Carlisle - 03 Syrah Bennett Valley Filtered vs. Unfiltered Experiment

Tasted Sunday, December 13, 2009 by Loren Sonkin with 384 views

Introduction

Thanks to my friend Roland, I have been lucky enough to do this three times. Back in the 03 vintage Mike Officer released two versions of his Bennett Valley Syrah. The only difference was that one was filtered and one was not. The "point" was to see that filtering, at least a modern gentle version, has gotten a bad rap. The first two times, there was little difference, but I preferred the unfiltered. The crowd on those times preferred the filtered.

Last night, there was a pretty dramatic difference. It was, I think unanimous, that everyone preferred the filtered version. It really was more of a seamless wine that had come together. Of course, there could be bottle and/or cork variation, but I don't think you can argue that filtering at this level hurts a wine. The other question I guess is how well they will age. I would say that the filtered appeared more mature but I am not sure that was not an illusion.

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

Although they both got 93's. I actually gave the filtered a 93+ which does not show up. Both wines were quite good, but side by side I preferred the filtered version.

  • 2003 Carlisle Syrah Unfiltered Bennett Valley 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley

    In the past, I have always preferred this version. While I am not sure that was true today, I did prefer the nose. Inky purple in color. The nose is savage with Iodine, black pepper, black raspberry and grilled meats. This wine is big. On the palate, this has black raspberries, some grilled smokiness and firm tannins. There is also some disjointedness and heat. This tastes huge and is really good but lacks the finesse of the filtered version. Nit picking too be sure, and only offered in an attempt at comparison.

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  • 2003 Carlisle Syrah Filtered Bennett Valley 93 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley

    In the past I preferred the unfiltered, not today. Inky purple in color. The nose is much smoother with black raspberries, and smoked meats. OTOH, the palate is much more together. This version is seamless with a great texture. Complex layering of black raspberries and grilled meats with some bacon notes. Long finish. Beautiful wine.

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Closing

Thank again to Roland for so generously sharing these over the years. And thanks to Mike O. for releasing the wines like this.

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