----- Forwarded message from "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)ME.UMN.EDU> ----- Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 16:32:30 -0600 From: "Jim L. Ellingson" <jellings(a)ME.UMN.EDU> To: wine(a)thebarn.com Subject: [wine] Que Syrah Sirah Greetings, Off to the newly remodeled Auriga, in search of Syrah/Sirah. Thursday, 6:30. NW corner of Hennepin and Franklin Auriga Rest. 1930 Hennepin Ave, Mpls, 55403 612-871-0777 Very nice food at Bobino. Parking tip for next time. Off street lot meters have 4 hr. limits. 75 cents per hour. Not sure who owns these. Street meters are 2 hr limit, are enforced until 10:00 Best wag at who's coming: Bob Bill Lori Betsy Nicolai Jim (assuming I'm over this bloody head cold) Russ Annette Cheers, Jim Syrah Superstars | November 2001 Back Syrah Superstars By MARK MAZUR We asked producers to submit two Syrahs.one priced $20 or less, the other priced over $20. Last month, in Part One, we reported on the under-$20 set. This month, we sink our teeth into the upper crust. This is the big leagues, the upper division finals. Wine Enthusiast.s intrepid tasting team, palates well-seasoned by Part One of our World Cup of Syrah, confronted a global selection of 200 wines priced over $20.some well over $20. Regardless of price or place of origin, these players are in this game for one reason.all were at least 75 percent Syrah, in conformance with ATF labeling regulations. In Part One (.The Next Big Thing,. October 2001), we covered the history and legends of Syrah as well as the less expensive bottlings. This month, we.ll get straight to the juice. For starters, what do you get when you taste at the top? For sure, you get quality. Overall quality was significantly higher than in Part One.although not uniformly. In marked contrast to last month.s dearth of 90-point scores, this month, 56 wines.more than 25 percent of the wines reviewed.received scores of 90 points or higher. What Price Performance? We sampled Syrahs from a very broad price range (from $21 to $145).the most expensive wines were priced almost seven times higher than the lowest-priced wines. The top price could have gone higher, too, had we not already reviewed Penfold.s Grange, which carries a suggested price of $185 and usually retails for more, earlier this year. Flights were grouped in comparable price and geographic groupings, so wines were not blind-tasted against competitors costing twice or thrice as much, or directly against wines of vastly differing origin. After .Is it good?. the inevitable question is .What does it cost?. Everyone is interested in the bang-for-the-buck factor. Wines at the lower-end of the price spectrum, those costing $28 and less, perhaps relate more to wines from Part One of our survey than the upper-end wines covered here. The strongest performers in this range are our Top Values. Top Value is a qualification awarded to wines that retail above our normal Best Buy range, but are notable for their positive price-quality rapport. We only use the Top Value designation in our tasting features. We list 17 Top Values in the sidebar. Many other top-scoring wines were priced just above our defined cut-off points for Top Value in this survey. These warrant serious consumer attention, especially if discounted this holiday season. Enthusiasts should remember that price, quality and rating are not necessarily related factors. Price is most often a factor of the scale of production.a wine made in small quantities will almost always cost more. We hope these wines will be excellent, but there.s no guaranteed correlation. Price is also the product of specific marketing decisions, a factor that has no impact on our panelists. estimation of a wine. In tasting feature flights, samples are tasted blind. Reviewers do not know which wines, or the cost of the wines, they are tasting until after a rating has been assigned. Where is the good stuff coming from? From all over the world.and also from a few select places. In the