Notes from a tasting of 1998 Syrah, and Petit Sirah.
Not the best of years in California, but some decent wines if one hunts for them, and in this group, tasted blind, were some Washington State wines as well.
Terra Blanca Red Mountain Syrah - the first 3 are from Washington. This one was a murky little number with a ripe, hot, sweet nose, but it was also a tad stewy in the mouth, and then finished with an abundance of acidity. Pass.
Mt. Baker Vineyard Yakima Valley Reserve Syrah - leathery Rhonish nose, some pepper in the mouth, good length, the feel a bit chalky, and the fruit a bit subdued.
Columbia Winery Yakima Syrah - a monotone sweetish nose with no differentiation, light colour, flat in the mouth. Pass.
Fife PS Redhead Vineyard (Mendocino) - at last something interesting, although this big dark brooding wine with lots of tannins and a concentrated nose seemed to put a lot of people off. I think this one will develop into something interesting over the next few years.
David Bruce Central Coast PS - light colour, cherry nose, sweet in the mouth and no better than inoffensively pleasant. One expects great things (both good and bad) from this producer based on past performance. David Bruce gone establishment?
Geyser Peak Sonoma Reserve Shiraz - (yes, they spell it that way) A simple and rather perfumed nose, good acidity and balance, and good length, but the fruit goes AWOL at the end. Still has tannins.
Terra Rouge Sierra Foothills Syrah - not much nose here, and what there was is dusty, sweet mint. Pretty good length, but overall not impressive.
Fess Parker Santa Barbera County Syrah - very sweet nose, high toned with an herbal/vegetal element, a bit hot in the mouth and simple with only medium length. Not a winner.
Gregory Graham Napa Syrah - almost no nose, and this was a white bread sort of wine - nothing stood out, good or bad, and thus nothing interesting here - move along, folks.
Vigil Napa PS Davies Vineyard - over-ripe concentrated and somewwhat medicinal nose, followed by a lean tannic wine. Thumbs down.
And now, the best Syrah I tasted this week.......was at home the night after this tatsing, but I'll append the notes as they make an interesting comparison.
2000 Montes Alpha Syrah (Santa Cruz Chile) - a weighty fruit driven nose, but without any of the over-ripe character that appeals to some Oz wine fans. Medium to full body, with excellent fruit and a very long finish. Fair bit of well integrated tannin indicates that it will benefit from 2-3 years in cellar and will last longer than that. It is in some ways more in the Northern Rhone idiom in terms of nose and structure, but with a delightful sweetness at the end reminiscent of Antipodean examples of the varietal.
As I tasted it, I kept asking myself - is it to lean, too sweet, too light weight. The answer, after reflection, was always no, it walks the line of balance in all attributes very nicely, and it isn't too anything! A very nice wine at a lower price than many of the American examples and clearly head and shoulders above anything except maybe the Fife, for which I had conceived a fondness.