Blind Wines with BBQ

This happened out of nowhere as we just decided in the afternoon to pop some bottles blind and get smoque bbq takeout. Clearly we were generally thinking along the same lines for what to bring, but it sure was interesting seeing the different ways of syrah

• 2006 Montes Alpha Syrah 88 Points

  Chile, Rapel Valley, Colchagua Valley

  nose: a good bit of oak strikes off the bat with tones of dark red fruits, dark red cherries, spice tones and bits of cassis. More forward with the nose but with good fruit that isn't overdone
  
  taste: medium full bodied with rich tones of dark red fruits, black cherry liqueur tones, cassis and a touch of dark red cherries and oak. No real tannins to this with a polish on the feel that shows off it's new world origins
  
  overall: didn't guess this for chilean, but it did show itself off as a new world syrah. It had good fruit to it and came off as a cali syrah that was from a warmer climate

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• 1999 Paolo Scavino Barolo Carobric 92 Points

  Italy, Piedmont, Langhe, Barolo

  nose: lovely and aromatic nose of dried florals, roasted herbs, spice tones, dark red cherries and bits of menthol tones. Classy and still on the primary side, but with very good balanced and a perfumed sense to all of the tones
  
  taste: great medium feel with medium/high acidity and medium+ tannins along with tones of dried florals, roasted herbs, spice tones, red fruits, dark red cherries, and bits of berries. Well balanced with good layering on the tones
  
  overall: this received a ~3 hour decant and had a bit of browning at the rim. This was still fairly primary but showing very well right now. Could use a bit more time to round out on the palate and nose, but is very pretty with a good decant. This was wine #2 in a blind line up and stuck out in a big way compared to the syrahs

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• 2006 Viña Falernia Syrah Reserva 89 Points

  Chile, Elqui Valley

  nose: polished and excellent tones of black fruits, anise, black cherry liqueur, smoke and bits of charcoal tones. Shows a cooler sense to it on the nose with darker tones and good fruit
  
  taste: full bodied with good and gripping tannins along with excellent tones of black fruits, anise, black cherry liqueur and smokey tones. Nice depth with real nice dark fruit tones
  
  overall: this also seemed like a cali syrah. This seemed more northern cali syrah as it was also lower in acidity too. The tannins were noticeable and impressive for a wine at this price along with the depth of fruit and tones

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• 2000 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde 91 Points

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  nose: this nose stuck out compared to the other syrahs with classic northern rhone tones of black olives, tapenade tones, black cherries, smoke, bacon fat, charcoal and a touch of spice tones. Very well balanced on the nose with tones that meld together very well
  
  taste: medium/full bodied with medium acidity as well as good tannins that still show themselves off. Balanced and polished tones of black olives, tapenade tones, bacon fat and tones of charcoal
  
  overall: this had a bit of browning at the rim, but the tannins were still showing their youth. This just screamed northern rhone and was a great contrast to the new world syrahs in the blind lineup

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• 2006 Concha y Toro Syrah Marqués de Casa Concha 82 Points

  Chile, Maipo Valley

  nose: rich, extracted and extremely big nose of vanilla, oak, dark red fruits, liqueur tones and bits of road tar. This was very ripe and hard to fully distinguish what it could be on the nose. Came off very barossa in style on the nose
  
  taste: full bodied with a ton of oak and vanilla along with extracted tones of liqueur and dark red fruits. Just comes off as extremely ripe on the palate
  
  overall: it was hard to really tell what this was when it was blind. It could've been from anywhere and while it was likely to be a syrah with the theme that emerged, there wasn't much to tell what it really was

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Mmmmmmmmmmmm, smoque. Yea, the food was great and the wines were a lot of fun. I threw in the barolo for fun and it was also fun throwing in the cote rotie since I figured phil would be going more new world on his wines