U.S., winemakers have taken to this Rh�ne variety, planting it just about anywhere grapes will grow. In California, although no single region stood out, we found a wealth of quality Syrah from all parts of the state. Further north, Washington turned in an impressive performance.evidence of just how important this grape may be to the future of the wine industry there. Not surprisingly, we found a lot to like in Australia. Top wines came from many subregions, but South Australia, and especially the Barossa Valley, were strong performers. Predictably, France.s Rh�ne Valley.and, less predictably, the Languedoc.yielded great wines in numbers out of all proportion to the number of offerings tasted. Other parts of the world are producing Syrah, too.with growing success. California: Quality all over the Place It was hard to associate excellence with place in the assortment of top-ranked Californian wines. Two of our top wines, Sine Qua Non.s 1998 E-raised Syrah and Martella.s 1999 Hammer Syrah, bore the broad California AVA employed on many of the state.s least expensive wines. But sourcing fruit from different regions of California can afford winemakers a wider palette of fruit character to employ in blending, regardless of price. In Martella.s case, Sierra Foothills Syrah is blended with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. UNITED STATES 94 Dehlinger 1998 Syrah (Russian River Valley) $35 93 Sine Qua Non 1998 E-raised Syrah (California) $75 92 Dunham 1999 Lewis Vineyard Syrah (Columbia Valley) $45 92 L.Ecole No 41 1999 Seven Hills Vineyard Syrah (Walla Walla Valley) $34 91 Columbia Crest 1998 Reserve Syrah (Columbia Valley) $28 91 Garretson 1999 The Finn� Alban Vineyard Syrah (Edna Valley) $60 91 La Crema 1999 Syrah (Sonoma County) $24 91 Lewis 1999 Syrah (Napa Valley) $55 91 Martella 1999 Hammer Syrah (California) $24 90 Arcadian 1999 Gary.s Vineyard Robert O.Fleming Cuv�e Syrah (Monterey) $50 90 Artesa 1999 Syrah (Sonoma Valley) $28 90 Beckmen 1999 Purisima Mountain Vineyard Syrah (Santa Ynez Valley) $35 90 Castle 1999 Syrah (Sonoma Valley) $22 90 Chameleon 1999 Syrah (Napa Valley) $31 90 Daniel Gehrs 1999 Syrah (Santa Ynez Valley) $25 90 Gary Farrell 1998 Syrah (Russian River Valley) $32 90 Hagafen 1999 Syrah (Napa Valley) $27 90 Io 1998 Red Wine (Santa Barbara County) $60 90 L.Aventure 1999 Stephan Vineyard Syrah (Paso Robles) $36 90 Limerick Lane 1999 Collins Vineyard Syrah (Russian River Valley) $36 90 McDowell 1999 Reserve Syrah (McDowell Valley) $24 90 Midnight Cellars 1999 Nocturne Syrah (Paso Robles) $24 90 Paloma 1999 Syrah (Spring Mountain) $36 90 Perry Creek 1999 Cellar Select Syrah (El Dorado County) $24 90 Ridge 1999 Lytton Estate ATP Syrah (Dry Creek Valley) $30 90 Rockblock 1999 Seven Hills Vineyard Syrah (Walla Walla Valley) $40 90 Sierra Vista 1997 Five Star Reserve Syrah (El Dorado County) $60 90 Three Rivers 1999 Boushey Vineyard Syrah (Yakima Valley) $35 90 Voss 1999 Shiraz (Napa Valley) $25 89 Bridlewood 1999 Winners Circle Selection Syrah (San Luis Obispo County) $24 89 Epiphany 1999 Stonewall Vineyard Syrah (California) $45 In California, excellent Syrah.like June in the song.is bustin. out all over. .Not long ago Syrah was scarcely acknowledged beyond a handful of growers and winemakers in California,. observes Mat Garretson wryly. The Paso Robles winemaker should know, as originator and organizer of the Hospice du Rh�ne, the world.s largest gathering devoted to Rh�ne grapes and wines.including, of course, Syrah. .When we started, there weren.t many people to invite. Now it seems California is virtually exploding with Syrah. My winery is 100 percent devoted to Rh�ne grapes, none more than Syrah, and I work with a dozen different Syrah vineyards throughout the state. I.m honestly amazed by the grape.s strength and adaptability, its diverse, beautiful expressions from a wide range of soils, climates, elevations and exposures. In comparison, try growing Cabernet Sauvignon where it.s too cool.or Pinot Noir where it.s too