Essex County Wine Society

January 7th, 2010 -- ECWS Tasting - California Syrah

Champagne Recap

 

We toasted the beginning of the holiday season on December 3rd with a Champagne tasting. We had a flight of four non-vintage Champagnes, followed by a flight of five vintage Champagnes. In each flight there were representative of the “grower champagne” movement, as well as “grandes marques,” the better known Champagne houses. We also considered the blend of grapes across the wines, some of which were 100% chardonnay, one of which was 100% pinot noir, and some were blends.

Attendees voted the 2003 Bollinger as wine of the night, followed closely by the 2000 Dom Perignon. The Cedric Bouchard “Inflorescence” (100% pinot noir) was the easy winner of the non-vintage flight, and retained a fair number of votes for wine of the night, even against the “heavy hitters.”
 

Our next tasting will be January 7th, when Ken Brady will be presenting California Syrah. We will taste ten wines (plus an aperitif) from a range of California growing regions and recent vintages. In our first tasting of this season  (October), a California “Rhone” blend, Tablas Creek Esprit du Beaucastel, beat out a range of 2006 Chateauneuf du Pape as wine of the night. California has great success with Rhone varietals. We will see how we enjoy some of the wines that are predominantly (or entirely) Syrah.

With the holidays approaching (or already here, depending on your point of view) it would be great if you could send your responses in early. Please send your replies as soon as possible, and in any case, no later than December 31st.

The tasting will include:

2005 Alban Vineyards Syrah Reva Alban Estate Vineyard

“The intense, inky/ruby/purple-tinged 2005 Syrah Reva Vineyard boasts gorgeous notes of graphite, smoke, roasted meat, herbs, and oodles of blackberries and creme de cassis. This full-bodied, fabulously rich Syrah is a superb success for the vintage.” Robert Parker, 96 points.

2006 Ramey Syrah Shanel

“The 2006 Syrah Shanel Vineyard…includes 3% Viognier. An opaque purple color is followed by enormous quantities of blackberries intermixed with tapenade, acacia flowers, and truffles. Full-bodied, meaty, and dense.” Robert Parker, 93 points.

2007 Neyers Syrah Old Lakeville

“Eighty percent whole clusters were utilized for the 2007 Syrah Old Lakeville, which comes from the Sonoma Coast. The result is a dense ruby/purple-colored wine displaying a big, sweet nose of damp earth, truffles, tar, black cherries, and blackberries. There is plenty of structure as well as hints of underbrush, pepper, and leather.  Robert Parker, 91+ points.

2005 La Sirena Syrah

“The dense ruby/purple-tinged 2005 Syrah Napa reveals scents of damp earth intermixed with underbrush, blackberries, cassis, smoke, and lard. With terrific fruit intensity, full body, and a bigger, richer, more complete style. La Sirena is the personal project of Heidi Barrett, the well-known wine consultant and wife of Chateau Montelena’s Bo Barrett.” Robert Parker, 91 Points.

The cost for the tasting will be $60 for members and $72 for guests.  

Our next event will be a Merlot tasting on February 4, 2010, led by Dana Bolton.

De gustibus non disputandum est,

Gil Bauer

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