2012 Balboa Winery Red

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 86 points

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  8/22/2014 - Diderot Likes this wine: 86 Points

  This wine's bouquet was aggressively hot, considering it has 14.4% alcohol. The presentation is big and brash but it tries to pass for elegant and structured at the same time. Frankly, it is ultimately another disappointing example of what goes wrong when Washington producers insist on adding Syrah to perfectly decent Bordeaux varietals. Here we have Merlot, Cab Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, with Syrah added.
  The joke going around among wine-drinkers where I live asks
  Q: What's the difference between Syrah and Syphilis?
  A: You can get rid of Syphilis.
  I could not agree more. This wine is a multi-tasker's delight. It has ADHD. You cannot get it to focus: it is too busy rushing around, trying to be all things to all people. Balboa started out with great fruit and then decided that was not enough. This could have been a lovely wine. Perhaps some day it will settle down and come together, but I doubt it.
  
  If you want to make a northern Rhone-style red, go for it. If you want to make a Bordeaux blend, knock yourself out. But stop pretending you can have it both ways. I have been drinking good reds for over 40 years and I sincerely hope winemakers in the Pacific Northwest will realize (soon!) that what they have is amazing and stop mixing Syrah with everything. It is rare indeed that such a combination actually works. That means almost never: maybe one bottle in 1,000. As I say, I like it, but I am being kind. I would not pay for it again.

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