We tasted last week (9/23/09) Some New Rhones:
1. Jaffurs GrenacheBlanc ThompsonVnyd/SBC (13.8%) 2008: Light gold color; slight petrol/valve
oil very floral/melony/perfumed/spicy slight nutmeg nose; tart rich/lush spicy/petrol/valve oil
very floral/perfumed lovely flavor; very long tart/structured very floral/spicy/valve oil/petrol finish;
an unusual and beautiful/unique rendition of Calif GB. $30.00
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2. Jaffurs SBC Syrah (15.5%) 2008: Very dark color; very strong/intense blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry
light toasty/oak fairly ripe but not raisened nose; soft bit tannic very lush/ripe/blackberry/Syrah/
boysenberry light toasty/charred/oak flavor; slightly hot/alcoholic big/ripe/lush/blackberry/Syrah/
boysenberry finish w/ some tannins; needs several months to settle down I suspect; another terrific
Jaffurs SBC Syrah at a great price. $25.00
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3. Dom. de Couron AC: CdR Syrah Cuvee MarieDubois (MeBaD; 14.5%) Jean-Luc et Marie-Lise
Dorthe/StMarcel d'Ardeche 2005: Dark color; very strong minty/menthol/BenGay some earthy/garrigue
quite fumey/alcoholic some blackberry/Syrah nose; soft bit tannic/hard slight blackberry/Syrah
some minty/menthol spicy/rosemary flavor; med.long soft bit hard/tannic some fumey/alcoholic
fairly minty/menthol slight blackberry/Syrah finish; needs a yr or 3 but rather on the overripe/
alcoholic side. $16.00
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4. NielsVerberg Shiraz WesternCape (14%; www.SouthernStarz.com) P&B by Luddite/Botriver/
SouthAfrica 2004: Med.dark color; quite funky/earthy/shoe polish bit Rhonish/espresso/coffee/
roasted slight blackberry/Syrah rather bizarre if interesting nose; rather sour some earthy/loamy/
unclean bit roasted/Rhonish/espresso light blackberry/Syrah light tannic strange flavor; long sour
earthy/loamy/shoe polish slight roasted/Rhonish bit tannic finish; needs a few yrs; a rather bizarre
Syrah that I kinda liked, but most people really disliked because of it's unclean nature; definitely
what old-time British writers referred to as "gout de terroir". Fairlt priced if you like weird.
$34.00
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5. BoxCar SonomaCoast Syrah (14.5%) BoxCarWineCo/SantaMaria 2007: Dark color; slight herbal/black
pepper bit earthy light blackberry/Syrah slight toasty/roasted/oak/coffee nose; tart slight peppery/
herbal light blackberry/Syrah light toasty/oak flavor; med.short slight bretty/tannic bit herbal/
peppery light toasty/oak some blackberry/Syrah finish; nice pepper character but a bit short on
fruit; somewhat disappointing given the buzz about this wine. $24.00
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6. Jaffurs BienNacido/SBC Syrah (15.9%) 2007: Very dark/black color; intense black berry/black cherry/
Syrah slight peppery/spicy light toasty/oak nose; soft very lush ripe/black cherry/boysenberry/Syrah
bit tannic/bitey slight toasty/oak slight alcoholic/hot flavor; very long intense blackberry/black
cherry/Syrah light toasty/oak bit hot finish; huge classic BN fruit but some tannins & structure
lurking underneath. $38.00
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7. Jaffurs AmpelosVnyd/SantaRitaHills/SBC Syrah (15.7%) 2007: Very dark/black color; slight alcoholic
very strong blackberry/Syrah/blueberry/black cherry very spicy slight peppery/menthol lovely nose
w/ some complexity; tart quite peppery/spicy/cold-climate very strong blackberry/blueberry/Syrah
light toasty/oak bit alcoholic flavor; very long/lingering intense blackberry/blueberry/Syrah slight
peppery/menthol bit alcoholic finish w/ ample tannins; my favorite of these Jaffurs Syrah because
of the higher acidity and more interesting character; stunning Syrah. $46.00
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8. Jaffurs LarnerVnyd/SBC Syrah (15.5%) 2007: Very dark/black color; very strong blueberry/blackberry/
