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. Patrick & Christophe Bonneford Cote-Rotie (13%; L01.03) EsquinWineImports 2001: Med.color; slight bretty/earthy little C-R/roasted bit perfumed talc/floral very slight roasted/coffee slight oak nose; tart/lean bit metallic tight/little fruit slight blackberry/Syrah light oak flavor; med.short tart/hard/lean/tight/closed little fruit no C-R/roasted finish; pretty tight & closed; nees age but doubtful potential; more like a Burgundy; no C-R character to speak of; disappointing. $40.50
2. Fairview Cyril Back Shiraz (14.9%) Paarl/SouthAfrica 2000: Dark color; slight meaty/earthy slight blackberry/Syrah/black cherry rustic/earthy/Languedoc-like nose; tart rather sour/ earthy/rustic slight blackberry/Syrah; med.long very earthy/rustic bit lactic/funky light blackberry finish w/ rough tannins; needs some age; very earthy & rustic in character more like a Pinotage than Syrah. $24.00
3. Andrew Murray Santa Ynez Valley Syrah Roasted Slope Vineyard (5% Viognier; 13.9%) 2001: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah some hot/fumey/volatile/EA bit charred/toasty/oak some perfumed nose; soft/fleshy/lush strong lush/blackberry/Syrah some toasty/oak/milky bit hot/ fumey flavor; med.short soft/fat/fleshy strong blackberry/Syrah w/ no tannins; a very soft/ grapey Syrah w/ little structure; noticible volatile but not that unpleasant. $27.20
4. Andrew Murray Santa Ynez Valley Syrah BestBarriqueCuvee (13.9%) 2001: Very dark color; some pencilly/toasty/Fr.oak big/spicy/blackberry/Syrah very attractive nose; soft very lush strong licorice/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry slight toasty/oak flavor; med.long soft/fat lush/ blackberry/boysenberry/licorice finish w/ light tannins; very Oz in style; lovely Syrah for the short term. $24.00
5. Drew Syrah Rodney's & Larner Vineyards Santa Ynez Valley (14.5%; 150 cs; www.DrewFamilyCellars.com) 2002: Very dark/near black color; beautiful intense boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah bit alcoholic/ ripe some dusty/gamey/licorice bit pungent/oak complex nose; soft very lush loads of intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some meaty/gamey/minerally beautiful flavor; very long slight hot/ alcoholic very lush/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah gamey/meaty finish w/ soft tannins; loads of Syrah fruit w/ a bit of overripe/alcoholic character that doesn't bother me; beautiful Syrah. $33.00
6. Drew Syrah Alisos & Thompson Vineyards Santa Barbara County (13.8%; 150 cs) 2002: Near black color; very spicy/black pepper strong blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak complex/spicy bit closed nose; somewhat hard/tannic very spicy/peppery classic Thompson very blackberry/Syrah some toasty/ pungent/Fr.oak flavor; long very spicy/peppery/cracked black pepper strong blueberry/blackberry light toasty/smokey finish; needs age; more balanced & structured than #5; should be a killer Syrah w/ age. Great price at $23.00
7. Tensley Santa Barbara County Colson Cnyn Vineyard Syrah (15.6%) 2002: Black color; slight alcoholic/very ripe pungent/smokey/toasty slight roasted/mocha intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah beautiful nose; bit alcoholic/very ripe rich/lush/fleshy very intense blackberry/bluebery/Syrah light roasted/pungent/mocha/coffee flavor; very long/ripe boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah light pungent/ roasted/smokey finish w/ light tannins; needs yr or two; on the ripe side but not overly alcoholic; beautiful huge Syrah. $27.00
8. Tensley Santa Barbara County Purisma Mtn Vineyard Syrah (14.6%) 2002: Near black color; more peppery/ spicy/perfumey very spicy/blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah light pungent/toasty very spicy nose; tarter very spicy/peppery/Thompson-like bit hard/tannic light toasty/pungent/Fr.oak very strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight roasted/espresso flavor; very long very spicy/peppery very strong blackberry/blueberry some tannic finish; needs 2-5 yrs age; very Thompson-like in its peppery/spicy character; killer Syrah. $27.00
