Tried these four over the last few days:
1.
Melville Syrah Donna's (Estate Small Lot Collection; 15.2%) Lompoc 2006:Very dark color w/ some bricking; very strong smokey/pungent/Fr.oak some fumey/alcoholic intense ripe/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/licorice slight roasted/Rhonish bit earthy/dusty slight c-c/black pepper somewhat complex nose; rather soft/rich/lush somewhat alcoholic/hot intense Syrah/blackberry/boysenberry/pomengranate syrup/bit spicy strong toasty/smokey/Fr.oak slight Rhonish flavor w/ some ripe/bit astringent tannins; long some hot/alcoholic/fumey/overripe strong ripe/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah bit drying/tannic/astringent strong toasty/smokey/Fr.oak fairly hot/alcoholic finish w/ ample drying/astringent tannins; bit too alcoholic & overripe and starting to dry out; drink up.
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2.
Melville Syrah Estate Verna'sVnyd/SBC (15.3%) 2007: Dark color w/ light bricking; strong pungent/licorice/blackberry/Syrah/spicy some black pepper rather roasted/Rhonish/smoked meats bit alcoholic quite attractive nose; slightly tart bit alcoholic/hot very strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy slight pungent/licorice bit Rhonish/roasted bit charred/smokey/oak fairly complex flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long strong blackberry/Syrah/pungent/licorice fairly tart/tannic bit Rhonish/roasted some smokey/charred/oak bit complex some hot/alcoholic/raw finish w/ modest smooth tannins; quite a good rather Rhonish/roasted Syrah w/ fully resolved tannins but starting to dry out and show the alcoholic heat.
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3.
Melville Syrah HighDensity Estate/SRH (15.3%) 2006: Med.dark color w/ some bricking; very strong ripe/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight pungent/licorice/roasted/Rhonish some toasty/Fr.oak fairly complex nose; rather tart/tangy strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/boysenberry/ripe some toasty/charred/oak light roasted/Rhonish bit alcoholic/hot some complex flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long/lingering strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/bit boysenberry some toasty/Fr.oak slight roasted/Rhonish rather tart/tangy finish w/ light smooth tannins; lot more ripe Syrah fruit and less c-c & less Rhonish character; alcohol starting to show up stronger.
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4.
Melville Syrah Donna's (EstateLotCollection; 15.9%; www.MelvilleWinery.com) Lompoc 2003: Med.color w/ some bricking; bit cedary/pencilly/oldRed rather toasty/charred/Fr.oak/smokey fairly strong blackberry/boysenberry/ripe Syrah/spicy slight alcoholic bit Rhonish/roasted meats quite complex nose; bit soft some hot/alcoholic strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/very ripe fairly pungent/charred/Fr.oak/smokey slight Rhonish/roasted complex flavor w/ smooth soft/ripe tannins; soft ripe/lush some hot/alcoholic strong boysenberry/blackberry/ripe/Syrah strong toasty/charred/oak slight roasted/Rhonish complex finish w/ some soft/ripe/bit drying tannins; some very interesting things therein & some Rhonish character but the alcohol starting to dominate; drink up.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. These were all very similiar stylistically. The differences must be that terroir thing everybody is yammering about. In all, the alcohol was coming to the forefront and will only become more dominant. The HighDensity was probably my favorite by a small margin.
These would probably been made by GregBrewer. Chad Melville handles the winemaking these days. The Melvilles tend to be, across the board, on the alcoholic side.
Tom