Domestic (err.... sortof) Syrah (... well, mostly...)

The quarterly wine club is back. This round's theme was domestic Syrah. Minimum $50 bottle. The challenge flummoxed some folks and so we ended up with a mix on country of origin, grape used, and even the price point.

• 2001 Cayuse Syrah En Cerise Vineyard

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  Opened and decanted and poured relatively quickly. This wine really benefited with time though and was drinking very differently by the second go around. Standard Cayuse funk but as others have mentioned it was more muted and even a bit more elegant in this wine. Nice meat and bacon and rocks flavors. No fruit to speak of. It's drinking really well now (with some air time), but does seem to be towards end of drinking window so would be finishing up. Very polarizing wine - favorite for a few folks but others felt it was too mild.

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• 2009 Reynvaan Family Vineyards Syrah Stonessence

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  Popped and allowed to breathe for a few hours before pouring. In retrospect probably could have used a decant although it showed very well. This was a general favorite among the group. Great funky, meaty, juicy flavor. We bought out the store when we got this one and I'm very glad we did. Delicious wine!

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• 2006 Lillian Winery Syrah

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Barbara County

  Opened and let sit for a few hours, then decanted. After two Washington funky wines this was a bit of a change. Get a lot more smoke here, still a bit of meatiness, some hints of fruit (mostly plum). It was an interesting wine. Initial reactions were very positive to this one, but was generally not in the list of favorites at the end of the night.

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• 2011 Turley Petite Syrah Turley Estate

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This was a favorite for a lot of people. It came across as much too young to me. We opened and decanted and it probably had ~45 minutes before we started drinking. Lots of fruit which was a change from the earlier wines - very berry heavy - raspberries, blackberries. Some balancing spice. A bit more intense. I liked the wine, but preferred the earlier ones a bit more.

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• 2012 Arnot-Roberts Syrah Griffin's Lair

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Sonoma Coast

  We opened this and just let sit. In retrospect should definitely have decanted. Similar to the Cayuse this had a big evolution over the afternoon. Started off very tannic - so much so it created dry mouth. There were just hints of unripe cherry, but also a fair amount of dust. The tannins came down after a few hours and could see a bit more of the skeleton of a good wine - but much too early to be drinking now. Liked it for potential.

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• 2011 Stolpman Syrah Hilltops

  USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Ynez Valley

  Pnp'ed and that actually worked ok for this wine (many others in the tasting needed a decant or were decanted and came across a lot better). This was a sweeter tasting wine than the previous ones. Tasted a bit jammy even. With a bit of swirling got some of the more meaty syrah characteristics, but these weren't dominant. Liked it though.

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• 2012 Nederburg Shiraz The Winemaster's Reserve

  South Africa, Western Cape

  Also a pnp'ed. Less of an Aussie than I would have expected (whereas the Mollydooker we had was very clearly Australian). Good currant flavor. Good amount of spice.

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• 2012 Domaine des Rémizières Crozes-Hermitage

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Crozes-Hermitage

  This wine was my least favorite of the night. It lacked any of the complexity that the others had, wasn't particularly interesting, could taste more of the alcohol (interesting since it was a French), and generally wasn't great. I tried going back to it later but if anything the difference was more pronounced.

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• 2012 Mollydooker Shiraz Carnival of Love

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  The best word for this wine is yummy. It's clearly Australian Shiraz and the super extracted version that you hear many a wine connoisseur lament. Perhaps not the most elegant of wines, but the fruit is vibrant - blueberry, cherry, plum and it's the kindof wine that feels a bit decadent to drink. I enjoyed it.

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• 2005 Saint Cosme Côte-Rôtie

  France, Rhône, Northern Rhône, Côte-Rôtie

  Quite a change after the Mollydooker before it. This was perhaps on the other side of the spectrum when it came to restrained wine. Harder tannins. Perhaps a bit on the young side. It had a nice plum flavor to it. Enjoyable wine, but would wait more years before I'd open a bottle. Great potential.

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• 2007 Krupp Brothers Estates Syrah Black Bart Stagecoach Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  This is a wine I came back to multiple times throughout the night. It really intrigued me (in a good way). Very young and many years ahead of it. There was a lot going on here - more smokiness than I got in some other wines, great fruit, and the spiciness. Tannins were evident even at the end of the night. We decanted and drank within an hour or two. This could have used a day's decant I think. But good wine and among my favorites.

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• 2002 Palmeri Syrah Stagecoach Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Disagree with the CT drinking window which had this finishing up in 2009. It's still drinking very well and actually came across as really young to me. Strong tannins, more on the jammier side. I thought this needed more time (maybe a decant) to really come together.

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Lots of really great wines in the mix. I would say the Stonessence and Cayuse were among my favorites but I see good things ahead for Arnot-Roberts and wouldn't mind another try of the Krupp Brothers. Group was mixed. Generally the Turley Petite Syrah was towards the top of the list (also the first wine to be finished) with the Stonessence, Mollydooker, and Krupp high on people's list. Great company and good conversation (much of which wasn't truly wine related).

Now to determine the theme of the next one!