Our new, low-key tasting group does North American Syrah

After two years of glorious tasting with the Seattle Tasting Group (STG), Jason Goldberger and I wanted to add an additional tasting group to our repertoire. The goal was not to compete but rather to have a more casual tasting with fewer wines, typically on a weeknight in a restaurant setting.

And so we assembled the cast of characters: Jason Goldberger and myself from the STG; frequent Seattle offliners Adam Noble and Scott 'Smaug' Gruner from the eRP board; Jeff Fisher, the shop manager at McCarthy & Schiering Queen Anne; and Ross Mickel, the assistant winemaker at Betz and the winemaker at Ross Andrew. In addition, we also had Colin Bryar, a co-work of Jason's at Amazon who attended this first tasting as a special guest. The theme for our first tasting was intended to be open and accessible: North American Syrah

As we worked through our appetizers, we sipped this wine.

• 2002 Weingut Josef Leitz Rüdesheimer Drachenstein Riesling Dragonstone 86 Points

  Germany, Rheingau

  AP# 24 079 001 03. The nose shows a hint of mineral stink and a faint edge of mothballs. On the palate this is vibrant with intense notes of green apple, almost to the intensity of a Jolly Rancher candy (Jason's descriptor). I was thinking this was perhaps Mosel. A bit simple overall and with acids that seem to be a touch aggressive and out of balance with the fruit.

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Before our first courses arrived, we worked on this mini-flight:

• 2000 K Vintners Syrah Motor City Kitty 87 Points

  USA, Washington

  The nose shows vanilla and char and at first seemed fairly dense and not terribly forthcoming. Initially, the palate was searingly tannic and showed some heat and seemed to be young, closed and unyielding. However, with aeration this showed some tar and leather amidst the puckery tannins and started to open up.

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• 1999 McCrea Syrah Cuvée Orleans 85 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley, Yakima Valley

  Initially this smelled interesting with raisin, violet, bacon and pepper, but with more air a very cloying note of Welch's Grape Jelly came forward. Likewise with the palate, at first this was lush and vibrant with a stunningly powerful and long finish. However, as this aired a cloying, grapey note took over the wine and a lot of heat came out. Disappointing, I would have expected this to show a lot better.

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With our meals we enjoyed this flight:

• 2000 Shafer Relentless

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  I struggled mightily with this bottle. The nose shows loads of volatile acidity and eventually some resinous notes of pine. On the palate this is searing, hot and unpleasant with chalky, punishing tannins on the finish. I let a glass air for an extra 30 minutes to see if it would integrate, but it didn't. (It did develop an amazing note of soy sauce.) Not rated.

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• 2003 Relic Wines Syrah Alder Springs Vineyard 93 Points

  USA, California, North Coast, Mendocino County

  I flipped for this beast of a wine. Smokey and meaty with menthol and vanilla, this made me say "MMMMMMMMMM!!!!!" over and over. On the palate this is big, black beastly and brooding, an awesome kick in the teeth. The finish showed some initial sweetness which settled down with some air. I really enjoyed this beast of a young wine!

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• 2000 Betz Family Syrah La Serenne 89 Points

  USA, Washington, Columbia Valley

  At first this seemed grapey on the nose, but then it moved to tar and some hints of horse-sweat. Mmm, the palate is clean, lighter in scale than the other wines, surprisingly precise and focused, a well balanced Syrah. On the finish a nice, citrusy element keeps this fresh. Nice showing!

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And as the meal wrapped up, we finished the reds with this surprisingly elegant and somewhat understated pair.

• 2000 Garretson Wine Company Syrah The Aisling 91 Points

  USA, California, Central Coast, Paso Robles

  Mmm, this smells a bit like Hermitage with pine needles. The palate shows sweet black fruit and molasses but is then followed by a leathery element with light notes of roasted meat on the finish. A hint of pickles and mint pops up here and there, and in fact this probably stems from the American oak treatment this receives. Really nice wine!

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• 2002 Cayuse Syrah Bionic Frog 88 Points

  USA, Oregon, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley

  Blueberry on the nose. Sweaty and salty on the palate with a nice savory edge throughout. Yummy! This shows impeccable balance from start to finish, a pleasure to finish up with.

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Finally, with a mix of desserts (I had the famous Dahlia Lounge coconut cream pie which was a dream match), we enjoyed what Jason and I considered to be the best wine of the night.

• 1995 Château Tirecul La Gravière Monbazillac 94 Points

  France, Southwest France, Dordogne, Monbazillac

  Wow, this shows crazy botrytis with vinyl, creme brulee and hints of tangerine. The palate is surprisingly supple, almost weightless. The finish on this wine is especially impressive, seamless and nearly endless. This kicks the pants off of the bigger Cuvee Madame right now. This was my surprise WOTN, a real pleasure!

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Great first tasting!