After the first '05 RedBurg I tried was terribly underwhelming at $36, I cracked this open:
1. Plumpjack Syrah NapaVlly (15.8%) 2005: Very dark color; strong pungent/peppery/cold climate/smokey some roasted/Rhonish light toasty/oak some blueberry/Syrah somewhat complex nose; tart some roasted/Rhonish/pungent/toasty rather strong blueberry/Syrah bit tannic flavor; long rather roasted/Rhonish strong blueberry/Syrah bit toasty/oak/pungent finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; quite a lovely Rhonish Syrah. Fairly priced at $43.
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I picked up this wine ystrday simply because I'd not seen a Plumpjack Syrah before. I had very low expectations for this wine and just sorta assumed it would taste like just another NapaVlly Syrah made by a NapaVlly Cabernet producer. I couldn't have been more wrong. I was quite struck by the roasted/Rhonish character it displayed. The Plumpjack WebSite doesn't identify the source of the grapes but I'd have to guess it was Carneros Syrah and probably LasMadres vnyd. If it's up-valley Syrah..then I'm really impressed. Anyway..one of the better NapaVlly Syrahs I've had in sometime.
Tom
