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. Qupe Los Olivos Cuvee Santa Barbara County (67% Syrah, 33% Mourvedre; 12.5%) 1993: Med.color; lovely/ complex Rhonish bit dusty slight volatile quite spicy/cloves complex nose; soft spicy Rhonish/ tomatoey bit dusty flavor; long/complex smooth light tomatoey/Rhonish bit charred/toasty/pungent finish w/ light tannins; a fully mature complex red w/ nice Rhone-like character. $14.00
2. Qupe Los Olivos Cuvee Santa Barbara County (70% Syrah, 30% Mourvedre; 12.5%) 1994: Med.dark color; more Syrah/blackberry quite spicy/tomatoey some toasty/pungent complex nose; tarter quite spicy/ blackberry/Syrah light charred/toasty flavor; very long light/toasty/roasted/pungent quite spicy/blackberry smooth/complex finish w/ light tannins; bit more blackberry fruit but fully mature Rhonish red. $14.00
3. Dehlinger Syrah Russian River Valley EstateBttld (14.3%) 2001: Very dark color; strong very spicy/ black cherry some black pepper slight volatile/green olive loads of black cherry fruit nose; tart juicy/black cherry very spicy light black pepper light toasty/pencilly/oak flavor; long bright/black cherry/juicy/blackberry light black pepper finish w/ some tannins; loads of juicy black cherry character; more Syrah varietal and less Pinotish; needs several yrs. $34.20
4. Dehlinger Syrah Russian River Valley (EB; 14.3%) 2000: Dark color; bit more cedary/pencilly/oak light black cherry rather more Pinotish nose; softer more cedary/pencilly/oak light spicy/ black cherry/blackberry flavor; long cedary/pencilly/oak light black cherry/blackberry finish w/ light tannins; needs yr or two; more pencilly oak and more Pinot character. $31.50   
5. Amador Foothill Sierra Foothills Syrah Hollander Vineyard (369 cs; 14.5%) 2000: Dark color; rather reduced/fecal/diaper pail nose that clears some to blackberry/briary very caramel some charred/ toasty/coffee rather unusual nose; very tart/acid somewhat bitter/astringent tarry/pungent/ charred/burnt some blackberry/briary/Amador flavor; med.long rather sour/acid somewhat hard/ astringent/bitter light blackberry/briary finish w/ hard/agressive/gritty tannins; a quite unusual rendition of Amador Syrah; might age into something but a gamble. $23.00
6. Saisons des Vins l'Hiver Syrah Mendocino Cnty (14.1%; www.Saisons-des-Vins.com) 2002: Med.dark color; slight corked/musty some roasted/toasty/pungent slight herbal/green olive some Syrah/ blackberry rather NorthernRhonish/complex nose; tart/elegant some roasted/toasty/pungent/ smokey rather blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry bit dusty flavor; long roasted/smokey/toasty light blackberry/Syrah finish w/ light tannins; very attractive ersatz-NorthernRhone Syrah at a great price. $15.00
7. Novy Sonoma Cnty Syrah (15.6%) 2002: Dark color; strong toasty/pungent slight roasted strong blackberry/Syrah quite spicy loads of Syrah nose; tart fairly rich spicy/blackberry/Syrah/ boysenberry light coffee/pungent/roasted flavor; long light toasty/coffee/espresso light blackberry/Syrah finish w/ light tannins; a really beautiful nose but doesn't quite deliver the same intensity on the palate; terrific Syrah for the price. $19.00
8. Novy Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah (15.1%) 2002: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah/ boysenberry slight spicy/herbal/SLH some charred/toasty/oak lovely nose; soft/lush rather herbal/SLH/peppery quite spicy/blackberry/Syrah/blueberry very strong flavor; long herbal/ peppery/spicy very strong blackberry/Syrah/black cherry finish w/ light tannins; needs yr or two; terrific herbal/smokey/charred Syrah; rather Graillot in style w/o the strident acidity; great value. $26.00
