WCC American Syrah Blind Tasting
Provence Restaurant, Albany, NY
11/29/2018

My Albany tasting group met to taste American Syrah at Provence Restaurant. Our group leader organized the tasting and the flights. Everyone else only knew that the wine(s) that they brought were in there somewhere. Dinner started about 7:30 and ended around 9:30.

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Flight 1: Early 2000s Napa & Sonoma
Smoked Salmon Tar-Tar with Olive & Caper Cream Cheese. Delicious, but not a good choice with Syrah.
  1. 2001 Stags' Leap Winery Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley
    [Double decanted at 11:30am.] Smoky red and black fruit nose. Sweet juicy fruit. Medium length. A very tasty wine. Ready. (92 points)
  2. 2000 Neyers Syrah Cuvée d'Honneur - USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
    [Double decanted at 3pm.] Muted nose. Astringent in the mouth. Tried it in another glass. It was better, but still not appealing. Others liked it better. (77 points)
  3. 2003 Pax Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    [Double-decanted around 5pm.] Ripe nose of sweet & spicy red fruit. Ripe and juicy in the mouth. Long and tasty. (93 points)
  4. 2002 Lagier Meredith Syrah - USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
    [Double-decanted around 5pm.] Interesting, complex nose. Ripe juicy delicious red fruit and unsweetened chocolate. Long finish. A bit more subtle than 1 or 3. (93 points)

Flight 2: 2009-2012
Grilled Duck with Cherry-Apricot Compote and Tarragon Pinenut Cous Cous.
Very good and a good match to the wines.
  1. 2009 Herman Story Syrah White Hawk Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
    [Double decanted at 11:30am.] Big, spicy red fruit nose. Rich, spicy, and complex. Long and tasty. (93 points)
  2. 2011 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block - USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley
    [Pop and pour.] Bitter, tannic. Needs more time. Judgement reserved.
  3. 2011 Donelan Syrah Obsidian Vineyard - USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley
    [Double decanted for 2 hours the night before the tasting!] Big rich spicy red fruit. More complex and expressive than the previous wines. My #3 WOTN (95 points)
  4. 2012 Failla Syrah Hudson Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley
    [Double-decanted at 2pm.] Nose of red fruit and cinnamon. Rich, complex, a somewhat different flavor profile. Very good. (94 points)

Flight 3: Middle 2000s Central Coast
Braised Short Rib with Duck Fat Potatoes and Cipollini Puree.
Delicious, but the heavy cumin in the meat was a bit too much for the wines.
  1. 2004 Alban Vineyards Syrah Lorraine - USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley
    [Double decanted at about 8am.] Intense ripe nose. Quite tannic, but with loads of ripe fruit. Still needs time. (93–95 points)
  2. 2005 Ojai Syrah Thompson Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County
    Ripe spicy complex sweet with a super-long finish. (94 points)
  3. 2002 Saxum Broken Stones - USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles
    [Double-decanted at 5:20pm for about 20 minutes.] Stunningly complex and expansive. Similar in flavor to the others, but has an exquisiteness that makes it special. My #2 WOTN. (95 points)
  4. 2003 Sine Qua Non Syrah Papa - USA, California, Central Coast
    [Double-decanted around 5pm.] Wow, just wow. Really jumps out at you. Very long and complex with subtle red berries. Special. My WOTN. Group WOTN by a wide margin. (96 points)

Dessert Wines
Assorted Artisan Cheeses: Fromage de Meaux Brie, Four Fat Fowl, Manchengo.

Conclusion

Not a lot of subtly here, but a lot of tasty wines.

Tasting notes posted from CellarTracker.


WOTN Voting (3pts each for #1, 2pts for #2, 1pt for #3)

RankPtsWine
119 2003 Sine Qua Non Syrah Papa
28 2004 Alban Vineyards Syrah Lorraine
3-tie7 2009 Herman Story Syrah White Hawk Vineyard
3-tie7 2012 Failla Syrah Hudson Vineyard
56 2002 Saxum Broken Stones
65 2002 Lagier Meredith Syrah
74 2011 Donelan Syrah Obsidian Vineyard
83 2000 Neyers Syrah Cuvée d'Honneur
91 2011 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block


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All original content © Ken Vastola