Syrah-Cabernet blends Aussie vs. Cali blindtasted

I was intrigued to try a group of Syrah-Cab blends, since it does seem like a combination with merit. These, however, seemed largely dominated by the Syrah (or Shiraz) for me, with pepper, berry and savory profiles making up a large number of the palates, although the noses showed more diversity. I diverged a lot from the group tonight, since their first place wine was my last, and their last was my number two rank wine. A number of tasters indicated, however, that were they to rank again, they would have downgraded the group’s number 1, the ’03 Behrens & Hitchcock “Cats of the World” (probably the most expensive wine in the lineup) as it was showing much less well as the night wore on. I just found it flabby, generic and hot. As a group, we seemed to identify the Marquis Philips “Sarah’s Blend” vertical accurately, giving it our #2, 4 and 5 rankings. Perhaps because of the additional age on it, the ’01 “Sarah’s Blend” stood out as the most complex and resolved of these for me, so it was my #1. The Lewis Cellars “Alec’s Blend,” with Merlot in the mix instead of Cabernet, was also a memorable wine for me, with the flavors of those two varietals seeming more complementary, to me, than the Cab-Syrah mix did in most of them.
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Aussie vs. California Syrah-Cabernet blends
Introduction by Ross Bott, our tasting organizer
These days Shiraz dominates the high end Australian wine scene. The Australians with their old Syrah vines and sunny climate can make full throttle Shiraz like no place else in the world. However, it was only a couple decades ago when Cabernet Sauvignon was the flagship red grape in Australia (as it is in much of the world). Then, Shiraz was an occasional blending grape for Cabernet. Adding 30-70% Shiraz to Cabernet Sauvignon often produced a unique wine of outstanding depth, complexity and longevity. Many of the legendary reds from Australia were Cabernet-Shiraz blends, including Penfolds Grange (which transitioned to pure Shiraz only in the last 20 years), Yalumba "The Signature", Blue Pyrenees, Fox Creek JSM, Parsons Flat, and others.

Blending Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah is not a new idea -- the French in the Provence region have been producing blends of these two top varietals since the nineteenth century. In many senses, it makes intuitive sense, using Syrah to "brighten" the sternness of Cabernet, while keeping two varietals which most feel are two of the three best and certainly the most long lived in the world. Some of the most famous Provencal wines, e.g., Domaine Trevallon, are also Cab-Syrah blends.

California has just recently begun to see the potential of the Cab-Syrah blend. One of the leaders in this area is Behrens & Hitchcock, who produces a Cab-Syrah which is the equal of the best that Australia makes in terms of depth and concentration. Originally named after Picasso, their beloved cat who passed away in 1999, they expanded the name "Ode to Picasso" in later years to "Les Chats du Monde" or "Cats of the World" depending upon the vintage. The percentage of Syrah varies markedly from year to year, as high as 48% and as low as 2%, with the rest of the blend filled out by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Tonight we'll try four Cabernet-Syrah blends each from Australia and California, with each lineup spanning the 2000-2003 vintages. The Australian side will feature five wines made by top women winemakers, including four from the Sarah Marquis and one from Corina Rayment, winemaker at Oliver's Taranga. On the California side we'll have a mini vertical of two of the Cat wines from Behrens and Hitchcock, and fill out the California lineup with the outstanding 2000 Alec's Blend from Randy Lewis, a unique blend of Syrah and Merlot. If you've never tried a Cab-Shiraz, these wines are enormously fun and satisfying to drink, with the forward, spicy fruit of Syrah and the Cabernet and Merlot adding complexity and depth. Some tasting notes:

AUSTRALIA
2000 Oliver's Taranga "Corrina's Blend", McLaren Vale (Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Merlot, 14.5%): "The 2000 Corrina's Blend (55% Cabernet Sauvignon, 40% Shiraz, and 5% Merlot aged in both French and American oak) is a sexy, opaque purple-colored effort with smoky, earthy, meaty aromas as well as copious quantities of black cherry and black currant fruit. As the wine sits in the glass, notions of sweet, melted licorice and camphor also emerge. Layered, lush, and complex" (91/100, Robert Parker)

2000 Parson's Flat, Padthaway (65% Shiraz, 35% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14.5%): "offers up a deep ruby/purple color as well as a sweet bouquet of black currants, blackberries, smoke, and earth. It is a graceful yet big wine, with medium to full body, a seamlessness that characterizes most of the Marquis wines, and a long, lusty finish with beautifully integrated acidity, alcohol, tannin, and wood." (91/100, Robert Parker)

2001 Marquis Philips "Sarah's Blend", Southeastern Australia (14.5%): "The stunning (probably the finest $15 wine I have ever had) 2001 Sarah's Blend includes 48% Shiraz, 29% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 23% Merlot. It boasts an opaque plum/purple color in addition to a stunningly sweet bouquet of ground pepper, blackberry liqueur, and toasty oak. Surprising nuances, full body, great purity, an opulent, super-concentrated mid-palate and finish, and a seamlessness that must be tasted to be believed emerge from this fresh, well-delineated red. Moreover, there are 5,500 cases available.” (93/100, Robert Parker)