hot.and see what you get.. Such wines as the complex and ageworthy Garretson 1999 The Finn� Alban Vineyard Syrah, from Edna Valley in San Luis Obispo County are a testament to his commitment. From nearby Paso Robles, check out L.Aventure.s dark and solid 1999 Syrah, or the handsome (and handsomely priced) Midnight Cellars 1999 Nocturne Syrah. Santa Barbara County is becoming a hotspot for California Syrah.evidenced by the number of top-rated wines from this region and its subappellations of Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley. The darkly elegant Io, a Rh�ne blend containing (this year, anyway) enough Syrah to qualify for our survey, is from Santa Barbara County; Beckmen.s 1999 Purisima Mountain Syrah and Daniel Gehrs. 1999 Syrah both come from Santa Ynez Valley. For all the success of the south-central coast, northern California wineries are also turning out fine Syrah. The top-rated American wine was Dehlinger.s 1998 Syrah from the Russian River Valley. Tom Dehlinger.s excellent Chardonnay and Pinot Noir have previously impressed our tasters, and his Syrah does not miss a beat. But finding it.like the Sine Qua Non, another very limited-production wine.may be tough. These are wines to buy from restaurant wine lists, as they will hardly ever be found at retail stores. Besides Dehlinger, other excellent Russian River Valley Syrahs include offerings from Limerick Lane and Gary Farrell. Sonoma County.s many other AVAs are proving fertile for Syrah as well: La Crema.s 1999 is from Sonoma County, Castle.s 1999 is from Sonoma Valley and Ridge.s 1999 Lytton Estate ATP Syrah is from Dry Creek Valley. Napa, too, deserves its due.the 1999s from Lewis, Chamleon, Hagafen and Paloma are all excellent efforts. McDowell.s 1999 Reserve Syrah shows Mendocino also can produce head-turning Syrah. Washington: A Power Performance In a surprisingly strong.and admittedly unexpected.performance, three of the top five American Syrahs were from Washington. Washington State growers have been putting Syrah in the ground virtually as fast as the nurseries make plants available.and in a variety of locations. .The nature of Syrah to reflect individual terroirs affords the ability to make a diverse assortment.or combination.of styles, as desired,. says Washington winemaker Eric Dunham, echoing observations heard earlier from California.s Garretson. .The impact of specific sites on the quality and taste of fruit is dramatic. Separate blocks within a vineyard can have vast differences. I try to reflect what I love about both the Aussie and Hermitage styles of Syrah, and blend to that end. .If a single vineyard really stands out in a year, I.ll release a vineyard-designated wine,. Dunham continues. .However, most Dunham wines will be blends of fruit from contracted vineyards and from our own estate. I think year to year it makes a better wine.. This year, the Dunham 1999 Lewis Vineyard Syrah from the Columbia Valley tied for top Washington honors with the L.Ecole No. 41 Seven Hills Vineyard Syrah from the Walla Walla Valley. Widely available Columbia Crest turned out a dense, flavorful 1998 Reserve. Australia: A Southern Constellation of Stars You can field a full team of top wines from South Australia, Oz.s most productive wine region, and the one that accounts for almost half the country.s output. Among the 26 wines in the entire tasting rated 91 and above, 10 came from this state. The Barossa Valley, perhaps the most famous of the South Australian GIs, provided five of these 10. Most South Australian wine comes from GIs (not soldiers, mind you, but Geographic Indicators, Australia.s equivalent of France.s appellations and the U.S..s AVAs) around the city of Adelaide. AUSTRALIA - BEST BUY - CELLAR SELECTION - EDITORS' CHOICE 95 Barossa Valley Estate 1998 E&E Black Pepper Shiraz (Barossa Valley) $80 94 Grant Burge 1996 Meshach Shiraz (Barossa Valley) $145 93 Elderton 1997 Command Shiraz (Barossa Valley) $62 93 Jim Barry 1998 The Armagh Shiraz (Clare Valley) $100 92 