Tried this last night w/ cheese strata:
1. KlinkerBrickWnry Farrah/Lodi Syrah (15%; http://www.KlinkerBrickWinery.com) 2004: Very dark/black color; very strong Lodi/earthy/mushroomy/loamy strong licorice/blackberry/Syrah bit smokey/DrPepper/RCCola some framboise classic Lodi terroir quite interesting nose; soft earthy/Lodi terroir/loamy very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some RCCola/DrPepper rather spicy flavor; long bit tannic strong Lodi/licorice/earthy/mushroomy blackberry/spicy/Syrah/RCCola finish; loads of Lodi terroir but the Syrah character comes thru loud and clear; quitea good value at $14.80
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. This is one of the strongest testimonies for Syrah in warm climes that I can recall. Though that earthy Lodi terrior was there, the wine really spoke of Syrah. It's one of the best Lodi wines I've had of late. Maybe not a world-class Syrah, but a good-drinking wine that doesn't require any pontificating over.
The fact of the matter is that Lodi is a pretty warm area (least the few times I've been there in the Summer) and that they can achieve the quality of wines there is, I think, remarkable. I have been quite struck in the dramatic increase in quality of the Lodi wines. I've not had a Lodi wine that I'd label as world-class (yet) but if they can make world-class reds in Priorat and other hot areas of Spain, or Puligia, or Sicily, I suspect there's no reason they can't in Lodi. We shall see.
One of the problems, I think, w/ Lodi wines is that they're (like Cucamonga or the Loire)) very strongly terroir driven. For those folks who worship at the altar of terroir, this is, I guess, a good thing. Because the terroir is so dominant in the Lodi wines, I suspect many folks, when they pick up the Lodi terroir, immediately think Lodi....therefore not good wine. It's high time that notion be discarded.
Winemaker is SteveFelten, who occasionally shows up here in CyberSpace.
TomHill