WTN: 2003 Laird Family "Dyer Ranch" Syrah (Paul Hobbs)

Made by the (in)famous Paul Hobbs, whose wines, I must admit, I have quite enjoyed in the past; despite their new world style and oak and ripeness still seem to show good typicite and quite interesting character. Not that I can afford his current eponymous label cabs, which blazed past $150 years ago

Still, the Laird Family "pyramid" south of Yountville is where he started making his wines-and theirs.

Dyer Ranch is a (relatively) cool site in Napa Carneros.

This wine was actually in a very nice place.

Color: dark ruby...almost a Pinot-esque color?

Nose: Like many Syrahs, I enjoy sniffing this even more than drinking it! After the initial weirdness blew off (I was worried at first, I smelled JUNIPER berries) an amazing earthy, meaty, and BLACK PEPPERY nose with iron minerality.

Palate: On the palate, the pepper, meat, and iron show through as well, with black plum transforming over the evening into more blackberry and raspberry. This is a Napa Syrah that tastes like Syrah! Good palate-cleansing acidity, too, reflecting the chilly, difficult year???? Biggest complaint: the alcohol (14.8%) does show through. Not enough to ruin the wine, but....
Solid 90 points. The nose alone might merit 93 points!

This was one of the first winery visits I made when I started obsessing over wine three or four years ago. I was quite happy to see how well it aged.