We tried the other week (9/20/17) Some Calif Syrahs:
1. Solminer Vollmond deLandaVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (320 cs; 97% Syrah/3% Blaufrankisch; 13%) 2013: Med.dark
color; light herbal/raspberry/strawberry/Syrah light peppery quite spicy slight floral/violets attractive
nose; quite tart/lean/austere light raspberry/strawberry/Syrah slight violets/floral bit spicy/peppery
rather pretty flavor; med. lean/austere/tart slight violets/floral light strawberry/raspberry/Syrah
slight bretty finish w/ light lean/angular tannins; a somewhat pretty rendition of Syrah that seems
somewhat lean & spare but may develop into something interesting, or may not. $32.00
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2. Solminer Syrah deLandaVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (14%; 1500 cs; Unfltrd; 17 mo. in old oak) 2014: Med.color;
slightly bigger/richer more blackberry/Syrah rather spicy slight herbal/peppery slight smokey nose;
rather tart/lean stronger blackberry/Syrah/raspberry light herbal/peppery light/pinched flavor w/ light
bitey tannins; long some blackberry/Syrah bit herbal slight chalky/earthy finish w/ light bitey tannins;
a little more fruit & richness than the '13 but still a lean/tight expression of Syrah. $34.00
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2a. Solminer Syrah deLandaVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (13%) Lompoc 2012: Med.color; strong rather floral/violets/very
fragrant some raspberry/strawberry/blackberry/Syrah/spicy light toasty/oak quite attractive nose; fairly
tart/tangy rather floral/violets some Syrah/strawberry/raspberry/bit spicy flavor w/ light tangy/crunchy
tannins; very long rather tart/tangy/bit metallic rather floral/violets strong strawberry/Syrah/raspberry
light toasty/oak finish w/ light brittle tannins; still on the tart/lean sidebut not as fiercily acidic
and showing much better aromatics; reminds me of Estrella clone Syrah w/ the bright strawberry character.
$32.00
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3. Copain Syrah HawksButteVnyd/YorkvilleHighlands (13.4%; www.CopainWines.com) WellsGuthrie 2007: Very dark
color; very spicy/black pepper very Rhonish/roasted some blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/very spicy lots of
whole-cluster complex nose; fairly tart very strong cracked black pepper/w-c very Rhonish/roasted strong
blackberry/blueberry/Syrah bit chalky/mineral complex flavor w/ light angular tannins; very long/lingering
cracked black pepper/w-c/very spicy some blackberry/Syrah/blueberry very Rhonish/espresso/roasted complex
finish w/ light brisk tannins; a beautiful Rhonish/w-c Syrah that'll still go a few more yrs. $nc (BS)
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4. Harrington Syrah SumuKawVnyd/ElDCnty (12.9%) 2015: Med.dark color; slight buttery strong blueberry/
blackberry/Syrah fairly spicy light toasty/oak light earthy/mushroomy/ElD lovely nose; lightly tart/tangy/
metallic strong blueberry/Syrah/blackberry slightly sour some ElD/mushroomy/earthy flavor w/ light tangy
tannins; long tart/tangy/metallic/sour some earthy/ElD/mushroomy some blueberry/Syrah finish w/ light
crunchy tannins; reminds some of EdStJ Syrah but w/o the richness/lushness; lots of tangy acidity and
needs some age. $25.00
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5. Arnot-Roberts Syrah SonomaCoast (12.2%) 2014: Dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy light w-c/peppery
slight Rhonish/roasted/espresso bit earthy quite interesting nose; very tart/tangy/metallic rather hard/
austere strong blackberry/Syrah bit w-c/peppery flavor w/ hard austere/astringent tannins; long very
tart/lean/austere some blackberry/Syrah/spicy bit w-c/peppery finish w/ some hard/astringent tannins;
a rather interesting/attractive nose but pretty lean/hard/austere/eviscerated on the palate; perhaps age
will bring it around but it's a gamble. $40.00
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6. Arnot-Roberts Syrah SonomaCoast (12.5%) 2015: Dark color; stronger blackberry/Syrah/spicy slight w-c/
peppery light Rhonish/roasted very similar interesting nose; slightly softer somewhat tart/lean/acid/
shrill some blackberry/Syrah bit w-c/peppery light Rhonish/espresso flavor w/ some hard/bitey/austere
tannins; very long tart/acid/austere light Rhonish/roasted some blackberry/Syrah bit w-c/peppery finish
w/ some hard/crunchy tannins; maybe a bit softer/richer but still a lean/austere/angular/eviscerated wine
on the palate. $40.00
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7. Failla Syrah EstateVnyd/FtRoss-Seaview (14.1%) 2013: Very dark color; strong cracked black pepper/
cold-climate very strong blackberry/Syrah/very spicy bit earthy some Rhonish/espresso slight w-c beautiful
complex nose; fairly tart very spicy/blackberry/Syrah some c-c/cracked black pepper bit w-c/peppery rich/
balanced very structured complex flavor w/ modest smooth tannins; very long/lingering c-c/black pepper
very strong blackberry/Syrah/very spicy slight w-c/peppery light Rhonish/espresso structured complex finish
w/ light smooth tannins; not as cold-climate/black pepper as previous vintages have been; very structured
& balanced and should go another 5-10 yrs; beautiful Syrah. $65.25
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8. Failla Syrah EstateVnyd/FtRoss-Seaview (13.9%; www.FaillaWines.com) StHelena 2014: Dark color; lighter
less c-c/cracked pepper strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry light cracked pepper bit closed/tight nose;
bit leaner/harder somewhat closed some blackberry/Syrah/blueberry light c-c/cracked pepper flavor w/
modest smooth tannins; very long light c-c/cracked pepper rather blackberry/Syrah/blueberry slightly
