WTN: Alesia Syrah ChilenoVlly '04...(short/boring)

Also cracked this last night after stumbling upon this orphan btl whilst looking for my LaTurque '61:
1. Alesia Syrah ChilenoVlly/SonomaCoast (14.1%; www.RhysVineyards.com) AlpineRdWnry/Woodside 2004: Very dark color w/ little bricking; beautiful very cold-climate/cracked black pepper quite Rhonish/roasted/smokey/espresso very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/very spicy/peppery/pungent some toasty/smokey/oak some whole-cluster/peppery very complex nose; quite tart/tangy very strong c-c/Syrah/black pepper some w-c/peppery very Rhonish/pungent/roasted/espresso/smokey very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah/very peppery some toasty/smokey/oak quite complex/Rhonish w/ light fairly smooth tannins; very long/lingering quite tart/tangy very stron w-c/peppery/c-c Syrah/black epper quite Rhonish/pungent/espresso rather toasty/smokey/Fr.oak very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah quite complex finish w/ light smooth/fully-resolved tannins; this is how Guigal would make a LaLaSyrah in Calif if they could; reminds a lot of the Failla HudsonVnyd Syrah but w/ more intensity and less black olive tapenade/Carneros character; a terrific fully-mature Calif Syrah that may just be a little too much of a good thing for some folks. But not for me.
Tom

$39.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. First tasted this back in April 2007:

11. Alesia Syrah ChilenoVlly/SonomaCoast (14.1%; www.RhysVineyards.com) 2004: Black color; very
reduced/fecal/pungent toast/charred/oak very strong blackberry/Syrah very roasted/coffee/
espresso rather Rhonish/funky complex nose; tart intense coffee/espresso/gamey cracked
black pepper intense blackberry/black cherry/Syrah/cola/DrPepper rather tannic flavor; very
long tannic/structured Rhonish/pungent/roasted charred/toasty/oak intense blackberry/black
cherry/cola/Syrah complex finish; needs 3-6 yrs of age; terrific young Syrah at a more than
fair price. $39.00

When first tasted, it was quite reductive & stinky. But like most such reductive wines, that character aged away.
This is, of course, KevinHarvey's label for Rhys wines made from purchased grapes. I was not expecting a whole lot from this and maybe a bit on the tired side. It way over-delivered.
Tom

[David M. Bueker]

Interesting to see this note.

My first Rhys/Alesia experiences were with the 2006 vintage, but some of those early Alesia wines are really humming along. I think I still have four bottles of Alesia from 2006-2008.