WTN: Drew Syrah PerliVnyd '12...(short/boring)

Cracked this open w/ dinner the other night:
1. Drew Syrah PerliVnyd/MendoRidge (13.7%; www.DrewWines.com) Elk 2012: Med.dark color; strong very spicy/blueberry/Syrah some earthy/dusty/herbal light toasty/oak some restrained/elegant lovely nose; fairly tart/lean rather mineral/earthy/graphite bit ozone/pungent strong blueberry/Syrah/quite spicy/rosemary/thyme almost Zin-like/spicy/raspberry flavor w/ ample hard/raspy tannins; very long blueberry/Syrah quite spicy/Zin-like/raspberry/blackberry rather earthy/mineral/pungent/graphite/RCCola finish w/ some hard/gritty tannins; some whole-cluster/Rhonish character underneath; a rather hard/tannic/structured/very spicy Syrah that needs some age; 4-8 yrs; should be a very good/unusual Syrah w/ age. $35.00
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Jason&Molly Drew make Syrah from both Perli and Valenti vnyds in the MendoRidge. They are strikingly different from the Syrahs they used to make down in SBC some yrs ago. Some of the best Syrahs coming out of MendoCnty. And darlings of the IPoB crowd.
Tom

I have a bottle of 2011 Valenti, Tom. Is it drinkable now, or do you recommend holding?

I have a bottle of 2011 Valenti, Tom. Is it drinkable now, or do you recommend holding?

Not sure, Brian. I can't find my TN on that one. Jason's Syrahs are pretty structured and I'd be in no rush to drink it.
Tom

Just remembered that Donkey and Goat make a Perli Syrah also. The 2011 is absolutely in no way ready to drink (even though I am extremely acid tolerant) but we will see what happens with it!

Tom,
Not easy finding wines from Mendo Ridge. Drew makes some really good wines. I have liked their Pinots as well.
-Shaji

Tom,
Not easy finding wines from Mendo Ridge. Drew makes some really good wines. I have liked their Pinots as well.
-Shaji

True dat, Shaji. People (including myself...at one time) tend to identify MendoRidge w/ the AndersonVlly. They're really
quite different & I didn't appreciate that until CaseyHartlip took me on a brief tour up on the MR. I guess because of the
fogline, things are much warner in MR than in AV, in terms of ripening grapes. As w/ this Perli Pinot, the Pinots can be
almost Zin-like in character, w/ still some of the bright cherry fruit you get from AV Pinot. But it's where the Syrahs & Zins
seem to do very well.
Back in the late-'70's, JedSteele/Edmeades started making some exceptional Zins from old Italian vnyds up on MR (afore it was known as MR),
Zins that were ever bit as good as any in Calif. When he left, the Edmeades Zins kinda faded in terms of quality. Under Van, they took a strong up-tick.
But now that Edmeades is K-J owned (not at all bashing K-J here), they don't seem as...inspired or seeking their former glory. Since
MikeOfficer/Carlisle has started making DuPratt Zin, he has single-handedly returned MR to its former days of glory, I think.
I'd like to take a closer look at MR AVA some day. But I think you need a 4WDrive vehicle or helicopter to do it justice. It's a weird AVA, but
a great place for growing grapes (and, as ole Casey tells me...other sorts of crops).
Tom