Today my wife, and 18 year son and self went to see a movie called "The Illusionist". Great Movie...highly recommend...no this is not stealth marketing.
After the movie we went to the Dean and Deluca Wine bar and did a couple 2 oz tasting pours with a charcuterie plate of salami, cheese, pate, mustards, black olive tapinade and rustic breads.
My wife started with a Miner Merlot followed by a Worthy Cab. I had a Mt Eden Pinot Noir Santa cruz followed by a JL Chave Saint Josept Offerus 2003.
This Chave was outstanding and I plan to aquire a case.
From what I gather it is either all Syrah or mostly all Syrah. Very elegant wine. Great flavor. Seemed like a good food wine. Rhone.
These wines rarely have been seen in Charlotte. Glad to have tried tonight. Earthy, complex, integrated dry tannin...long finish but flavorful from beginning to end.
St Joseph wines are, IMHO, highly under-rated. The problem lies in the variance in quality. The St. Joseph appelation encompasses a vast region, most known for the vineyards right across the Rhone from Tain Hermitage, but extending way north and west. And the wines are as divers as the region. We've found a number of really nice St. Joseph's - and all are at great prices, I think simply because of the reputation of the appelation. I don't think we've tried the 'Offerus' cuvee - but wll certainly look for it now that i've read yours and Joe's comments - thanks!
FYI... I have never had a California Syrah I really enjoyed. Nor have I ever really enjoyed a Aus Shiraz.
Therefore my experience with Syrah is limited. I have had several JL Chave Hermitage 96 and some 98 vintages. Those are my benchmarks.
I really enjoy the older world style vs new world. That said I had some wonderful Syrah from Walla Walla this summer at a variety of wineries while in Walla Walla. Most typified old world style.
When it comes to 'old world Syrah', I'm reminded of several 'table wines' I enjoyed while in southern France. Most were next-to-unlabelled, small production from some local vintners (names escape me now, but there were most likely '94 vintage), but I do recall some very distinct qualities you simply cannot find here in the States. They all seemed lighter, softer, much more easy-going and not so much of a production effort. I've not really found any Syrahs here that compared to that -- although I have developed a flavor for some of the richer 'Stateside' Syrahs.
My impression from recent vintages is that many Californian Syrahs are simply too acidic. Way too heavy. It's as if the grape had one, last breath before dying, and then was fermented. I'm under the impression that some of the drier-climate and Mediterranean varietals being grown in Calforinia, are being done so with increasing difficulty due to the global warming and the like.
There are a few Oregon producers that make a decent Syrah. In recent years, the southern portion of the state has really warmed up - but not too much. Abacela (in the Umpqua Valley) has some really rugged, rocky terrain in which they grow grapes you'd typically find in N. Spain (Tempranillo, Syrah, Grenache, etc). However, in true New World style, the wines are rich and fruit-forward. Even the Tempranillo is a little heavy, though in their own way, very nice.
Duck Pond Cellars (Willamette Valley) has lots of acreage, especially in the Columbia Valley of SE Washington state, and they produce a pretty good Syrah, both under the Duck Pond and Desert Wind Vineyard labels. It tends on the lighter side of things.
I've found a few good Syrahs up and down the Columbia Gorge, both Oregon and Washington. The relatively dry, continental, slightly higher altitude climates make for some lovely, aromatic Syrahs that aren't too heavy. The Hood River area (now part of the newly formed Columbia River AVA) is seeing a lot of new wineries springing up. The relatively fertile, but also dry and warm, volcanic valley, just north of Mt. Hood, is producing some very unique wines these days. It's a lovely tour if you ever want to pass through during harvest time (not simply for wines, but also the endless apple/pear/nut orchards...)
It's interesting though... it's much easier to find a Columbia Gorge Syrah with a WA State label than OR... I just think many of the vintners in this state haven't yet realized that Oregon's 45th Parallel puts it not only on-par with Burgundy in terms of climate, but also, with recent warming trends, has opened up a lot of opportunities to do a decent job of the more 'southern' varietals as well.
Thanks for the tip on a steal... I ordered a case at $18.99 at Wine Library. It turns out in Charlotte it actually cost $34 a bottle for the same wine. So I saved $15 a bottle at Wine library in New Jersey somewhere.
The retailer showed me his distributor cost book...shows the landed cost to store is $22.48 a bottle. I am buying with shipping for less than their cost.
I find Wine Library to generally be the best buy when I go online looking for wine prices. They carry a fairly large stock. Haven't been to the store that I think is just outside of NYC in NJ, but it looks large based on the web tour at which I looked.
Tried a bottle that I purhcased last week at Dean and Deluca. It seem more massive than the wine I tried at the store. Bottle Variation? My taste? something.
That said I have a case on the way when the temps are cooler.
Are these ageable and will they improve or are these a drink young sort of wine?
"Richard Neidich" wrote in news:wPcNg.10568$ snipped-for-privacy@newsread3.news.pas.earthlink.net:
My belief is that the Offerus will not improve a whole lot. I have not tasted this vintage, but I usually think of it having a five to eight year life span.
As I mentioned before, the Domaine St. Joseph is quite a different wine and will reward time in the cellar.
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