BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast Magazine

BUYING I GUIDE
90
Kunde 2007 Syrah (Sonoma Valley);
$18. A beautiful Syrah, richly textured
and delicious. Held back for three years,
it’s perfect now for the soft texture, and the raspberry,
cherry and orange zest flavors have a spicy
edge. Complexity is enhanced with additions of
Petite Sirah, Sangiovese, Barbera, Grenache and
Viognier. Editors’ Choice. —S.H.
87
Casa Torres 2006 Syrah (Santa Barbara
County); $32. Nice and dry, with
lots of black pepper-infused wild blackberry flavors
wrapped into big but pliant tannins. Lots of
crunchy acidity, too, which makes the wine sharp.
Will be great with a rich steak. —S.H.
87
Fog Head 2007 Blow Sands Syrah
(Monterey); $25. A little soft in texture,
but interesting for its mosaic of blackberry,
pepper, smoked meat, currant and balsam flavors,
and the way the firm tannins provide structure.
This bone-dry, big-boned Syrah was grown in the
San Bernabe Vineyard of the southern Salinas
Valley. —S.H.
87
Inocencio 2008 Syrah (Santa Barbara
County); $32. Sharpness cuts
through this Syrah with the citrusy acidity of a
lime. The flavors are of blackberries, currants,
licorice, bacon and black pepper, and the tannins
are as smooth as you could ask for. Ready
now. —S.H.
87
Inocencio 2007 Syrah (Central
Coast); $36. Deliciously tasty in blackberry
jam, cherry purée, milk chocolate, licorice
and peppery spice flavors, with soft, intricate tannins.
Feels a bit sharp on the finish, but otherwise
a pretty nice Syrah. —S.H.
87
Jorian Hill 2007 Syrah (Santa
Ynez Valley); $24. Good and dry,
with very soft, refined tannins and complex flavors.
Suffers a bit from arch acidity, but a nice
steak should balance it. The delicious flavors
include blackberry and cherry jam, licorice,
charred meat and a hefty dose of freshly crushed
black pepper. —S.H.
87
Silver 2007 Four Bottle Especial
Syrah (Santa Barbara County);
$40. The addition of Viognier in the blend is
enough to make this Syrah feel tartly acidic and
strangely bright in citrus fruits. The limes almost
swamp Syrah’s underlying cherry-berry and currant
flavors. It’s a good, bold wine, but an adven-
turous anomaly for a varietal Syrah. Drink it
now. —S.H.
86
Ben Hogan 2008 Syrah (Paso Robles);
$27. Here’s a Syrah that will appeal
to fans of fruit. It shows a burst of blackberries,
cherries and raspberries, with an edge of dark
chocolate, as well as Syrah’s spice and pepper
notes. Bone dry and fiercely tannic. —S.H.
85
Beauregard 2006 Zayante Vineyard
Syrah (Santa Cruz Moun-
tains); $45. Starting to lose fruit at the age of
four years, with the cherries and blackberries fading
into the background, which lets the alcohol
show through. Soft, too. Seems a bit threadbare,
and probably was better a year ago. —S.H.
85
David Girard 2007 Syrah (El
Dorado); $32. Overtly sweet in cola,
chocolate, black cherry purée, glycerine and sandalwood
flavors. The sweetness could also be
from high alcohol, as the mouthfeel is hot. Drink
now. —S.H.
81
Clautiere 2007 Estate Syrah (Paso
Robles); $24. Too ripe and Porty.
There’s a raisiny, pruny, sugary taste to this wine,
and while the official alcohol reading is 14.9%, it
tastes hotter than that. —S.H.
PETITE SIRAH
89
Tercero 2007 Petite Sirah (Santa
Barbara County); $28. A nice inter-
pretation of this variety, and one of the best from
Santa Barbara County ever. It’s bone dry, big in
tannins, full-bodied and juicy, in the way of a
young Petite Sirah, with blackberry, currant, cola
and cedar flavors. Shows real finesse, in a wine
that can often be awkward. Now–2015. —S.H.
86
Occasio 2008 Del Arroyo Vineyard
Petite Sirah (Livermore Valley);
$32. This fruity Petite Sirah has jammy flavors of
blackberries, cherries, plums, currants and bacon,
dusted with cocoa and black pepper. It shows the
variety’s strong tannins, but is soft in acidity. A
nice, full-bodied wine to drink now with barbecue.
—S.H.
86
Rangeland 2007 Petite Sirah (Paso
Robles); $29. A delicious Petite Sirah,
packed with richness. If you can get past the fact
that it’s too soft and rather light-bodied for this
5 4 | W I N E E N T H U S I A S T | D E C E M B E R 1 , 2 0 1 0
variety, you’ll enjoy the raspberry and cherry jam,
cola, red plum, bacon and pepper spice flavors
that are almost like Pinot Noir. —S.H.
86
Two Angels 2007 Petite Sirah
(High Valley); $15. This is a dark, fullbodied,
tannic, spicy, fruity, rustic wine. In other
words, Petite Sirah. It’s strong and forward in
blackberries, currants, bacon, pepper and oak flavors,
and totally dry. Will hold in the bottle for
years, without developing complexity. —S.H.
85
Fernwood 2007 Machado Creek
Vineyards Petite Sirah (Central
Coast); $30. Tons of upfront fruity flavor mark
this crisp, tannic wine. It’s almost sweet in jammy
cherries and blackberries, with a smoked meat
edge of bacon and caramelized notes from oak.
Could be drier and have greater structure and
complexity. Drink now with robust grilled
meats. —S.H.
85
Huntington 2008 Petite Sirah (California);
$14. Jammy, with that sharp,
fruity bite of tartness you get from blackberry
marmalade. Yet the finish is thoroughly dry.
Drink now with casual fare. —S.H.
83
Line 39 2009 Petite Sirah (North
Coast); $9. A common, rustic wine,
okay for drinking with everyday fare. It’s sharp in
acidity and jammy in fruity raspberries and cherries,
with a Beaujolais-like gassiness. —S.H.
ZINFANDEL
88
Bugay 2007 Estate Zinfandel
(Sonoma County); $34. This is an
extraordinarily rich Zinfandel. It explodes in
jammy blackberries, blueberries and cherries,
with cola, mocha, currant, smoked meat and
black pepper complexities. Could be a bit firmer
in acidity, with greater structure, but it’s nice and
dry. Drink now for fruity exuberance. —S.H.
88
Kunde 2006 Zinfandel (Sonoma
Valley); $18. Held back for four years
before release, this Zin has achieved a creamy
softness. The flavors offer a blast of peppery, briary
wild red, black and blue berries and currants,
with vibrant hints of bacon, cola and sandalwood.
Great value in a Zinfandel this likeable. Editors’
Choice. —S.H.