tart/lean/hard finish w/ some smooth tannins; seems a bit muddled and closed/tighter compared to the '13;
can use more age I suspect. $62.00
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9. WindGap Syrah SonomaCoast (#2702; 12.3%; 380 cs) PaxMahle 2010: Dark color; lovely floral/violets/
blackberry/Syrah quite spicy some whole-cluster/peppery bit Rhonish fairly complex/aromatic nose; fairly
tart quite spicy some w-c/peppery strong floral/violets/Syrah/blueberry somewhat Rhonish/roasted flavor
w/ modest bitey tannins; very long strong w-c/peppery some Syrah/blueberry/blackberry/floral/violets
bit complex light Rhonish/roasted finish w/ light brittle tannins; despite the low alcohol has plenty
of flavor; a really lovely example of a leaner Calif Syrah. $40.00
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10. WindGap Syrah SonomaCoast (495 cs; 17 brls/2 Puncheons; 11.4%; #2726) Forestville 2011: Med.dark color;
strong floral/blackberry/Syrah some w-c/peppery quite spicy bit complex nose; rather tart/lean light
floral/blackberry/Syrah slight w-c/peppery somewhat light/lean/austere flavor w/ modest lean/spikey
tannins; long some blackberry/floral/Syrah bit w-c/peppery rather lean/tart/austere bit eviscerated finish
w/ light brittle tannins; seems a bit on the lean/eviscerated side compared to the other two. $39.00
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11. WindGap Syrah SonomaCoast (Majik/Nellessen/Armagh vnyds; 18 brls; 420 cs; 12 1/2%) Sebastapol 2012:
Dark color; lovely very spicy/blackberry/Syrah/licorice rather w-c/pepper some Rhonish/roasted/espresso
light toasty/oak aromatic/complex nose; lightly more balanced/rich/lush strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/
licorice light Rhonish/roasted some w-c/peppery complex flavor w/ modest smoother slight bitey tannins;
very long some blackberry/spicy/Syrah light Rhonish/espresso some w-c/peppery finish w/ modest cranky
tannins; seems more Calif Syrah and less Rhonish in character; still has plenty of flavor & aromatics
and not at all lean/eviscerated. $44.00
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12. SineQuaNon Papa Calif Syrah (14.9%; 2% Mourvedre, 1% Grenache; WhiteHawk/Alban/BienNacido/
ShadowCanyon vnyds + tiny ElevenConfessionsVnyd/SantaRitaHills) 2003: Very dark color w/ slight bricking;
very strong coffee/espresso/coffee bean/smokey/charred/oak slight reduced rather ripe/blackberry/Syrah/
boysenberry bit earthy slightly complex nose; soft strong smokey/charred/oak some blackberry/Syrah/spicy
some coffee bean/espresso/bit Rhonish slight insecticide/funky bit complex very intense flavor w/ modest
hard/crunchy tannins; med.long somewhat hard/tannic strong coffee bean/espresso/charred/Fr.oak some
blackberry/Syrah/ripe/boysenberry very structured finish w/ some hard tannins; plenty of intensity &
plenty of oak but doesn't seem to be developing into anything interesting; will probably go another 10 yrs
and still not achieve great complexity. $103
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13. Elliott-Ling Syrah BrooksideVnyd/NapaVlly (14.9%; 175 cs; 16 mo. in Fr.oak; www.ElliottLing.com)
SuzanneElliott/Napa 2007: Dark color; fairly strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/spicy bit alcoholic light
toasty/oak slight dusty/peppery fairly attractive nose; bit soft rather tangy/metallic/angular rather
alcoholic/fumey/hot fairly spicy/blackberry/blueberry/Syrah some toasty/charred/oak flavor w/ some hard/
angular/rough tanninsmed.long rather hot/fumey/alcoholic some blackberry/Syrah/blueberry some toasty/oak
rather hard/angular/rough/coarse finish w/ some hard/rough tannins; a rather quotidian up-Vlly NapaVlly
very unthrilling Syrah of little interest; there are far/far better Syrahs produced further up on MtVeeder.
$35.00 (WoP)
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The usual alt-BloodyPulpit stuff:
1. Solminer: These are the wines of David & Anna deLaski, who specialize in Austrian varietals. There was
Syrah on the deLanda vnyd they bought on the SW edge of LosOlivos. They produce their Syrah in a style
seldom seen in Calif. The high acidity suggests it might age into something interesting, but it's a bit
of a gamble. Not fun to taste by itself and badly needs food with it.
Tasted the '12 a week later and found it much more to my liking because of its aromatics. Gives me
hope that age will do something for these Syrahs.
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2. SQN: This Syrah was pretty much about what I expected. These are wines that you are dazzled by their
intensity and their extract in their youth, that you just "know" that they'll develop into something
amazing with a lot of age. But, like the Albans, that doesn't always happen. There is something to be
said about balance in a wine and these high extract wines just never seem to develop the complexity
that even a middling Qupe or EdStJohn Syrah does. OTOH, complexity doesn't mean jack-$hit to many people
and being able to drink a 20 yr old wine that still tastes young and has huge fruit is more important.
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3. A-R: These guys make some very interesting Syrahs but they often seem to have a shrill acidity to them.
This gives me hope that they might age into something very special...but it's a bit of a gamble.
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4. The focus of this tasting was lighter/leaner more old-world less bombastic Syrahs, mostly. Pax's WindGap
Syrahs were able to pull it off. Less so the Arnot-Roberts and the Solminer. It seems harder to achieve
success with this style in Calif than they do in the Rhone.
Tom