Ran across this last night at WholeFoods so cracked this w/ dinner:
1. JadeMtn Syrah Snow'sLakeVnyd/RedHills/LakeCnty (15%; http://www.JadeMountainVineyard.com) 2005: Very dark/near black color; strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah some spicy/peppery light toasty/oak bit earthy/licorice/milk of magnesia/chocolaty rather interesting nose; soft bit tannic/bitey rich/ripe/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry licorice/spicy/milk of magnesia/chalky light toasty/oak flavor; med.long bit tannic/hard/bitey soft/ripe/lush chocolaty/boysenberry/Syrah some toasty/vanilla/oak slight chalky/milk of magnesia finish; needs a yr or two; only slightly overpriced at $29.00
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And a wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Back in the good/old days (by crackey), DougDanilek (now w/ ParasVnyds) made some pretty terrific Syrahs, from HudsonVnyd and ParasVnyd (MtVeeder). Since they were purchased by Chalone or whoever, the wines have been nothing to write home about. So I bought this simply for old times sake and opened it w/ very low expectations. I was quite surprised how good it was,though still probably not worth a note home to Mom about. Easily the best JadeMtn I've had in many a year.
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2. LakeCnty: This is an area that I think should be making wines as good as anything made in Calif. Like Mendocino or Amador Cnty, you see occasional flashes of brilliance amongst a bunch of seaweed. Probably BryanKane is doing consistently the best up there w/ his SolRouge label. Not sure I have got my arms around the LakeCnty or RedHills terroir, but I plan to continue my data-taking.
Tom