Syrah

My last bottle of this and it sure seemed to be at or close to peak.  Purple in color with ruby hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, bacon fat, white pepper and slight dried floral note.  Full bodied.  On the palate, black raspberries, char and slight earthiness.  Complex.  Nice finish.  It threw a lot of sediment.  This will work better with food at this point although nice on its own.  A greart5 match for pizza night.  Drink up.  

This is 100% Syrah from Fair Play, California (El Dorado County) and the Skinner Vineyard.  Purple in color with some ruby hues, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, roasted meats, and slight black pepper.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Lovely slightly plush texture.  On the palate, this is still on the young side but quite tasty.  Flavors of black raspberries with some spice and earthiness.  Long finish.  This is great on its own and will work for meaty dishes but also roasted vegetables over rice.  Drink over the next seven to ten years. 

This is a blend of 82% Syrah, 14% Mourvedre, and 4% Grenache. 15.87% ABV.

This is an intriguing blend of Syrah and Vermentino made into a Rose from Tuscany.  Deep salmon pink in color, clear and bright.  The nose is clean with cranberries and some strawberries.  Medium bodied.  Slightly sweet on the palate.  Mostly cherries and some strawberries.  Nice finish.  This is a light and refreshing wine but the  Syrah gives it just a touch of seriousness.  Nice on its own and very food friendly.  Drink now.  

For those who doubt some of today's high alcohol wines won't last, this one is 15.6% abv and drinking just fine at age 15.  If, however, you didn't like it young, you still won't.  I loved it.  A blend of 80% Syrah, 14% Grenache and 6% Roussanne.  Inky purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is great with black raspberries, black cherries, blueberries, black pepper, and roasted vegetables.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  Lively acidity.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Lush texture.  Plenty of black raspberries, some blueberries and hints of black cherries with black pepper and cha

The best wines from Guigal are generally considered his Cote Rotie's but the Hermitage doesn't lag far behind.  On the other hand, their Hermitage is much more affordable and is certainly worth looking at.  Purple in color, opaque and shimmering bright.  The nose has black raspberries, clay, spice, some oak, violets and smoke.  Full bodied.  Firm tannins.  Well balanced.  On the palate, there is plenty of black raspberry fruit but overall this wine needs time.  Plenty of impenetrable depth.  Great texture.  Long finish.  Ideally hold this for another seven to ten years and drink over the ne

It was nice to revisit this wine (See https://www.intowine.com/reviews/2014-jl-chave-s%C3%A9lection-hermitage-...) as it gets closer to full maturity.  This wine has really exceeded all of my expectations.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black olives, slight dried floral note and a fresh earthiness.  Full bodied.  great texture.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with some underlying funk and hints of va

This was the first vintage of this wine as it replaced the La Petit Chapelle bottling.  It seems to be a bottling made for more immediate drinking than the La Chapelle bottling.  It is a very classic Hermitage nevertheless and at age 8, this seems to be just settling in.  Purple in color with ruby hues, opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, black olives, and smoked herbs.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, black raspberries with a slight floral (violet?) note and smoke.  Great acidity.  Long finish.  This is drinking well and should easily go another ten years.  Ni

Inky purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose has black raspberries, clay, black pepper and char.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, this is deep and youthful.  Delicious.  Black raspberries, roasted herbs and black pepper  Long finish.  This is a big wine that will benefit from another five to ten years in the cellar.  It will drink well for twenty years, but if drinking soon, then give it a few hours in a decanter.  It will work with bigger foods.  Roasted duck should work nicely.

Purple/ruby in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is initially quite spicy.  With air, there is also black raspberries, black pepper, slight bacon fat and slight roasted herbs.  Medium to full bodied.  A nice backbone of  acidity. On the palate, black cherries, black raspberries, and black pepper with underlying char.  Nice finish.  This is drinking well already and quite open.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  Very nice on its own, this would be great with a Braised Lamb stew.