Last night I dove into the cellar to choose two orphans (two line items gone from the inventory in one night, yay!) to take to a party. The 02 Beckmen Estate Syrah was one I had modestly positive expectations of--I think well of Beckmen in general but this wasn't, after all, a special Clone bottling or the Purisma Mountain. Now you have to take this next statement in context--I'm not a new world syrah fan, I'd rather drink cab, pinot or merlot, so the best of Cal or Washington syrahs I merely like--but I loved this wine. And so did everybody else, it was WOTN for everybody who got a taste (not that the competition was very deep, BUT.) Deep rich brooding dense garnet red color. Great mouthfeel with substantial body, black cherry and tobacco nose, and with time in the glass black pepper, violets and a little smoke developed on the nose and palate. Best of all no sappy flavors or tell-tale sweet California finish. Great balance (13.9% abv), and really still just a young man with years ahead of it. I'm so sorry I don't have another bottle to trot up to Vancouver to show Bill Spohn and company that a wine like this is actually possible in my former home state.
The other bottle chosen was a 2002 Hammacher Pinot Noir from Oregon, a wine that 19 months ago when I bought it was a flashy, seriously extracted inky black bruiser of a wine. I bought it even though I don't care for the style because I was so curious about where a pinot like that would go. A party seemed like the perfect place to both satisfy my curiosity and get the wine drunk up by others less picky. Couldn't believe what poured into my glass: it's not black any more. Rather, in fact, it's a rather wimpy, slightly cloudy raspberry red with a hollow midpalate and underripe vegetal tones on the short, clipped finish. I can't even guess at what winemaking folly led to a change like this, but either way both then and now are two good reasons for me to avoid Hammacher wines in the future.