Tried last Fri night for dinner:
1. Havens Syrah Carneros (13.8%) 1995: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; strong pungent/blackberry/Syrah bit smokey/peppery/green olive/cold-climate some bretty/horsecollar rather perfumed/complex nose; tart some spicy/peppery/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak bit bretty/horsecollar bit tannic/dried out somewhat complex flavor; long bit dried out/tannic/astringent rather bretty/horsecollar some blackberry/Syrah/peppery light toasty/oak finish; very attractive/interesting nose but starting to get a bit dried out/hard on the palate
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2. Dehlinger Syrah GoldRidgeVnyd/RRV (EB; 14.5%) 1995: Dark color w/ some bricking; attractive/complex pungent/graham cracker/oak some pungent/Rhonish slight reduced light blackberry/Syrah nose; tart complex/pungent/toasty/oak slight Burgundian/charred slight tannic light Syrah/blackberry flavor; long tart/Burgundian/charred/oak some pungent/smokey little Syrah finish w/ some tannins; a very interesting red that seems more Burgundian than Rhonish in character; starting to dry out a bit and should be drunk up.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Havens: MichaelHavens has made some rather impressive Syrahs over the yrs, but seems to fly below everyone's radar. He did a lot of the seminal work on co-pigmentation. I think this Syrah was about the first Syrahs from LeeHudson's vnyd, though not labeled as such. The brett level on this wine was pushing the limit a bit of what I like, but still it was a pretty good drink.
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2. Dehlinger: I've always like TomDehlinger's Syrahs over the yrs. Stylistically, they're a bit different than most Calif Syrahs. Sorta like a Syrah made by a Pinot producer...they bear much the same character as his Pinots, just a bit bigger. It's interesting how this Syrah at 13 yrs of age, shows a character of RedBurg than of a Rhone Syrah. Still, it's pretty tasty Syrah.
Tom