the flavours really evolved and the acidity mellowed out quite a bit. The oaky vanillan flavours became more pronounced, which added a nice contrast to the tart fruit. The tannins became more and less expressive over time, fluctuating from very subtle to slightly grippy on the mid-palate. However, they never became overwhelming.

I say kudos to the winemaker for producing such a 'crafted' product, and even if it was not entirely my style, I am sure many people would enjoy this a lot.

Very Good to Very Good+ (depending on what style you like)
~$50 (at Marquis)