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. Domaine "LaGarrigue" Cuvee Romaine Cotes du Rhone (13.5%) Albert Bernard et Fils/Vayqueras 2001: Med.dark color; lovely fragrant Grenache/spicy/light CdP/slight bretty nose; tart slight metallic bit earthy/CdP some Grenache/strawberry/fragrant flavor; med.short tart bright strawberry/Grenache finish w/ light tannins; a lovely perfumed nose but not quite delivers on the palate; good value at $10.50
2. Eric Texier Cotes du Rhone Brezeme Vieilles Vignes (12.5%) 2000: Very dark color; bit stinky/ reduced strong boysenberry/Syrah rather roasted/coffee/pungent/NorthernRhone slight funky complex nose; very screechy/acid strong roasted/coffee/pungent/NRhone strong blackberry/ boysenberry/Syrah slight earthy complex flavor; very long screechy/bone-jarring/acid strong/ pungent/roasted strong blackberry/Syrah finish w/ fair tannins; very interesting wine but tough on palate because of the acidity. Bit pricey at $27.00
3. McLaren Vale Kangarilla Road Shiraz (14.0%; www.KangarillaRoad.com) 2001: Very dark color; intense blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry slight minty/eucalyptus light Am.oak very jammy nose; strong/intense jammy/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some minty/menthol/eucalyptus bit tannic flavor; very long some tannic intense/blackberry/boysenberry/jammy some minty/eucalyptus finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-5 yrs; loads of juicy Syrah fruit but good structure; a classic Oz Syrah. $20.00
4. Tait Baske tPressed Baross aValley Shiraz (14.9%; www.TaitWines.com) 2001: Very dark color; very intense framboise/blackberry/boysenberry/jammy/Syrah chocolaty/cocoa some Am.oak nose; tart/ rich very intense blackberry/jammy/framboise/Syrah/black cherry/licorice some chocolaty/ cocoa flavor; very long/lingering tannic/structured intense/juicy/boysenberry/framboise/ Syrah light oak finish; loads of juicy framboise character but the structure for aging; needs 2-6 yrs. $29.00
5. Novy Dry Creek Valley Syrah Unti Vineyard (15.1%; www.Novy FamilyWines.com; 141 Cabernet Sauvignon) 2001: Very dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah quite spicy/cranberry nose; tart bright/blackberry/cranberry rather DCV/spicy slight green/stemmy flavor; med.long tart/bright/spicy/DCV/blackberry/ cranberry finish w/ light tannins; little in the way of oak; lovely DCV-style nose but a bit tart & lean on the palate. $25.00
6. Novy Santa Lucia Highlands Garys'Vineyard Syrah (15.1%; 210 Cabernet Sauvignon) 2001: Very dark/near black color; intense chocolaty/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah very spicy/rosemary/thyme very cracked black pepper some herbal/Monterey nose; tart/rich intense boysenberry/blackberry strong cracked black pepper very spicy flavor; very long cracked pepper slight herbal very blackberry/ Syrah/boysenberry finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; a complex killer Syrah. $32.00
7. Novy Russian River Valley Syrah Christensen Family Vineyard (15.1%; 72 Cabernet Sauvignon) 2001: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/juicy/black cherry cola/Syrah peppery/spicy nose; tart/appley very juicy/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/black cherry cola very spicy slight peppery low oak flavor; long very tart/appley ripe/juicy/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/cola finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; loads of juicy boysenberry fruit w/ a tart/appley character on the palate. $23.00
8. Pax Russian River Valley Syrah Castelli-Knight Ranch (13.9%; www.PaxWines.com; 345 Cabernet Sauvignon) 2001: Ver dark color; lovely peppery very spicy/blackberry/Syrah some toasty/pungent/Fr.oak slight roasted/gamey complex nose; lush rich/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry some toasty/smokey/ Fr.oak quite spicy bit meaty/gamey flavor; very long light toasty/oak/roasted very strong juicy/blackberry/Syrah very spicy bit gamey finish w/ fair tannins; needs several yrs; very good Syrah w/ good complexity & nice touch of oak. $41.00
9. Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Syrah (14.2%) 2001: Near black color; some toasty/pungent/Fr.oak very strong blackberry/Syrah slight meaty/gamey/roasted/coffee fairly complex nose; tart lovely black- berry/Syrah light toasty/oak/pungent rather spicy/meaty balanced flavor; very long Syrah/ blackberry slight meaty/gamey light toasty/pungent finish w/ light oak; it's dishonest to buy a Syrah this good at this price; great value. $22.50
10. Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Syrah Stolpman Vineyard (14.8%) 2001: Very dark color; bright strawberry/blackberry/ Syrah very spicy almost DryCreek-like/spicy nose; tart bit hard/lean bright/vibrant/strawberry/ spicy/Syrah very light/toasty/oak bit monochromatic flavor; long tart/lean bright/strawberry/ Syrah low oak finish w/ some tannins; lots of bright strawberry/Syrah (Estrella clone?) character & a bit on lean/hard side; needs some age to show. $30.50
11. Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Syrah Melville Vineyard (14.3%) 2001: Black color; intense blackberry/boysenberry. Syrah very spicy/peppery/cracked black pepper complex nose; tart/bit lean very peppery/spicy/ perfumed blackberry/black cherry/Dr.Pepper/cola/Syrah low oak beautiful/complex/aromatic flavor; very long very spicy/black pepper very strong blackberry/black cherry/Syrah complex finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; almost exotic perfumed/spiciness to this wine. $30.50
12. Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard (14.9%) 2001: Black color; more plummy/ripe/black cherry very blackberry/Syrah some pungent/toasty/oak bit licorice/earthy nose; softer big/ripe/lush/ plummy very blackberry/Syrah light licorice/dusty flavor; very long plummy/black cherry/cola very blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak finish w/ some tannins; more classic SantaBarbara Syrah, bit softer & rounder than others; not as strong a nose but terrific flavors. $27.50
13. Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Syrah Thompson Vineyard (14.5%) 2001: First btl badly musty/corked; fortunately have my stash close at hand to salvage the experience. Very dark/black color; big/huge/ pungent blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight peppery some meaty/gamey light toasty/Fr.oak very ripe/spicy bit licorice nose; tart rich/powerful peppery/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight meaty/gamey/licorice slight dusty light toasty/oak flavor; very long hard/tannic big/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/Dr.Pepper spicy/peppery light earthy/licorice finish with ample tannins; big/huge very intense Syrah w/ lots of interesting things going on; needs 2-8 yrs of age; great Syrah down the road. $30.50
14. Jaffurs Santa Barbara Cnty Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard (14.0%) 2000: Bit murky/cloudy (should have been decanted) black color; strong blackberry/black cherry/cola/Syrah some coffee/roasted/ toasty/oak some complex/perfumed nose; tart rich/intense blackberry/black cherry/Syrah/cola rather toasty/oak/coffee/roasted pungent fairly complex flavor; very long light toasty/ roasted/pungent strong blackberry/Syrah/black cherry/cola finish w/ fair tannins; still a pretty young wine but starting to show some complexity; terrific Syrah. Larry's mystery wine.

1. Texier Brezeme: This wine has an incredible NorthernRhone/roasted character. Most people really liked the nose but it hits the palate like a sledgehammer because of its very high acidity, which I assume means the wine was acidulated. Sorta like running your fingernails down a chalkboard (for those who remember what those are!!). I think it bodes well for a long life ahead, but it's certainly not attractive drinking now.
2. Novy Syrahs: This set of Novys struck me as a bit of a change in style from the 2000's. There seems to be a bit of a pull-back from oak levels, less emphasis on big/extracted Syrah fruit, more allowing the region/Vineyard to shine thru, more towards a bit more balance. All three of these Syrahs were very distinctive; the Garys' a killer. The contrast betwixt the DCV and RRV Syrahs very much mirrors the similar differences betwixt DCV & RRV Zins; the DCV shows more high-toned/vibrant/spicy character and the RRV shows more bass/blackberry/ boysenberry more pungent character. All three carried their alcohol levels very well. All three, as usual, terrific values.
3. Pax Syrahs: This is the 3'rd of Pax Mahle's 2001 Syrahs we've had. They have all been very impressive. Definitely a producer to keep your eyes on.
4. Jaffurs Syrahs: Probably the best tableau of Jaffurs Syrahs Craig's yet made. Larry (Archibald) and I have followed his wines from the very start, when we set down on Bob Senn's Los Olivos Wine & Spirits Emporium front porch one morning to try a few barrel samples of his whites. It's been fun to watch Craig's winemaking style evolve over the yrs, both in the reds and the whites. He appears to harvest earlier than other producers from these same Vineyards, leading to a more lean/ restrained/svelte style of wine. These '01's are the biggest & lushest batch of Syrahs he's yet made, yet are still a step short from an over-the-top style. Of these four, the Melville was my clear favorite because of the strong peppery character. Many/most preferred the Bien Nacido, some the Thompson. The Thompson is a huge/extracted wine that badly needs some age to show its best I suspect. Anyway, killer Syrahs at a great price.
5. Stolpman Vineyard: This is a Vineyard that as really started to show its quality over the last yr or two. The Vineyard is impeccably maintained by Jeff Newton, with every leaf and berry in its right place. The wines, from multiple producers, always seem to reflect this; they have a bright laser-sharp varietal correctness to them. The Syrah is planted equally to Estrella and Durell clones. This Jaffurs seemed to show that bright strawberry character I first found in Gary Eberle's EstrellaRiver Syrahs and often see in Syrah made from Estrella clone. It will be interesting to see Sashi Moorman's rendition of these grapes.
6. Melville Vineyard: The original plantings of Melville Syrah were a small block there on their SantaRitaHills estate, in a less desirable block of land. Most of it has been grafted over to Pinot, with a small amount left for Adam Tolmach. I believe this 2001 is the last Craig received from the SRH estate. In subsequent yrs, the Melville Syrah will be coming from their new Vineyard up in LosAlamos (the ersatz/Calif one, not the real LosAlamos), which is a warmer climate, and not far from Thompson Vineyard, as I undersatand.