Quite a different expression of ostensibly the same wine versus the Pierre Peters. This showed a rounded, almost ready-to-drink maturity, with more open-knit fruit and generosity on the palate. Somewhat lighter and missing the acid/mineral intensity of the Peters version. In the side-by-side, this felt a little dilute even if more resolved. I preferred the intensity to the aforementioned ready-to-drinkness of this.
Next to the slightly more diffuse Moncuit, this shows far more laser-like precision, acidity, and minerality. It's less fruit forward and shows quite structural here, and it does take a good bit of time for a semblance of unwinding and relaxing. Still, this wine feels like it is missing the intensity of a great Champagne (despite the comparison) and the palate feels a little hollow. This might be more interesting to revisit in 10 years, but for now it's a pretty underwhelming bottle of Champagne, especially for its current price.
Didn't like this one very much -- of all the syrahs tonight this actually felt the most roasted and even slightly pruney. Sweet and modestly raisinated fruit, despite initially some impressive ripe-vintage syrah aromatics on the nose. Quite tannic and large-scaled, but as far as a demonstration of the acid-removing power of stems, I feel that they have sucked the acid out of here, leaving this slightly clumsy.
The most disappointing of the three in the flight -- this showed a little dead on the nose and palate. Lots of black cherry and modest vanilla tones, but generally just structural and not particularly expressive. Oddly shut down in comparison to the other two wines as well.
Incredible stuff. The balance of red fruit and lifted, perfumy viognier works a charm here. And the oak treatment doesn't even feel heavy-handed here. Quite elegant yet able to carry its weight well, this might be a little more fruit forward than typical expressions of French syrah, but it's unmistakable what the inspiration is here, and it carries it well.
Dark, dense, and meaty. Slightly stemmy but with balanced acids and black fruit; it took a little while for this to really strut its stuff, and I liked it with more air, as the syrah aromatics really began to take hold. A bit on the heavier side with respect to the fruit, I'd have liked a little more lift, but this is nevertheless very impressive.
Muted and not anywhere as expressive as the other two wines in this middle flight. Some typical syrah notes, with plenty of up-front fruit. There are modest saline/olive notes here as well that I like, but overall I just felt that this wasn't as showy right now. More air didn't seem to get this to budge either.
Absolutely outstanding for the price and level here. The fruit is exuberantly young syrah, with a white pepper note that seems to imply Gonon. The more red-tinted profile and minerally take on syrah also point towards St. Joseph.
One of my favourites tonight -- this was distinctly red-fruited, with a red currant fruit profile. Mineral and lithe, but with plenty of weight on the palate. Still a little more fruit-forward than French iterations, but this really drinks along the lines of what I want in a bottle of syrah. Very elegant and balanced, all syrah should really be made like this.
A little blocky and unexpressive tonight, though there's no mistaking that this is indeed syrah. Just kind of structural without giving much pleasure on the palate, and clearly overshadowed by its more expressive peers. I'm guessing more time will yield better results.
The nose reminds me a bit of a Gilles Cornas, with a Cornasien disposition with that meatiness and sterner black fruit. The palate is where this differs, as it feels lighter and a little more dilute than the French counterpart. But at half the price, this is unmistakably a serious value syrah play.
I didn't think I had crossed paths with this wine in the past, but I admit to being surprised how much I liked it tonight. That said, it's not like I'd drink a full bottle of it, but a glass was plenty and quite enjoyable. Dark chocolate and dried cherries, but quite balanced and showing plenty of youthful tannins of course. Sweet from the intensity of fruit but nevertheless quite balanced. Still, this is a style of wine that I don't quite get, though maybe once a year I do want something like this.
2015 Robert Moncuit Champagne Grand Cru Blanc de Blancs Extra Brut Les Chetillons 88 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Quite a different expression of ostensibly the same wine versus the Pierre Peters. This showed a rounded, almost ready-to-drink maturity, with more open-knit fruit and generosity on the palate. Somewhat lighter and missing the acid/mineral intensity of the Peters version. In the side-by-side, this felt a little dilute even if more resolved. I preferred the intensity to the aforementioned ready-to-drinkness of this.