9. Radio-Coteau Russian River Valley Syrah (Joe Mesics/Eva Auchincloss Timbervine Ranch; 400 cs; 15.0%; U/U) 2002: Very dark color; lovely/fragrant/perfumed light pencilly/toasty/oak strong blackberry/black cherry/cola spicy/peppery light smokey/complex nose; tart very spicy/pencilly/ toasty/oak floral/black cherry/blackberry very spicy/lush elegant/balanced flavor; very long floral/blackberry/Syrah/black cherry/cola light peppery/dusty finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; a beautiful balanced/elegant/lush very spicy Syrah; a stunning somewhat Pinotish Syrah. $40.00
10. Andrew Murray Vineyards Santa Maria Vlly Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah (14%) 2002: Black color; rather volatile/EA very ripe/boysenberry/over-the-top soupy/overblown nose; tart (acidified?) over-the- top/overblown/overripe soupy/boysenberry/Syrah/chocolaty flavor; long bit hot/volatile soupy/ boysenberry/Syrah acidulated overripe finish w/ light tannins; the classic BN black cherry and elegance have been obliterated in this over-the-top wine. $24.00
11. Villa Creek Cellars Willow Creek Cuvee Paso Robles (60% Grenache, 20% Syrah, 20% Mourvedre; 15.3%; www.VillaCreek.com) 2002: Dark color; very strong lush/strawberry/Grenache/loads of fruit bit dusty/gamey some licorice/pungent bit hot/overripe/volatile nose; soft very strong cherry/ strawberry/Grenache loads of ripe fruit slight hot/fumey flavor; long very intense/strawberry/ cherry licorice/pungent slight hot/alcoholic finish w/ light tannins; a bit hot & fumey & overripe but loads of Grenacxhe fruit. $25.00
12. Failla Syrah Phoenix Ranch Napa Valley (14.4%) 2002: Black color; intense coffee/roasted/smokey/ pungent/charred some blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/ripe nose; soft intense/coffee/smokey/ roasted/NorthernRhoneish rather blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah slight peppery flavor; very long strong coffee/roasted strong blackberry/Syrah/peppery finish w/ some tannins; needs 2-5 yrs of age yet. $42.00
13. Qupe Bien Nacido Reserve Syrah (12.5%) 1993: Dark color; attractive roasted/pungent/toasted/oak/ cedary rather Rhonish some blackberry/Syrah complex/smokey/pungent nose; tart very toasty/ pungent/smokey light blackberry/Syrah/spicy/peppery smooth/balanced flavor; long smooth slight dusty/blackberry/peppery toasty/pungent/smokey finish w/ light tannins; a lovely fully mature or a bit beyond Syrah w/ some Rhone character; a classic Qupe Syrah.

1. Qupe LOC: This wine, year in & year out, is a no-brainer. Not particularly impressive upon release, actually rather simple & unthrilling; it always seems to mature amazingly well and turns into a lovely rather Rhonish-like wine. Best of all, it's reasonably priced.
2. Dehlinger Syrahs: Another no-brainer. A style not often seen in Syrah, rather Pinot-like in character. Elegance/balance/finesse are the lynchpins of these Syrahs. The '01 seemed to show more intense Syrah character than any previous vintage I thought.
3. Radio-Coteau: This is the 2'nd R-C wine I've had & I am greatly impressed with what Eric Sussman is doing w/ these wines. They have a bit of stylistic similarity to the Dehlinger (where he was winemaker) with there strong perfumey fragrance and impeccable balance, but show more intensity of Syrah character than the Dehlingers. Very impressive wine.
4. Failla Syrah: This is Ehren's 2'nd Syrah (I believe) from Napa grapes under his Failla label. Like Novy, I've found the Napa Syrah not quite as exciting as the Sonoma/Que Syrah version. This one was much/much better than before, showing much of the same Rhoneish character he manages to get in his Neyers Syrahs. Terrific Syrah.

   TomHill