9. Margerum Syrah Colson Cyn Vineyard Santa Ynez Valley (#434 of 600; TW) 2002: Very dark/black color; beautiful blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice bit peppery/espresso/roasted very perfumed bit hot/alcoholic nose; soft/very ripe intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice slight roasted/peppery/perfumed very lush flavor; long soft/lush beautiful/intense/blackberry/ boysenberry/licorice/Syrah light toasty/roasted/espresso finish w/ light tannins; lots of very ripe character & tons of blackberry fruit; killer Syrah at a great price. $28.00
10. Kenneth-Crawford Santa Barbara County Syrah (13.9%; www.KennethCrawford.com) 2002: Black color; beautiful peppery/boysenberry/Syrah/blackberry some pungent/toasty/roasted/gamey complex quite NorthernRhone nose; tart bit hard/tannic intense peppery/blacxkberry/Syrah very spicy/licorice black cherry/cough syrup bit roasted/coffee flavor; very long tart peppery/blackberry/ boysenberry/Syrah slight roasted/espresso licorice/spicy/black cherry cough syrup finish w/ some tannins; needs 1-5 yrs; an absolute killer Syrah at an incredible price. $21.00
11. Kenneth-Crawford Santa Rita Hills Lafond Vineyard Syrah (13.7%) 2002: Near black color; complex coffee/mocha cracked black pepper/blackberry/licorice pungent/roasted/espresso nose; tart huge/ extracted espresso very peppery/blackberry/cold-climate Syrah very ripe boysenberry/blackberry/ Syrah flavor; very long/lingering peppery/roasted/black pepper/spicy intense boysenberry/ blackberry/Syrah mocha/coffee finish w/ fair tannins; terrific example of cold-climate Syrah; lots of ripeness but a bracing acidity; stunning Syrah at a great price. $25.50
12. Kenneth-Crawford Santa Barbara County Thompson Vineyard Syrah (15.2%) 2002: Black color; intense ripe/ blackberry/Syrah/framboise classic Thompson/spicy some peppery/black pepper slight gamey nose; soft big/ripe blackberry/framboise/Syrah/boysenberry slight dusty/gamey slight toasty/pungent flavor; very long/ripe/sogt intense blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some peppery/spicy finish w/ fair tannins; needs 2-4 yrs age; more ripe Syrah & less peppery/spicy Thompson character than many Syrahs from this vnyd; a dynamite Syrah but prefer the Lafond. $30.00
13. Rocca Family Vineyards Yountville/Napa Valley Syrah (14.2%) 1999: Very dark color; beautiful toasty/ mocha/coffee/smokey/pungent very strong blackberry/Syrah/peppery complex slight meaty nose; tart very strong black cherry/cola/blackberry/Syrah rather toasty/smokey/mocha spicy/peppery flavor; very long black cherry/cola/blackberry/Syrah some mocha/coffee/roasted finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; an auspicious debut Syrah, much like the Lagier-Meredith Syrah. $42.00
14. Rocca Family Vineyards Yountville/Napa Valley Syrah (14.2%) 2000: Very dark color; less toasty/oak strong blackberry/Syrah/Dr.Pepper boysenberry loads of rich/Syrah fruit nose; softer/rounder more balanced less toasty/oak very lush blackberry/spicy/peppery/Dr.Pepper flavor; very long lush/ blackberry/Syrah peppery/spicy light toasty/smokey/pungent finish w/ fair tannins; needs some age; more primary/up-front Syrah fruit and less roasted/smokey/toasty oak; terrific Syrah. $42.00
15. Jaffurs Winery Thompson Vineyard Santa Barbara County Syrah (13.6%) 1996: Dark bit murky color; some walnutty/earthy somewhat complex rather pencilly/cedary some raspberry/Grenache-like nose that develops some blackberry/Syrah character w/ air; tart bright raspberry/blackberry very spicy some pencilly/cedary/mature/oak complex/sweet oak flavor; med.long mature/cedary/ pencilly bright raspberry/blackberry/spicy finish w/ light tannins; a lovely mature Syrah that's come together quite nicely; surprisingly far along for a '96 and not a lot of Thompson/ peppery/spicy character; a real pleasure to drink. Larry's mystery wine.