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2015 Pierre Péters Champagne Grand Cru Cuvée Speciale Blanc de Blancs Les Chetillons 88 Points
France, Champagne, Champagne Grand Cru
Next to the slightly more diffuse Moncuit, this shows far more laser-like precision, acidity, and minerality. It's less fruit forward and shows quite structural here, and it does take a good bit of time for a semblance of unwinding and relaxing. Still, this wine feels like it is missing the intensity of a great Champagne (despite the comparison) and the palate feels a little hollow. This might be more interesting to revisit in 10 years, but for now it's a pretty underwhelming bottle of Champagne, especially for its current price.
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2011 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Exposition One Weill a Way Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Didn't like this one very much -- of all the syrahs tonight this actually felt the most roasted and even slightly pruney. Sweet and modestly raisinated fruit, despite initially some impressive ripe-vintage syrah aromatics on the nose. Quite tannic and large-scaled, but as far as a demonstration of the acid-removing power of stems, I feel that they have sucked the acid out of here, leaving this slightly clumsy.
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2011 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Exposition Two Weill a Way Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
The most disappointing of the three in the flight -- this showed a little dead on the nose and palate. Lots of black cherry and modest vanilla tones, but generally just structural and not particularly expressive. Oddly shut down in comparison to the other two wines as well.
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2011 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Exposition Three Weill a Way Vineyard 93 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
Incredible stuff. The balance of red fruit and lifted, perfumy viognier works a charm here. And the oak treatment doesn't even feel heavy-handed here. Quite elegant yet able to carry its weight well, this might be a little more fruit forward than typical expressions of French syrah, but it's unmistakable what the inspiration is here, and it carries it well.
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2010 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Pleine de Chene Hudson Vineyard North 90 Points
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
Dark, dense, and meaty. Slightly stemmy but with balanced acids and black fruit; it took a little while for this to really strut its stuff, and I liked it with more air, as the syrah aromatics really began to take hold. A bit on the heavier side with respect to the fruit, I'd have liked a little more lift, but this is nevertheless very impressive.
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2016 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Sky Vineyard 88 Points
USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder
Muted and not anywhere as expressive as the other two wines in this middle flight. Some typical syrah notes, with plenty of up-front fruit. There are modest saline/olive notes here as well that I like, but overall I just felt that this wasn't as showy right now. More air didn't seem to get this to budge either.
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2017 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Coast to Foothills California 90 Points
USA, California
Absolutely outstanding for the price and level here. The fruit is exuberantly young syrah, with a white pepper note that seems to imply Gonon. The more red-tinted profile and minerally take on syrah also point towards St. Joseph.
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2015 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Weill a Way Vineyard 93 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Valley
One of my favourites tonight -- this was distinctly red-fruited, with a red currant fruit profile. Mineral and lithe, but with plenty of weight on the palate. Still a little more fruit-forward than French iterations, but this really drinks along the lines of what I want in a bottle of syrah. Very elegant and balanced, all syrah should really be made like this.
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2015 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah T 'n' S Blocks Hudson Vineyard South 88 Points
USA, California, Napa / Sonoma, Carneros
A little blocky and unexpressive tonight, though there's no mistaking that this is indeed syrah. Just kind of structural without giving much pleasure on the palate, and clearly overshadowed by its more expressive peers. I'm guessing more time will yield better results.
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2015 Bedrock Wine Co. Syrah Griffin's Lair 90 Points
USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast
The nose reminds me a bit of a Gilles Cornas, with a Cornasien disposition with that meatiness and sterner black fruit. The palate is where this differs, as it feels lighter and a little more dilute than the French counterpart. But at half the price, this is unmistakably a serious value syrah play.
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2015 Bedrock Wine Co. Petite Sirah Drummond's Cuvee 88 Points
USA, California
I didn't think I had crossed paths with this wine in the past, but I admit to being surprised how much I liked it tonight. That said, it's not like I'd drink a full bottle of it, but a glass was plenty and quite enjoyable. Dark chocolate and dried cherries, but quite balanced and showing plenty of youthful tannins of course. Sweet from the intensity of fruit but nevertheless quite balanced. Still, this is a style of wine that I don't quite get, though maybe once a year I do want something like this.
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