2014 Shafer Relentless, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

This is a blend of 89% Syrah and 11% Petit Sirah. It takes time for the Petite to emerge and today, the Syrah is really the show. And a great show it is. Inky purple in color, opaque and bright. The nose has black raspberries, char, violets, slight roasted meats and herbs. Full bodied with a lush texture. On the palate, juicy black raspberries with slight blueberries, and some underlying char and earthiness. Medium tannins. Long finish. This drinks great on its own and went well with a chocolate cake but would work well with Indian food or roasts as well.

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Score:

Vintage:

2014

Current Price:

$80.00USD

2008 Hospice du Rhone Events: Highs & Lows of American Rhone-style Wines Tasted

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. The 16th annual Hospice du Rhone events in Paso Robles, California from May 1 to 3, 2008 was an opportunity to consider Rhone-style wines from a fresh perspective. Unlike most tasting opportunities, these events included Rhone-style wines from the Rhone Valley itself (51 wineries), elsewhere in France (4 wineries) as well as from Spain (4 wineries), Australia (17 wineries), South Africa (6 wineries), Chile (2 wineries), Argentina (1 winery) and the United States. The American wines were mostly from California (144 wineries), but a few examples from Arizona (2 wineries) and Washington State (5 wineries) were also included. While this is a California-dominated event, and while many of the Rhone Valley’s best producers aren’t represented, there is still sufficient European and other entries to make for interesting comparisons and contrasts. The events included two general tastings and a series of focused seminars.

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America’s Best Rhone Style Red Wines: 11th Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting Reviewed

The Rhone Report: About Rhone and Rhone-Style Wines and Winemakers is part of an ongoing series. Last month we discussed the white Rhone style wines offered at the 2008 Rhone Rangers tasting event at Fort Mason in San Francisco on March 18. This month we turn to the reds, of which we tasted 50. Among those we tasted were some old favorites and some wineries or bottlings with which we were not yet familiar. We don’t pretend that we tasted a representative group of wines, because our sample was skewed to wines we have loved in the past and others about which we have heard positive comments.

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Top Ten California Syrahs - 2016

I tend to taste and drink a lot of wine over the course of a year. I am in a few tasting groups, sometimes the wines are consumed at various local wine store tastings and a number drunk with friends and family.

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2013 Shafer Relentless, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Vintage:

2013

Score:

Grade:

Current Price:

$90.00USD

This is a blend of 97% Syrah with 3% Petite Sirah. Purple in color, ruby at the rim, opaque and bright. The nose is tight but opens after about an hour. Spice, black raspberries, some smoke along with roasted meats and herbs and black pepper. Full bodied. Has a bit more elegance than prior vintages perhaps due to less Petite Sirah? On the palate, black raspberry fruit with underlying char and earth. Some black pepper, too. Nice finish. This may still improve a bit and while it drinks well now, it may be worth cellaring for another three to seven years. Either way, it will drink we

Heidi Peterson Barrett: Napa's Wine Diva on Winemaking, La Sirena, and the Legacy of Screaming Eagle

Heidi Peterson Barrett As arguably the most celebrated, respected, envied, and in-demand winemaker in America today, Heidi Peterson Barrett is one of only a handful of winemakers who can legitimately lay claim to "superstar" status. Her wines at both Dalle Valle and Screaming Eagle resulted in multiple 100 point scores from Robert Parker (Parker himself dubbed her the "First Lady of Wine") and helped redefine both the meaning and value of "cult" wines. She rocked the wine world at the 2000 Napa Valley Wine Auction as a 6-liter bottle of her 1992 Screaming Eagle sold for $500,000, in the process setting a world record for the highest price ever paid for a single bottle of wine (a vertical offering went for $650,000 at the 2001 Napa Valley Wine Auction). Heidi Peterson Barrett is currently winemaker for Amuse Bouche, Paradigm, Revana, Barbour, Lamborn, Fantesca, as well as her own label La Sirena . I recently had the pleasure of catching up with Heidi to talk about winemaking, her own La Sirena label, and the legacy of Screaming Eagle.

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2014 Shafer Relentless, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

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2008 Hospice du Rhone Events: Highs & Lows of American Rhone-style Wines Tasted

America’s Best Rhone Style Red Wines: 11th Annual Rhone Rangers Tasting Reviewed

Top Ten California Syrahs - 2016

2013 Shafer Relentless, USA, California, Napa, Wine Review

Heidi Peterson Barrett: Napa's Wine Diva on Winemaking, La Sirena, and the Legacy of Screaming Eagle