1. Andrew Murray: I've followed young Andrew's wines from the very start, when he first showed them at the WineCask futures tasting. Over the yrs, he's refined his style from the big/very tannic/structured Syrahs he first made. Alas, I've also observed that his wines have become a bit erratic in character. Four or five yrs ago, there was a strong EA/volatility showing in many of his reds. He seems to have licked that problem, though I still see a bit more than I'd like in them occasionally. The wines just don't seem to have the focus & excitement they used to have. OTOH, every once in awhile, Andrew swats one outta the park. And I've found his whites much improved and consistently very good.
2. DrewWines: These are made by Jason Drew, who was formerly a winemaker for Brian Babcock afore he struck out on his own. His first vintage last year showed some very good wines. These two Syrahs were even more impressive. A young man to keep your eyes on.
3. Larner Vineyard: It's hard to tell how much of the Drew Syrah is due to the Larner contribution. But, nonetheless, I've been mightly impressed by the wines thus far from Michael Larner's new vnyd (www.LarnerVineyard.com), which also includes Viognier. Another SantaBarbara vnyd to keep your eyes on.
4. Tensley: Joey Tensley first came to my attention some yrs ago when he was asst winemaker at FessParker. A good friend, Margaux Singleton (Enoteca), visited Parker and Joey showed here around the wnry. He then tried her on some of his own wines there and she was blown away by them. She admonished me I should keep my eyes on this guy. Turn out MX was right. He went on to become winemaker at BeckmenWnry afore he struck out on his own. I've been mightly impressed by every wine of his I've had. These 2002's strike me as his best yet. Killer Syrahs. These were the WineCask futures price w/ shipping.
5. PurismaMtn Vineyard: This is the vnyd that has come on-line in the last 3 yrs. Owned by Steve Beckmen of that winery. Located right adjacent to the Stolpman Vineyard. Some mightly impressive wines have been coming from here; including some killer Grenaches.
6. ColsonCanyon Vineyard: This is a relatively new vnyd located high above the SantaMariaVlly in the mtns to the East, up ColsonCanyonRd, where Byron Wnry is located. This would put a few miles South and East of the Bien Nacido Hillside Vineyard.
7. MargerumWines: These are the wines made by Doug Margerum (www.MargerumWineCompany.com), of SantaBarbara's WineCask. At 200 ft**2; he's probably the smallest garagiste in Calif. All of his wines I've had thus far are mightly impressive. Even his Pinot Gris, a variety that's pretty unthrilling in Calif, is a terrific wine.
8. Kenneth-Crawford: Prices are WineCask futures plus shipping except for the Thompson. The K-C Syrahs appeared on the scene w/ the 2001 vintage a yr ago. They made quite an impression on me. This 2002 trio of Syrahs is even more impressive. All three quite distinctive; all three stunning wines.
9. Rocca Syrahs: First tried these wines last year at HdR and was pretty impressed with them. Owned by Mary Rocca and Eric Grigsby, the winemaker. Eric is easy to spot in a crowd at 6-6 or 6-8 or so. Used to play basketball at Fordham or somewhere, as I recall. I presume he plays BB up in Napa w/ Steve Lagier. Scarey. Anyway, these are two pretty impressive Syrahs; one of the best new Napa Valley Syrahs I've had since the first Lagier-Merediths came out; which it resembles quite a bit. A Syrah made like a Syrah, with a modicum of oak; not like a Napa Valley Cab. Impressive wines.
10. This tableau of Syrahs was a mightly impressive way to launch the new year. Although there are Syrahs in the NorthCoast that are as impressive as these; I don't think the overall level of quality in Syrah is as high anywhere in the world as it is in the Central Coast, particularly in SantaBarbara. You have to search to find an ordinary one, I think. Killer tasting.

    TomHill