Important Update From the Founder
Read message >
Syrahs and other Rhone varietals
Roberts House
Tasted November 13, 2010 by ews3 with 946 views
Introduction
For this tasting we went with Rhone varietals, focusing in on Syrah with the reds. We were initially going to include Grenache but it became too challenging to work the numbers and exercised "restraint".
Flight 1 - Assorted starters (2 notes)
A few wines to start -- I was quite impressed with the Keever SB.
Red
2004 Bodegas Elías Mora Toro Gran Elías Mora
88 points
nice tannic structure but not too much complexity. black fruit and coffee. med(-) finish is a little disappointing.
White
2009 Keever Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley
88 points
really enjoyed this. nice refreshing acidity is the foundation of this wine, as it should be. grass, lemon, and pineapple juice are the primary flavors. short crisp finish.
Flight 2 - White Rhone Varietals (3 notes)
Many enjoyed the Condrieu, but I had a hard time with the level of acidity, which was offputting for me. The Sine Qua Non was most people's favorite of the flight.
White
2008 Domaine Georges Vernay Condrieu Les Terrasses de l'Empire
86 points
really nice nose -- floral, lychee, and honeysuckle. flavor profile is a little muted, with underripe apricot and crabapple. some volatile acidity shows on the midpalate and leads to a little bitter finish. unfortunately, the palate really did not live up to the wonderful nose on this.
White
2006 Clos des Papes Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc
92 points
honeysuckle on nose. oily mouthfeel with a hint of oxidation -- there were some shipping concerns with this bottle, but it didn't seem overly affected. palate is dominated by honeysuckle, peach, and minerality. medium(+) finish carries some pleasant ginger into the nose that went quite nicely with sushi, much to my surprise. overall a very nice wine.
White
2005 Sine Qua Non The Petition
94 points
this was really nice and remains one of my favorite sine qua non whites (and not just for the beautiful label!). opens with a honeyed nose that makes you think there might be a little sweetness to this. there is also some stone fruit in the nose. offers a nuanced palate that starts with a soft opening, which crescendos through the midpalate, with flavors of apricot marmalade, honeycomb, and white pepper. medium(+) finish has a buttery roux flavor.
Flight 3 - Aged Syrah (2 notes)
Nice examples of aged Syrah, but in different places -- the Hermitage was very secondary, while there was still some fruit left in the SQN. It was a lovely example of how well these are aging!
Red
1990 E. Guigal Hermitage
89 points
funky nose, but it blows off a bit. looking through that is a wonderfully secondary and fully evolved palate. stewed meat, black fruit, and sweet spice. nice acidic structure keeps it fresh. the finish is med(-) and a little bit watery.
Red
1995 Sine Qua Non The Other Hand
94 points
i've had this twice before -- the first bottle was a revelation to me about the beauty of SQN... the second was great, but not amazing... this one was closer to the second, which is not to demean it (it was still wondeful), but rather to point out this could be on a downward trajectory at this point. lots of black pepper on the nose, along with sweet spice, plum, and cedar. from the nose, it seemed this was late in its life. the med (-) bodied palate was surprisingly youthful, with mint and menthol floating on top of a light bloody flavor profile. some black fruit still apparent in the background. medium finish shows a nice acidity and the continuation of the mint flavors.
Flight 4 - Northern Rhone (4 notes)
A tour of the Northern Rhone -- the LeMeal was one of the best wines of the night -- a remarkable effort.
Red
2005 M. Chapoutier St. Joseph Deschants
90 points
black pepper and brisket dominate the nose and flavor profile here with some black fruit behind it. i love brisket, so found it delicious, even if a bit simple. more like what i expect from a grenache, but with lighter tannins. a little bit watery with a med (-) finish.
Red
2003 E. Guigal Côte-Rôtie Brune et Blonde
90 points
nose shows spice and rendered fat. palate brings in more red fruit -- cranberry is the most dominant. sanguine flavors also appear. med(-) tannins. a little bit of heat on the medium finish.
Red
2006 Alain Voge Cornas Les Vieilles Vignes
91 points
a little mushroom funk on the nose. palate shows blood, salinity, and blackberry liqueur. nice concentration of fruit flavors. medium finish leaves a lovely black pepper flavor in the mouth.
Red
2006 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Le Méal
95 points
wonderful. blood, raspberry, black fruit. very oaky. med(+) tannins coat the mouth and lead into a long finish. this is a baby and will be a long lived wine.
Flight 5 - US Syrah (6 notes)
Quite a lineup of the American Syrahs -- I think my favorite was the Alban, but it's a tossup with the Lillian Blue Label. Whichever wins that is my WOTN.
Red
2007 Rudius Syrah Emerald Pool Alder Springs Vineyard
91 points
brighter fruit than many of the other syrahs we tasted this evening with a profile of red and black fruits. cherry, blackberry, and white pepper. medium finish. more feminine and restrained than many of the other new world syrahs.
Red
2008 Carlisle Syrah Papa's Block
95 points
decanted 6 hours. really nice. wonderful perfumed quality to the nose that launched blackberry and other black fruits up into the nose with some floral violet notes. the palate is dominated by rich black fruit and offers mint and menthol notes to keep it fresh and lively. med-long finish is stunning. a delicious wine.
Red
2005 Lillian Winery Syrah Blue Label
96 points
decanted ~12 hours. i love the 05 lillians in all shapes and forms, so i wanted to put this into the tasting as a benchmark wine to see how other top syrahs measured up against it. it did just fine! nose of menthol, blood, mint on top of intensely concentrated black fruit and black pepper. the palate has a perfumed quality that is lively in the mouth on top of rich black fruit with medium tannins. this is a heck of a wine that culminates in a long, long finish.
Red
2007 Cayuse Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard
flawed
decanted 12 hours... worried with the nose on opening, but hoped it would evolve into something. almost undrinkable. kept the bottle for another attempt on the second day
Red
2007 Saxum James Berry Vineyard
95 points
decanted 12 hours. minty meat -- almost like a lamb with a mint sauce. blackberry, black fruit, chocolate powder. med(++) tannins dry out the palate and lead into a long long finish.
Red
2005 Alban Vineyards Syrah Lorraine
96 points
wonderful nose is as dark as the night sky -- black fruit, black pepper. the palate was very bloody with an opulent mouthfeel and coating tannins. this wine is so young and has a long life ahead. i only have one more, so it will be hard to decide when to pull it out.
Flight 6 - Australian Shiraz (2 notes)
Good, but not remarkable -- interesting comparison that reinforces my belief that Bella's Garden is my favorite of the lineup.
Red
2005 Two Hands Shiraz Lily's Garden
91 points
very fruit-centered and a little bit of a letdown after the big guns right before. but on its own merit, this is quite a nice wine with delicious blue and black fruit shining through. med(-) finish.
Red
2006 Two Hands Shiraz Bella's Garden
93 points
i found this to be a step up from the lily's garden, with more structure underpinning the fruit. medium tannins and some black spice are there in addition to lots of black fruit.
Flight 7 - Dessert Wines (2 notes)
The Chapoutier was a remarkable dessert wine. The Banyuls was disappointing,
White - Sweet/Dessert
2004 M. Chapoutier Hermitage Vin de Paille
95 points
delicious. honey, apricot, and marmalade. some white spices and minerality surprised me and made this more interesting than many dessert wines. long, long finish.
1 person found this helpful
Comment
Red - Fortified
2004 Domaine du Mas Blanc (Docteur Parcé) Banyuls Rimage
86 points
disappointing end (though i did go back for others!) plum liqueur, a little bit of pepper, and a lot of heat. only a medium finish.