Syrahs and other Rhone varietals

Roberts House
Tasted Saturday, November 13, 2010 by ews3 with 1,064 views

Introduction

For this tasting we went with Rhone varietals, focusing in on Syrah with the reds. We were initially going to include Grenache but it became too challenging to work the numbers and exercised "restraint".

Flight 1 - Assorted starters (2 Notes)

A few wines to start -- I was quite impressed with the Keever SB.

Flight 2 - White Rhone Varietals (3 Notes)

Many enjoyed the Condrieu, but I had a hard time with the level of acidity, which was offputting for me. The Sine Qua Non was most people's favorite of the flight.

  • 2008 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de l'Empire 86 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Condrieu

    really nice nose -- floral, lychee, and honeysuckle. flavor profile is a little muted, with underripe apricot and crabapple. some volatile acidity shows on the midpalate and leads to a little bitter finish. unfortunately, the palate really did not live up to the wonderful nose on this.

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  • 2006 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc 92 Points

    France, Rhône, Southern Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape

    honeysuckle on nose. oily mouthfeel with a hint of oxidation -- there were some shipping concerns with this bottle, but it didn't seem overly affected. palate is dominated by honeysuckle, peach, and minerality. medium(+) finish carries some pleasant ginger into the nose that went quite nicely with sushi, much to my surprise. overall a very nice wine.

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  • 2005 Sine Qua Non The Petition 94 Points

    USA, California

    this was really nice and remains one of my favorite sine qua non whites (and not just for the beautiful label!). opens with a honeyed nose that makes you think there might be a little sweetness to this. there is also some stone fruit in the nose. offers a nuanced palate that starts with a soft opening, which crescendos through the midpalate, with flavors of apricot marmalade, honeycomb, and white pepper. medium(+) finish has a buttery roux flavor.

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Flight 3 - Aged Syrah (2 Notes)

Nice examples of aged Syrah, but in different places -- the Hermitage was very secondary, while there was still some fruit left in the SQN. It was a lovely example of how well these are aging!

  • 1990 E. Guigal Hermitage 89 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    funky nose, but it blows off a bit. looking through that is a wonderfully secondary and fully evolved palate. stewed meat, black fruit, and sweet spice. nice acidic structure keeps it fresh. the finish is med(-) and a little bit watery.

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  • 1995 Sine Qua Non The Other Hand 94 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast

    i've had this twice before -- the first bottle was a revelation to me about the beauty of SQN... the second was great, but not amazing... this one was closer to the second, which is not to demean it (it was still wondeful), but rather to point out this could be on a downward trajectory at this point. lots of black pepper on the nose, along with sweet spice, plum, and cedar. from the nose, it seemed this was late in its life. the med (-) bodied palate was surprisingly youthful, with mint and menthol floating on top of a light bloody flavor profile. some black fruit still apparent in the background. medium finish shows a nice acidity and the continuation of the mint flavors.

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Flight 4 - Northern Rhone (4 Notes)

A tour of the Northern Rhone -- the LeMeal was one of the best wines of the night -- a remarkable effort.

  • 2005 M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Deschants 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Saint-Joseph

    black pepper and brisket dominate the nose and flavor profile here with some black fruit behind it. i love brisket, so found it delicious, even if a bit simple. more like what i expect from a grenache, but with lighter tannins. a little bit watery with a med (-) finish.

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  • 2003 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 90 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

    nose shows spice and rendered fat. palate brings in more red fruit -- cranberry is the most dominant. sanguine flavors also appear. med(-) tannins. a little bit of heat on the medium finish.

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  • 2006 Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes 91 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Cornas

    a little mushroom funk on the nose. palate shows blood, salinity, and blackberry liqueur. nice concentration of fruit flavors. medium finish leaves a lovely black pepper flavor in the mouth.

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  • 2006 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal 95 Points

    France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Hermitage

    wonderful. blood, raspberry, black fruit. very oaky. med(+) tannins coat the mouth and lead into a long finish. this is a baby and will be a long lived wine.

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Flight 5 - US Syrah (6 Notes)

Quite a lineup of the American Syrahs -- I think my favorite was the Alban, but it's a tossup with the Lillian Blue Label. Whichever wins that is my WOTN.

  • 2007 Rudius Syrah Emerald Pool Alder Springs Vineyard 91 Points

    USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County

    brighter fruit than many of the other syrahs we tasted this evening with a profile of red and black fruits. cherry, blackberry, and white pepper. medium finish. more feminine and restrained than many of the other new world syrahs.

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  • 2008 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block 95 Points

    USA, California, Sonoma County, Russian River Valley

    decanted 6 hours. really nice. wonderful perfumed quality to the nose that launched blackberry and other black fruits up into the nose with some floral violet notes. the palate is dominated by rich black fruit and offers mint and menthol notes to keep it fresh and lively. med-long finish is stunning. a delicious wine.

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  • 2005 Lillian Winery Syrah Blue Label 96 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

    decanted ~12 hours. i love the 05 lillians in all shapes and forms, so i wanted to put this into the tasting as a benchmark wine to see how other top syrahs measured up against it. it did just fine! nose of menthol, blood, mint on top of intensely concentrated black fruit and black pepper. the palate has a perfumed quality that is lively in the mouth on top of rich black fruit with medium tannins. this is a heck of a wine that culminates in a long, long finish.

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  • 2007 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard Flawed

    USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

    decanted 12 hours... worried with the nose on opening, but hoped it would evolve into something. almost undrinkable. kept the bottle for another attempt on the second day

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  • 2007 Saxum James Berry Vineyard 95 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

    decanted 12 hours. minty meat -- almost like a lamb with a mint sauce. blackberry, black fruit, chocolate powder. med(++) tannins dry out the palate and lead into a long long finish.

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  • 2005 Alban Vineyards Syrah Lorraine 96 Points

    USA, California, Central Coast, Edna Valley

    wonderful nose is as dark as the night sky -- black fruit, black pepper. the palate was very bloody with an opulent mouthfeel and coating tannins. this wine is so young and has a long life ahead. i only have one more, so it will be hard to decide when to pull it out.

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Flight 6 - Australian Shiraz (2 Notes)

Good, but not remarkable -- interesting comparison that reinforces my belief that Bella's Garden is my favorite of the lineup.

  • 2005 Two Hands Shiraz Lily's Garden 91 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

    very fruit-centered and a little bit of a letdown after the big guns right before. but on its own merit, this is quite a nice wine with delicious blue and black fruit shining through. med(-) finish.

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  • 2006 Two Hands Shiraz Bella's Garden 93 Points

    Australia, South Australia, Barossa, Barossa Valley

    i found this to be a step up from the lily's garden, with more structure underpinning the fruit. medium tannins and some black spice are there in addition to lots of black fruit.

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Flight 7 - Dessert Wines (2 Notes)

The Chapoutier was a remarkable dessert wine. The Banyuls was disappointing,

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