WTN: Not Your Usual Suspects SantaBarbara Syrahs..

We tried last night (6/17/09) Not The Usual Suspects SantaBarbara Syrahs:
1. Consilience StarLaneVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty Syrah (15.6%; 231 cs) 2003: Dark color; rather ozone/gunflint/
WWII beacon/licorice/pungent some fumey/alcoholic ripe/jammy/boysenberry/Syrah nose; soft/fat rather burnt/
charred/oak bit hot/alcoholic very ripe/boysenberry/Syrah/licorice/jammy some burnt/charred/oak flavor;
med.long very ripe/fumey/alcoholic boysenberry/jammy finish w/ slight tannins; big/ripe fruit but pretty
over-the-top for me.$34.00
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2. Consilience Syrah GreatOaksVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (15.8%) 2005: Dark color; bit volatile/fumey/alcoholic
very ripe/jammy/boysenberry/blackberry/Syrah/framboise some toasty/oak nose; soft/fat/porky huge/ripe/
boysenberry/Syrah/jammy/black cherry bit toasty/oak flavor; soft light tannic black cherry/framboise/black
cherry liquer volatile/fumey light toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; loads of interesting ripe fruit but
a bit too alcoholic/fumey in character. $34.00
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3. Consilience Syrah TierraAlteVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (16.8%) 2005: Very dark/black color; bit aged very ripe/
boysenberry/jammy/Syrah slightly hot/fumey/alcoholic overripe/porty nose; soft/fat bit tannic/bitter very
ripe/Smuckers black cherry jam/boysenberry/Syrah slight alcoholic/hot perty light toasty/oak flavor; med.
long Smuckers black cherry jam/boysenberry pretty hot/alcoholic finish w/ light tannins; seems a bit old/
tired for an '05; pretty ripe/alcoholic Syrah; my favorite of these because it seemed to carry the
alcohol somewhat better. $30.00
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4. Consilience HamptonFamilyVnyd/SBCnty Syrah (16.0%) 2004: Very dark color; some hot/volatile some very
ripe/boysenberrySyrah low-key light toasty/oak nose; soft/fat/porky pretty hot/alcoholic/fumey light
boysenberry/Syrah slight astringent/bitter flavor; med.short soft/fat pretty hot/alcoholic bitter slight
jammy/boysenberry/Syrah finish w/ light tannins; seems most hot/overripe/alcoholic of these. $36.00
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5. JellyRoll Syrah SantaYnezVlly (15.1%) 2003: Dark color; attractive blackberry/blueberry/Syrah light toasty/
oak slight roasted/smokey/menthol very attractive nose; tart slight funky/toasty/roasted/oak/pungent bit
menthol/cedary/old wine slight blackberry/Syrah flavor; long bit funky/aged/cedary spicy/blackberry/Syrah
slight spicy/roasted finish w/ light tannins; quite attractive but starting to show some aged/cedary
character; probably near its peak or beyond. $28.00
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6. JellyRoll Syrah SantaYnezVlly (15.3%) 2004: Very dark color; attractive black cherry/blackberry/Syrah/
spicy light oak/smokey nose; tart bigger black cherry/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak slight spicy/
peppery bit hard/tannic flavor; med.long rather tannic/hard strong black cherry/blackberry/Syrah light
toasty/oak slightly bitter finish; needs another yr or two; very good fruit but a bit hard on the palate.
$36.00
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7. JellyRoll Syrah SantaYnezVlly (15.3%) Lompoc 2005: Very dark color; very strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy
light toasty/smokey/oak slight roasted/earthy attractive nose; tart strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy bit
minerally/peppery light toasty/oak very attractive/interesting flavor; very long bit tannic strong black
cherry/blackberry/Syrah light spicy/peppery/minerally finish w/ some tannins; needs several yrs; the most
interesting of the JellyRolls and my favorite; quite a lovely Syrah. $38.00
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8. HermanStoryWines Syrah LarnerVnyd/SantaYnezVlly (15.2%; http://www.HermanStoryWines.com) 2004: Very dark color;
strong toasty/charred/burnt/oak bit earthy/blackberry/Syrah subdued nose; tart rather hard/tanic/bitter
light blackberry/Syrah light charred/oak flavor; med.short hard/tannic/bitter slight blackberry/Syrah
finish; hard/tannic/bitter and lacks fruit; seems over-extracted. $31.00
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9. Summerland Syrah BienNacidoVnyd/Block X/SantaMariaVlly (14.1%; #1261 of 215 cs;
http://www.SummerlandWine.com) 2004: Dark color; rather smokey/pungent/charred/oak bit dusty/earthy light
