by Tom Hill

A self-admitted wine geek, Tom lives in Northern New Mexico and works as a computational physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory doing numerical neutron transport & large scale code development. He has been tasting wines since 1971, participates locally with a couple of large tasting groups in his area, and is practically a fixture at most California wine festivals, such as the Hospice du Rhône, Rhône Rangers, and ZAP. Other interests: Tom is heavily into competitive sport fencing (foil & epee), biking, cooking, basketball, skiing, backpacking, mountain climbing.

 
1. d'Arenberg McLaren Vale The Hermit Crab Marsanne/Viognier (14.5%) 2002: Pale yellow color; fragrant pear/apple/perfumed nose w/ slight volatile lift; tart rich bit stoney/metallic floral/appley/pear perfumed flavor; med.long bit stoney appley/pear finish; quite a nice white some like the Qupe Roussanne; good value at $15.50
2. Failla Viognier Alban Vineyard Edna Valley (14.2%; 175 cs) 2001: Med.yellow color; strong toasty oak/toasted coconut some floral/Viognier/peach nose; tart very rich/lush toasted/oak/toasted coconut/smokey some floral/honeysuckle/pear flavor; long/lush/rich very toasted oak/toasted coconut/smokey light floral/honeysuckle/pear finish; pretty strongly dominated by the oak right now; has lots of acidity and body and should age into something pretty interesting.
3. Novy Syrah Napa Valley (15.1%; mostly Page-Nord vnyd + Sarco vnyd; 444 cs) 2001: Near black color; very intense blackberry/boysenberry rather meaty/gamey some toasty/oak intense Syrah nose; tart some toasty/oak ripe blackberry/Syrah some gamey beautiful lush flavor; very long tart blackberry/Syrah/meaty/gamey some toasty/smokey finish w/ some tannins; needs a yr or two but terrific drinking Syrah now; a steal at $21.00
4. Novy Syrah Sonoma Cnty (15.1%; Unti/DCV vnyd + ChristensenFamily/RRV vnyd; 246 cs) 2001: Very dark color; very intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah/jammy slight gamey nose; tart very ripe/jammy/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah loads of ripe fruit slight toasty flavor; very long ripe/jammy/boysenberry/spicy finish w/ light tannins; more typical DCV/fruity Syrah; great value at $19.00
5. Novy Syrah SantaLucia Highlands (15.1%; Garys' vnyd + Rosella's vnyd; 321 cs) 2001: Very dark near black color; rather pungent bit reduced/funky strong black pepper/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/Fr.oak/smokey nose; tart intense cracked black pepper blackberry/Syrah slight herbal/funky flavor; long/lingering cracked pepper/blackberry/Syrah light toasty slight funky finish w/ some tannins; lots of spicy/black pepper character; some thought the slight funky character was corked, but I couldn't identify it as corked; terrific wine at the price. $23.00
6. Novy Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella's Vineyard (15.1%; 70 cs) 2001: Near black color; intense blackberry/Syrah/cracked black pepper slight herbal some roasted/coffee light toasty/oak fairly complex nose; rich/lush intense blackberry/black pepper some herbal/roasted/coffee/ espresso light toasty/oak flavor; very long/lingering blackberry/Syrah/black pepper some roasted/pungent/coffee finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; killer Syrah at a great price. $25.00
7. AntiqV2S garys' Vineyard Syrah (14.5%; 190 cs) P&B by AntiqV2S, SantaRosa 2001: Med.dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah bit cracked black pepper some Fr.toasty oak nose; soft very spicy blackberry/boysenberry bit cracked pepper toasty/smokey/oak ripe/lush very spicy flavor; very long very spicy blackberry/cracked pepper light toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; very nice Syrah but not any of the SLH/herbal character I would expect; bit overpriced. $45.00
8. Failla Syrah Sonoma Coast Que Syrah Vineyard (13.5%; 525 cs) 2001: Med.dark color; very ripe strong blackberry rather roasted/coffee/green olive very Rhonish/complex terrific nose; bit lean/ hard very roasted/coffee/espresso smokey/pungent/toasty slight green olive bklackberry/Syrah peppery complex flavor; very long pungent/roasted/smokey/coffee strong blackberry/Syrah bit cracked pepper bit lean/hard somewhat tannic finish; needs 3-6 yrs age; very Northern Rhone in style; killer Syrah.
9. Pax Russian River Valley Syrah Castelli-KnightRanch (13.9%; 345 cs; www.PaxWines.com) 2001: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry quite spicy light toasty/pungent/smokey/Fr.oak slight gamey/leafy/peppery nose; tart very spicy/peppery lush blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light toasty/pungent/oak flavor; very long/lingering very spicy some peppery lush blackberry/ Syrah/boysenberry light toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; needs a few yrs; has a very spicy character some like FratiRanch Zin; terrific Syrah.
10. Shadow Canyon Cellars Syrah Shadow Canyon Vineyard York Mountain (www.ShadowCanyon.com) 2001: Dark color; strong very blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah black cherry cola/Dr.Pepper slight gamey interesting nose; soft bit alcoholic loads of blackberry/black cherry/jammy/cola/Syrah very light toasty/oak flavor; med.long ripe blackberry/black cherry cola light toasty/oak slight gamey finish w/ light tannins; loads of black cherry/cola fruit; outstanding Paso Syrah. $nc  $40.00
11. Sine Qua Non Incognito Grenache (10% Syrah; Alban/Stolpman vnyds; 15.8%; 18.5 mo. in 50% new oak; 263 cs) 2000: Very dark color; very intense peppery toasty/charred/Fr.oak coffee/ roasted very fragrant/spicy/strawberry complex nose; soft very spicy bright strawberry/cherry/ Grenache some toasty/Fr.oak/roasted/pungent flavor; very long/lingering very spicy/strawberry/ cherry some toasty/charred/roasted/Fr.oak finish w/ some tannins; much like an AlbanLite w/ more bright fruit then John's usually show; seems more balanced & less extracted than previous versions; terrific Grenache.
12. Sine Qua Non Inflagrante Syrah (10% Grenache, 2% Viognier; Alban/BienNacido/Stolpman/ WhiteHawk vnyds; 19 mo. in 72% new oak) 2000: Very dark/black color; very attractive fragrant/ blackberry/Syrah slight gamey pretty spicy some toasty/charred/smokey/Fr.oak nose; tart/lush very strong blackberry/Syrah/gamey very spicy some toasty/oak/charred flavor; very long/lingering toasty/charred/Fr.oak strong blackberry/gamey very spicy finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-6 yrs; seems more balanced & restrained than previous Syrahs; killer Syrah.
13. Ojai Vineyard Santa Barbara Cnty Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard (14.0%) 1998: Dark color; rather CdP-like bit earthy some ripe/blackberry some toasty/pungent/Fr.oak nose; soft earthy/blackberry/Syrah some toasty/pungent/Fr.oak flavor; med.long dusty/earthy bit walnutty some blackberry/Syrah finish w/ some tannins; seems to be developing a bit different than I expected.
14. Rosemont Estate McLarenVale Syrah Balmoral 1993: Dark color; very strong Am.oak/very vanilla slight black/Syrah/licorice very ripe/sweetish nose; soft very strong vanilla/Am.oak rather strawberry/licorice/cherry cola slight earthy flavor w/ light tannins; smooth & drinkable and probably not going to get much better; lots of Am.oak. Howard&Rhoda's mystery.