Syrah slight earthy/dusty/cough syrup light toasty/oak lovely nose; bit tart strong blackberry/Syrah/
blueberry light toasty/oak flavor; long intense blueberry/blackberry/Syrah some tannic light toasty/oak
finish; seems a bit simpler than the others but very big fruit. $38.00
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9. Jaffurs Upslope Syrah (15.8%) 2007: Black color; rather strong toasty/oak/smokey very spicy/blackberry/
Syrah lovely some complex nose; soft some toasty/oak/charred/smokey strong blueberry/blackberry/Syrah
very lush/spicy more balanced/seamless flavor; very long/lingering intense blackberry/Syrah/blueberry
some toasty/charred/oak bit tannic finish; seems more balanced/seamless and less alcoholic than the
others; a very well-made wine that should go out 10-15 yrs; beautiful Syrah. $75.00
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10. Qupe X Block BienNacido/SBC 25'th Anniv Syrah (14.5%) 2006: Very dark color; lovely spicy/blackberry/
Syrah slight herbal/peppery/green olive bit roasted/Rhonish/smokey restrained beautiful complex nose;
strong peppery/herbal/green olive intense blackberry/blueberry/Syrah some toasty/roasted/Rhonish
balanced flavor; very long/lingering strong blackberry/Syrah some peppery/herbal/green olive bit
Rhonish/roasted finish w/ some tannins; will go out 10-15 yrs; all about restraint and balance; one
of the best Qupes ever. $55.00
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11. OwenRoe Syrah ExUmbris ColumbiaVlly (SlideMtnVnyd+RedWillowVnyd/WesternYakimaVlly,
LewisVnyd/Dalles, ElerdingVnyd/Aldendale; 14.1%; www.OwenRoe.com) Sunnyside/WA 2007: Very dark/black
color; strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/blueberry bit earthy/Rhonish nose; soft bit fat attractive
blackberry/Syrah some chocolaty/earth pleasant flavor; med.long soft/fat lush/blackberry/Syrah/
blueberry/chocolate finish w/ modest tannins; some like the McCrea in style w/ big fruit; lacks
the terroir expression of some WashState Syrahs; a pleasant Syrah but just that. $30.00
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And the usual stuff from TheBloodyPulpit:
1. GrenacheBlanc: This is, I believe, the first GrenacheBlanc from Jaffurs. I find most Calif
GB a bit on the soft/fat side and aromatically much like Roussanne. This Jaffurs was none of
the above; they petrol character gave it a very unique aromatics. It had good acidity & structure.
A very lovely/well-made Calif GB; maybe the best I've yet had. This is how they'd make GB at
Ch.Rayas if they could.
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2. Jaffurs Syrah: Another killer SBC from Jaffurs. A bit on the overripe side but it carries it off
well and doesn't seem over-the-top or raisened/pruney.
This '07 lot of Jaffurs Syrahs were all on the very ripe side. Big/huge intense fruit, just like
Parker likes. That said, I thought they all carried the alcohol well and didn't seem over the top.
It will be interesting to see how/if they evolve w/ this ripeness level. Of these, Parker liked the
BienNacido the best (96) and the Ampelos least so. As usual, he's got it bass-ackwards. The cool-
climate Ampelos shows much more acid and far more interesting things than the BienNacido.
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3. Qupe: Coming after all the Jaffurs, the Qupe X Block seemed almost mild-mannered in comparison....
ClarkKent vs. Superman. It is, though, quite a big wine, but with great balance and structure.
BobLindquist thinks his X Block his best Syrah. Maybe...maybe not. The X Block comes from the oldest
Syrah Block in BienNacido, down on the flats, where his original/post-Paso Syrah came from. The
Hillside Estate comes from a somewhat newer planting way up on top of the hillside ridge just south
of the wnry. These, too, are exceptional Syrahs. Bob thinks, with vine age, it may eventually exceed
the X Block in quality.
Hard to believe Bob has been making Syrah for over 25 yrs now. Followed him from the very start...
I did, I did.
Tom