licorice/Syrah slight volatile/fumey low fruit nose; tart lean/hard/tannic low fruit rather charred/toasty/
flavor; med.short hard/tannic/some bitter low fruit/licorice/Syrah slight bretty finish; needs age but ??;
lacks fruit & pretty hard/tannic; way overpriced at $54.00
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10. FessParker Syrah Rodney'sVnyd/SBC (15.6%; Planted: 1989) 2005: Black color; huge musty/unreedemingly
corked/TCA nose; horribly corked; will retry w/ replacement btl soon. $38.00
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11. RedCar AllNightRadio Calif Syrah (15%) 2003: Dark/black color; strong licorice/boysenberry/Syrah rather
toasty/charred/oak/smokey pretty intense/extracted nose; big/tannic/hard licorice/boysenberry/Syrah some
charred/toasty/burnt/oak/pungent extracted flavor; long pretty hard/tannic some very ripe/boysenberry/
Syrah charred/toasty/oak finish; a pretty big/extracted Syrah that needs age but may never come into
balance; a bit of a gamble. $42.00
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12. RedCarWineCo TheTable Syrah ThompsonVnyd/SantaBarbaraCnty (15.1%; http://www.RedCarWine.com) 2002: Very dark/
black color; intense blackberry/blueberry/Syrah bit peppery/spicy/floral very attractive nose; very hard/
tannic/extracted strong spicy/peppery/blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak flavor; long hard/tannic/very
extracted some peppery/floral/blackberry/Syrah finish; very attractive nose but seems a bit on the
overextracted side and may never come around. $60.00
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13. Margerum Syrah Alondre DeLosPrados Vnyd/SantaYnezVlly (14.5%) 2003: Dark color; light toasty/oak spicy/
blueberry/blackberry/Syrah bit licorice/violets/floral perfumed/interesting nose; tart rather floral/
violets blackberry/licorice/pungent/Syrah bit hard/tannic very light oak/toasty flavor; med.long rather
floral/violets some blackberry/spicy/Syrah bit tannic finish; probably near its peak; a very attractive
Syrah w/ lovely perfumed/floral component. Larry's mystery. $30.00
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A the usual pandering comments from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. Consilience: I've followed these wines from the very start, but have decided to give up on them. They
tend to be very ripe/overripe and hot/alcoholic/fumey, but w/ loads of fruit. It's just a style that
no longer appeals to me much.
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2. JellyRoll: This is a wine made by JimKnight, wine buyer at his family's Wine Warehouse in SoCal. After a
stint at LafondWnry, he made his first wine in 2001 at JoeyTensley's wnry. Named after the jazz guy
JellyRollMorton.
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3. RedCar: Wnry started in the LA area by CaroleKemp and (late) MarkEstrin. I had some of the early RedCar
releases and liked them quite a lot. With a bit of age on these wines, I was expecting quite a lot from
them. They didn't seem to be evolving particularly well. They both had a pretty hard/tannnic over-
extracted edge on the palate that makes me question if they'll ever come into balance. Time will tell
I suppose. But for the $$'s, I would expect more from these wines.
Tom

Gosh. A lot of alcohol showing up in these Central coast wines. Makes my head spin.

Haven't had most of these. Wife and I did stop by Consilience when there. For the most part, thought the wines were good. The one you seem to dislike the most is the one we bought which is the Hampton Roads. Different strokes I guess. Although I haven't opened any yet, my memory of the wine leaves me excited for when I do.

Anyway, thanks for the notes

Mark

Haven't had most of these. Wife and I did stop by Consilience when there. For the most part, thought the wines were good. The one you seem to dislike the most is the one we bought which is the Hampton Roads. Different strokes I guess. Although I haven't opened any yet, my memory of the wine leaves me excited for when I do.
Anyway, thanks for the notes
Mark

Mark,
These wines had a few yrs of age on them. I think the Consilience style of big/bold Syrahs shows better right out of the gate and that fumey/alcoholic
character is exacerbated w/ age.
Tom

Wow. I haven't had these either, and for the most part, based on your notes, that is a good thing! Other than #7, I doubt I'd enjoy any of them. Thanks for the notes.

Tom,

yeah, I missed the year. Well, I guess we I have a good excuse to drink them quickly.

Thanks again,

Mark