1. Novy Napa vs. Sonoma Syrahs: I've tended to much prefer Adam's Sonoma Syrahs over the Napa ones because I have found the Sonoma ones to be more Syrah-like and the Napa versions more Zin-like. In this pair; I far preferred the Napa, finding more of that gamey character I like in Syrah, and the Sonoma one more jammy fruit. Both are pretty terrific Syrahs, expecially for the price.
2. The previous release had the Novy single-vnyd Syrahs and this release was primarily the blends. These were all terrific Syrahs and great values; no-brainer purchases.
3. Failla Syrah: This was one controversial wine. Myself and a few others really liked the wine because of its strong NorthernRhone Syrah characteristics. Most others thought it was a bit funky & stinky and on the thin side. It definitly is not your mainstream Calif Syrah. I think Al Rago's Que Syrah is one of the great Syrah sites in Calif and this wine shows what cold- climate Syrah can do. Try before you buy it, though; apparently not to everyone's taste.
4. Pax Syrah: I've followed Pax Mahle's Syrahs from the very start, when he showed the first one at the WCWN off-line at VillaCreek at HdR. It impressed me then, the current 2001's impress me even more. At RhoneRangers, they (and the Novy) were about the best set of Syrahs, across the board, shown. Alas, didn't get them in at this yr's HdR. But they represent some of the best Syrahs coming out of the RussianRiverValley. I'm seeing much of the same characteristics in RRV Syrah vis a vis DryCreek Syrah that I see in Zin; the RRV show much more of a deeper/spicier character, more tannins and bass notes; whilst the DCV Syrahs show more of a vibrant/berry-cherry/elegant character. Both areas make great Syrahs in their own special way.
5. ShadowCanyon Syrah: I've followed Gary Gibson's Syrahs from the very start, when he first showed it at HdR last year. One of the better new Paso Syrahs to come down the pike. This btl was sent to me by Wade Schlosser (www.wadeswines.com), where a lot of the best CalifRhones can be found. ShadowCanyon is a new property just coming on-line up on YorkMountain, on WestSide Paso just off Hwy46W. One of the westernmost areas in the SantaLuciaMtns. It's long been the source of some pleasant (just that) wines made Steve Goldman on this very old property. It's recently been sold to the Weyrich's (of Martin&Weyrich fame) so don't know if their quality has improved any or not. The YorkMtn is one of the (maybe the) smallest AVA's in Calif. The ShadowCanyon Syrah is finally a wine that lives up to the quality I long felt that area could produce; from a new vnyd separate from the old YorkMtnWinery vnyds.
6. SQN wines: I've followed Manfred & Elaine's wines from the very start. They have always been pretty unique wines. The reds have been very big/extracted/tannic wines that were loaded w/ charred/toasty oak. These two latest reds showed a more polished/restrained/balanced style of winemaking than previous versions. Both pretty terrific reds.