2013 Plumpjack Syrah
Community Tasting Note
jkscully wrote:
Wednesday, November 17, 2021 - Smoky and gamey with deep purple fruits, chocolate, coffee, and violet. The tannins are sweet with a peppery finish. Imagine huckleberry pie that has sat for some time in front of a BBQ and has picked up some smoky/meaty flavors. You can taste the whole cluster, but it’s perhaps a bit too stemmy for me. It’s also a bit too rich for my preferences. 15.2% alcohol and, though you don’t taste it, you feel it. I would have guessed Paso Robles. Didn’t seem to change very much with air. #95 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2016.
Not sure what to make of this. I often struggle to like Syrah. To me, Syrah (especially new world Syrah) is rarely a super complex wine, but it can still be delightful. This was polished for sure, but not super complex and a little too over the top to be delightful. Ben Christianson says, “Kinda big in all directions - extraction, acidity, tannin, voluptuousness,; and then very fruity and bacon-y, and black pepper-y; and all the more boring for it” and that seems about right. I try to appreciate all styles for what they are—and that includes “Fruit Bombs” and “Parkerized Cali wines”—but this is was more than I could handle. I had a hard time finishing it and that’s pretty rare. I wonder if this would have been better with some additional bottle age? Maybe things would have calmed down a bit.
As usual for my Syrah preferences, best in Zalto All-purpose.
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