1998 Rhone Syrahs

Rich & Peggy's House, Los Altos, CA)
Tasted Monday, March 26, 2012 by europat55 with 665 views

Introduction

Notes from the event organizer:

I wish I'd collected more wines from the Northern Rhone back in the 1980s and 1990s ago; as my tastes have changed, I find these wines more and more attractive with a couple of decades of age. They are often tough to read when they are young, and can have forbidding levels of tannins. However, after a decade or so in the bottle, they begin to unwind and develop layers and layers of complexity. These "cool climate" Syrahs have captured the attention of an increasing group of California winemakers who are using Syrah vineyards Sonoma Coast, Carneros and other cooler microclimates more traditionally thought of as suitable primarily for Pinot Noir, to produce wines in the style of Hermitage or Cote Rotie. It will be very interesting to see how these wines evolve with 10 to 20 years in the bottle.

However, tonight, we'll explore how cool climate Syrahs from Northern Rhone have aged. We'll have eight wines from the 1998 vintage, including three Cote Roties, an Hermitage, a St Joseph and a Rayas Fonsalette. For comparison, we will have will be a couple Syrahs from Australia, one from a cooler microclimate, and one from a warmer one.

Flight 1 - Pre-Tasting Wines: (3 Notes)

Flight 2 - Main Line-Up: (8 Notes)

Closing

This was an excellent tasting with each wine providing a clearly distinctive experience and good examples of how good Syrahs can taste.

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