The latest release of Bob's CC Syrah just showed up here in NM:
1. Qupe Syrah CentralCoast (13.5%; www.Qupe.com) SantaMaria 2012: Dark color; strong blackberry/Syrah/bit boysenberry light smokey/pencilly/oak very slight earthy/Rhonish nose; rather tart/tangey/lean spicy/Syrah/blueberry/blackberry light pencilly/oak slight earthy/stony/Rhonish flavor w/ light/tangy tannins; med.long tart/tangy/lean strong blueberry/Syrah/blackberry slight pencilly/oak finish w/ light/bitey/tangy tannins; a rather angular/tangy rendition of Calif Syrah. $19.50 (SFW&S)
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I have, of course, followed BobLindquist's CC Syrah from the very start...the '83. Made from EstrellaRiverVnyd grapes. It had a long and glorious life and at 20 yrs of age, was still singing.
Over the yrs, the CC Syrah has always been a value-laden favorite of mine. In recent yrs, it has been a SantaBarbaraCnty Syrah...which I've really liked.
So I was excited to to finally see the '12 release of his bottom-end Syrah. Alas, I was rather disappointed in this wine. It was varietally correct and spoke of the Qupe style. But on the palate it was rather tangy/hard/angular and didn't offer up much pleasure. I expect it will be better w/ a yr's age on it, maybe longer, but it's not much pleasure at this point in time.
Tom