Syrah

A chance to try the iconic wine of Australia is pretty special but a chance to try one with age is amazing.  This bottle was decanted for a couple of hours and then poured back into the bottle and served after an additional two hours.  It was still a bit tight but opened up in the glass quite well.  The nose has black cherries, black raspberries, black pepper and slight roasted meats and roasted herbs.  On the palate, it is medium to full bodied.  Great balance.  Nice black raspberry and black cherry fruit over char.  This is drinking well and probably at or close to peak.  No hurry, there

Grange is arguably the best wine from its entire continent.  That's a pretty bold statement.  This is the iconic wine from Australia and has, and continues to, earn that reputation for over almost seventy years.  This is of course, young.  Grange is a wine that can easily do a few decades.  Yet, it drank well as pop and pour  Purple in color.  The nose is very pretty with black cherries, ginger, cedar, and spice.  Full bodied with firm tannins.  Flavors of black cherries, black raspberries, a bot of char/toast.  Great mouth feel.  Long finish.  This will get better with cellaring.  It needs

Few people make Grenache in California at a level of this.  Manfred Krankl, the owner/winemaker here, does it consistently.  It skirts the line of being large yet having elegance.  This is a blend of 76% Grenache, 16% Syrah, and 8% Mourvedre.  Just a delicious wine.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has great raspberry fruit along with black raspberries, char, black pepper and spice.  Full bodied.  Medium tannins.  On the palate, the raspberries and black raspberries come thru.  Wonderful lush texture.  Underlying pepper and char.  Long finish.  This needs about five more years until peak an

Another winner from Denner.  A blend of 96% Syrah, 2% Roussanne, 2% Viognier.  Inky purple in color, a thin ruby rim.  The nose is big and warm.  Black raspberries, black pepper, slight roasted meats, slight black olives.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Full bodied.  Black raspberry fruit, roasted meats and herbs and a bit of black pepper.  Lush texture.  Long finish.  This is easy to drink.  On its own, this is perfect, however, it will continue to evolve over the next five to seven years and be more complex and food friendly.  It will go well with roasts and meat casseroles.  

This is an excellent cooler climate Syrah.  Reasonably priced too.  Purple in color.  The nose has boysenberries, leather, roasted herbs and an interesting camphor note.  Full bodied.  On the palate, the boysenberries come thru over a bed of char and slight earthiness.  This needs two or three more years to peak and then should be good for another ten to twelve after that.  It will pair well with roasts and grilled foods and also Indian cuisine.  

This is a relatively newer producer in the Rhone whose wines should be on your radar.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, white pepper, roasted herbs and a slight violet note.  On the palate, this is full bodied.  Delicious.  Black raspberry fruit over smoke and nice minerality.  Long finish.  This will go great with roasts and casserole but also Indian and more robust Thai food.  It still will continue to improve for the next five to seven years and should be good for ten to fifteen, at least, after that.  

Although this is a California Syrah, Lillian is an Oregon producer.  This is great.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, gamey meats, roasted herbs, slight black olives.  On the palate, this is delicious.  it has complexity and depth too.  Black raspberry fruit with slight earthiness and a bit of grilled meats.  Long finish.  This is just about at peak now.  Light tannins.  Wonderful texture.  Juicy fruit.  Long finish.  It should be hear for another ten years or so.  It will work great with roasted fowl or meats or grilled foods.  

This is a delicious Syrah from the North side of the Hudson vineyard.  Bedrock made two different Hudson vineyard Syrahs.  This is drinking quite well now.  Purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, slight roasted herbs and hints of bacon fat.  On the palate, this has juicy boysenberries with some black olives and slight grilled meats.  Very interesting and very delicious.  Good balance.  Long finish.  It took about an hour in the glass to really open up.  Maybe another year or two until peak.  A nice match to roasts and also to Indian or Thai foods.  

This wine has really taken a long time to come around, but is now drinking great.  This is there basic Syrah.  Purple in color, deep ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries, black pepper, grilled meats and slight roasted herb.  On the palate, this is deep and complex.  Lovely medium bodied texture.  Black raspberry fruit layered with dry, charred earth.  Good finish.  This should continue to drink well for another ten to fifteen years.  A great match with Indian food, it should also work well with casseroles or roasts.  

This is a Zinfandel blend of 74% Zinfandel, 14% Syrah and 12% Mourvedre.  This is a big wine but it is drinking quite nicely right now.  Purple in color, slight ruby at the rim.  The nose has black cherries, raspberries, a bit of bramble, plums and black pepper.  On the palate, this has a nice texture.  A nice varietal complexity.  It goes down (too) easy.  Although there is no alcohol on the palate, it is 15.3%.  Lots of black cherry and raspberry fruit with some char and spice.  Good finish.  This drinks great on it own and would work well with a burger.  It probably should be consumed in