Finally sat down to my pasta at midnight and wanted something to drink, so spotted my xtra btl of:
1. Cabot Syrah Kimberly's KlamathRvr/HumboltCnty (15.3%; http://www.CabotVineyards.com; 390 cs) 2006: Black color; strong earthy/dusty/stoney/minerally some blackberry/Syrah/framboise slight Rhonish/peppery/spicy sausage slight petrol/pungent/ozone complex nose; tart/acid pretty hard/tannic/tight dusty/stoney strong blackberry/framboise/Syrah slight Fr.oak/toasty pungent/smokey/minerally slight Rhonish/peppery flavor; med.long hard/tannic/tight stoney/minerally very blackberry/Syrah/framboise some dusty/earthy finish; a tannic/unforgiving Syrah that needs much time; 4-8 yrs. Very interesting Syrah that will be fun to watch it evolve; great price (if it develops like I think it will) at $31
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This is certainly not your mainstream Calif Syrah. It definitely speaks of Syrah but it's got a whole lot of things going on in it. In style, it reminds me a lot of EricTexier Cote-Rotie, some of the LesCrete AltoAdige Syrah w/o the cracked black pepper character. In Calif, the earthy/stoney character speaks somewhat of SantaCruzMtn Syrah; this is probably how MonteBello Syrah would be if there were such a creature; alas there is not (yet). It reminds me slightly of some of the AlderSprings Syrahs, the closest great Syrah vnyd (as far as I know) to John&Kimberly's; but w/ much more spine & structure than those typically show. It's a very terroir-driven wine and the acid & tannin levels suggest that it will develop into something very/very interesting w/ time. Keepa da hands off for another 3-4 yrs.
Tom