Cracked last night w/ pasta al forno:
1. Hamel SonomaCnty Syrah (Vitis Allobrogica?, 80% AlegriaVnyd/20% BradfordMtn; 14.4%) 1994: Med.dark murky color w/ tons of sediment; rather bretty/horsecollar strong plummy/blackberry/Syrah bit spicy/raspberry/Zin-like slight herbal light toasty/oak some old Zin/cedary interesting nose; soft somewhat tannic/dried-out some bretty/horsecollar plummy/blackberry/Syrah much old-Zin/cedary flavor; med.long tannic/dried out plummy/blackberry/Zin-like rather bretty/horsecollar finish; some interesting things therein but a bit too unclean/bretty and too dried-out/tannic.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. On its release, this was a stunning wine that had huge blackberry/Syrah fruit and the structure to carry it out 10+ yrs. After a few yrs, the brett started to raise its ugly head and it became a bit too bretty for me. Never did offer up the pleasure it did upon release and certainly not going to now. I was struck by the amount of sediment. I'd stood it upright two days before, and there was still a lot of suspended stuff.
The VitisAllobrogica? on the label refers to the now-abandoned thought that Syrah was not a member of the VitisVinifera family, but some other Vitis from up in the Savoie. Of course, DNA has shown that wrong and that Syrah is a cross betwixt MondeuseBlanche & Deureza, two of the most undistinguished parents a kid could ever have.
Haven't had nor seen any of KevinHamel's recent wines so don't know what he's doing now. He was onetime winemaker for LouPreston.
Tom