2002 Marquis Philips "Sarah's Blend", Southeastern Australia (14.5%): "The 2002 Sarah's Blend (a 6,000 case blend of 62% Shiraz, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 18% Merlot) boasts an inky purple color, full body, great intensity, and plenty of toasty, smoky vanillin notes intermixed with hints of melted licorice, figs, plums, blackberries, and currants. Dense, low in acidity, and corpulent, it is a luscious southern Australian fruit bomb of considerable flesh and intensity." (93/100, Robert Parker)

2003 Marquis Philips "Sarah's Blend", Southeastern Australia (14.5%): "Combining power with elegance, the deep ruby/purple-tinged 2003 Sarah's Blend, an 8,000-case cuvee of 62% Shiraz, 19% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 19% Merlot, displays a high "yummy" factor along with loads of smoky vanilla, licorice, fig, plum, black currant, and spice box notes. This juicy, succulent, medium to full-bodied 2003 possesses surprising texture, depth, and length. There is not a hard edge to be found, so it can be enjoyed over the next 2-3 years." (91/100, Robert Parker)

CALIFORNIA
2000 Lewis Cellars "Alec's Blend", Napa Valley (Syrah and Merlot, 14.2%): "Beautifully defined fruit, ripe, rich and intense, with dense, chocolaty blackberry and black cherry flavors that are plus and firmly tannic, showing plenty of vanilla-scented oak. (93/100, Wine Spectator)

2002 Behrens & Hitchcock "Les Chats du Monde", Napa Valley (15.6%): "There are 725 cases of the 2002 Les Chats du Monde, a blend of 48% Syrah, 38% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 14% Merlot that tips the scales at 15.6%. Indigenous yeast fermentations give these wines a wild mountain flower-styled bouquet with blueberry liqueur and cassis notes in the background." (91-93/100, Robert Parker)

2003 Behrens & Hitchcock "Cats of the World", Napa Valley (15.2%): "The deep ruby/purple-tinged 2003 Les Chats du Monde (a blend of 58% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 2% Syrah) offers a big, smoky, blackberry-scented nose, heady alcohol, impressive fruit purity, an unctuous texture, and an explosively long finish. Drink it over the next 7-8 years." (92/100, Robert Parker)

• 2003 Behrens & Hitchcock Cats of the World Meow 82 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #1 (my #8) – 32 pts; 2 firsts, 4 seconds, 1 third, 1 last place – dark red violet color with medium red meniscus, as were nearly all of the wines; pointed alcoholic, grapey nose; soft, generic, flabby; short finish (others who had rated it high agreed that it had fallen off a lot as it sat in the glass and that they would not have rated it as high as they initially did)

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• 2002 Marquis Philips Sarah's Blend 88 Points

  Australia, South Eastern

  Group's #2 (my #7) – 42 pts; 3, 1, 0, 0 – focused, savory and pepper nose; rich, raspberry, cherry, pepper and sage palate; medium-plus finish

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• 2000 Lewis Cellars Alec's Blend 89 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #3 (my #4) – 43 pts; 1, 1, 2, 0 – savory, roasted meat, smoky nose; tasty, peppery, savory palate with good acidity; medium finish

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• 2003 Marquis Philips Sarah's Blend 88 Points

  Australia, South Eastern

  Group's #4 (my #5) – 44 pts; 1, 0, 2, 1 – nice berry and pepper—lots of pepper—on nose; big, rich, a little hot with pepper upfront and underlying berry palate; medium finish 88+ pts.

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• 2001 Marquis Philips Sarah's Blend 91 Points

  Australia, South Eastern

  Group's #5 (my #1) – 45 pts.; 1, 0, 2, 2 – focused pepper and savory nose with a floral note; rich, chocolaty, berry, blue fruit, with vanilla edge; medium-plus slightly hot finish

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• 2000 Oliver's Taranga Vineyards Corrina's Shiraz Cabernet Sauvignon 89 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Fleurieu, McLaren Vale

  Group's #6 (my #3) – 49 pts.; 1, 1, 1, 0 – funky sulfur nose, that opens after a few minutes to clove, black fruit and charcoal nose; herbal, clove, sage, tart plum and red fruit; medium finish 89+ pts.

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• 2000 Parsons Flat Shiraz - Cabernet 88 Points

  Australia, South Australia, Limestone Coast, Padthaway

  Group's #7 (my #6) – 51 pts.; 0, 2, 2, 3 – focused, savory and pepper nose; rich, raspberry, cherry, pepper and sage palate; medium-plus finish

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• 2002 Behrens & Hitchcock Les Chats du Monde 90 Points

  USA, California, Napa Valley

  Group's #8 (my #2) – 54 pts.; 1, 1, 0, 3 – intriguing berry, blueberry nose, with a hint of vanilla and lavender; blueberry, raspberry and chocolate palate with good acidity; medium finish 90+ pts.

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