Tried the relic last week:
1. Ramsay Calif Syrah (13%) 1988: Med.color w/ some browning; some toasty/charred/smokey slight Rhonish/roasted slight blackberry/Syrah old CdP/complex nose; soft slight metallic/dried out some roasted/Rhonish bit charred/smokey/pungent flavor; med.long some Rhonish/roasted slight metallic slight blackberry/Syrah finish w/ little tannins; a bit too dried out & some tannic but still interesting and much like an aged Cheateauneuf.
_______________________
A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This wine was one of the very first Syrahs to come from Lee Hudson's vnyd in Carneros. The only year KentRasmussen got Syrah grapes from Lee. Kent's recollection of this wine was what he thought was an ugly blue label, but I didn't think it looked so bad. He continued to make Syrah under the Ramsay label (his wife's maiden name) and thought it one of the best wines he made under the Ramsay label. Alas...the realities of the marketplace....and the wine has been a pretty hard sell, so Kent finally gave up the ghost on Syrah after the 2002 vintage. Actually, since Syrah does so good in Carneros, I wouldn't mind seeing Kent plant some on his Estate there.
The wine was getting a bit long of tooth, but still rather pleasurable to drink and a rather interesting glimpse of early Syrah history. It reminded me more of an aged Cheateauneuf Du Pape than anything. In its youth, it was quite a nice wine, more along the lines of a PinotNoir than a big Syrah, than anything.
Tom