Oliverhill 2000 Jimmy Section Shiraz (McLaren Vale) $33 92 St. Hallett 1997 Old Block Shiraz (Barossa Valley) $40 92 Yalumba 1997 Octavius Shiraz (Barossa Valley) $80 91 Frog Rock 1998 Shiraz (Mudgee) $25 91 Paracombe 1998 Shiraz (Adelaide Hills) $28 91 Tatachilla 1996 Foundation Shiraz (McLaren Vale) $40 91 Wynn.s Coonawarra Estate 1997 Michael Shiraz (Coonawarra) $49 Great Syrah on a budget? Yes, it.s possible. We generally award Best Buys to wines priced under $15, so there were no candidates in a tasting starting at $21. However, we definitely found wines that represent plenty of .bang-for-the-buck,. and that.s where our Top Value qualification comes in. It.s our way of identifying outstanding values in a price-defined tasting like this one. Here are 17 super Syrahs that make the grade. 91 Frog Rock 1998 Shiraz (Mudgee) Australia $25 91 La Crema 1999 Syrah (Sonoma County) California $24 91 Martella 1999 Hammer Syrah (California) $24 91 Paracombe 1998 Shiraz (Adelaide Hills) Australia $28 90 Castle 1999 Syrah (Sonoma Valley) California $22 90 Daniel Gehrs 1999 Syrah (Santa Ynez Valley) California $25 90 Fern Hill 1999 Shiraz (McLaren Vale) Australia $22 90 McDowell 1999 Reserve Syrah (McDowell Valley) California $24 90 Midnight Cellars 1999 Nocturne Syrah (Paso Robles) California $24 90 Perry Creek 1999 Cellar Select Syrah (El Dorado County) California $24 90 Reilly.s 1998 Dry Land Shiraz (Clare Valley) Australia $25 90 Voss 1999 Shiraz (Napa Valley) California $25 89 Rosenblum 1999 England-Shaw Vineyard Syrah (Solano County) California $21 89 Russian Hill 1999 Syrah (Russian River Valley) California $22 89 Santa Barbara Winery 1999 Syrah (Santa Ynez Valley) California $22 89 St. Andrews Estate 2000 Ceravolo Shiraz (Adelaide Plains) Australia $22 89 Te Awa Farm 2000 Longlands Syrah (Hawkes Bay) New Zealand $21 .Barossa has a climatic profile that suits the Shiraz grape,. observes winemaker Natasha Mooney, maker of the Barossa Valley Estate 1998 E & E Black Pepper Shiraz, which tied for top honors in our World Cup Part Two with France.s J.L. Chave 1998 Hermitage. .The warmth of the growing period and little rain during the summer allows even ripening of both fruit flavors and tannins,. she continues. Previous vintages of E & E have also rated well (the 1996, 91 points and the 1997, 90 points), and the great 1998 vintage has yielded a truly superb wine. Other impressive wines from South Australia included Oliverhill.s 2000 Jimmy Section Shiraz and Tatachilla.s 1996 Foundation Shiraz from McLaren Vale. From Clare Valley, Jim Barry.s 1997 The Armagh; from the Adelaide Hills, Paracombe.s 1998 Shiraz; and from Coonamwarra, Wynn.s Coonawarra Estate 1997 Michael Shiraz round out South Australia.s lengthy list of star performers. France: Old and New Strengths France.s Rh�ne Valley set the original standard for quality Syrah and continues to do so. Six of our top-rated wines are French, despite France.s many fewer entries than Australia or the United States. The J.L. Chave 1998 Hermitage tied for top overall honors. It.s totally different from, but equally as impressive as, the Aussie with which it shares the top spot. The intense, fabulously expressive bouquet, beautiful balance and structure of this wine promise great life, and follow more than a decade of steady, fine performances from this estate. And with this family background, why not? The venerable Chave family has been engaged in viticulture since 1481.before Columbus sailed to the New World. FRANCE - BEST BUY - CELLAR SELECTION - EDITORS' CHOICE 95 J.L. Chave 1998 Hermitage $100 94 M. Chapoutier 1999 Les B�casses (C�te-R�tie) $75 93 Alain Voge 1998 Cuv�e Vieilles Vignes (Cornas) $45 92 Domaine de Nizas 1998 Coteaux du Languedoc $28 91 Abbotts 1999 Cumulo Nimbus (Minervois) $35 91 Paul Jaboulet A�n� 1999 Les Jumelles (C�te-R�tie) $68 90 No�l Verset 1998 Cornas $45 90 Rene Rostaing 1998 C�te-R�tie $55 88 Bernard Chave 1999 T�te de Cuv�e (Crozes-Hermitage)$21 87 Delas Fr�res 1997 Marquise de la Tourette (Hermitage)$58 87 Perrin 1999 Crozes-Hermitage $24 Other impressive Rh�ne offerings include M. Chapoutier.s 1999 C�te-R�tie Les Becasses, Alain Voge.s 1998 Cornas Cuv�e Vielle Vignes (generally deemed the lesser of his two cuv�es) and Paul Jaboulet A�n�.s 1999 C�te-R�tie Les Jumelles. As you might expect, they are less forward and fruit-driven than almost all of the New World offerings. But all are wines of great substance and depth, with fine aging potential. Many C�te-R�ties contain a small percentage of white Viognier, which can contribute unusual, frequently impressive aromatics. Syrah has become important beyond the Rh�ne.in fact, all across France.s southern growing regions. The Domaine de Nizas 1998 Syrah from Coteaux de Languedoc is made by Bernard Portet, the French-born winemaker at Napa.s Clos du Val winery. .For me, this was a fantastic opportunity to close a life-circle,. comments Portet. Having grown up in a French wine family (his father worked at Ch�teau Latour), Portet says, .I came to Napa 30 years ago with the intention of making California wine with a French accent. I have now returned to supervise winemaking at an estate close to where I went to school, to learn to make wine.. The property, largely run-down, is undergoing extensive renovation and replanting. Fifty acres remain of the 120 planted when it was purchased in 1998 by John Goelet, a Clos du Val partner. .We.ve kept the best of the older vines, and will be replanting at about 10 acres per year over the next decade. The potential at Nizas is just fantastic, and very energizing,. says Portet, during a break in harvest at Clos du Val. Another attention-getter from France.s south was Abbotts 1999 Cumulo Nimbus, from Minervois. The Global View: Up-and-Comers Everyone wants in the game, and there.s tasty Syrah coming from all over the world now. South African growers and vintners have made a serious commitment to the grape, mostly.but not uniformly.called Shiraz there. Though not yet fully realized, the grape definitely has an important place in that nation.s winemaking future. The Abraham Perold 1996 Op Die Berg from Paarl was our top-rated South African entry, with Slaley.s 1999 Hunting Family Shiraz from Stellenbosch and Fairview.s 1999 Cyril Back close behind. GLOBAL - BEST BUY - CELLAR SELECTION - EDITORS' CHOICE 90 Abraham Perold 1996 Op Die Berg (Paarl) South Africa $145 89 Mills Reef 1999 Elspeth Syrah (Hawkes Bay) New Zealand $28 89 Slaley 1999 Hunting Family Shiraz (Stellenbosch) South Africa $28 89 Te Awa Farm 2000 Longlands Syrah (Hawkes Bay) New Zealand $21 89 Varramista 1997 IGT Toscana Italy $51 88 Fairview 1999 Cyril Back Shiraz (Paarl) South Africa $24 88 Spice Route 1999 Flagship Syrah (Swartland) South Africa $30 87 Montes Alpha 2000 Vi�edo Apalta Syrah (Colchagua) Chile $22 87 Rust en Vrede 1998 Shiraz (Stellenbosch) South Africa $22 86 Saxenburg Estate 1998 Private Collection Shiraz (Stellenbosch) South Africa $30 86 Simonsig 1998 Merindol Shiraz (Stellenbosch) South Africa $45 Australia may have the experience and the market jump, but in New Zealand, the plucky Kiwis, too, are taking to Syrah. Hawkes Bay is the region with the most promise.Mills Reef.s 1999 Elspeth Syrah and Te Awa Farm.s 2000 Longlands Syrah demonstrate the possibilities for Syrah in this other Pacific island nation. South America is perhaps a step behind, but is hustling to catch up. Top performers from our neighbor continent to the south were Chile.s Montes Alpha 2000 Vi�edo Apalta Syrah from Colchagua and Argentina.s Finca La Anita 1996 Syrah from Mendoza. More, better wines are coming as growers and winemakers increase their familiarity with Syrah. In Italy, where Syrah is now a legal component of Chianti, there is interest and achievement. The 1997 Varramista from Tuscany impressed our tasting panel as a sign of great potential. Surely more is to follow. Conclusion There.s a tremendous amount of delicious wine available at many prices, from many places, to the prospective Syrah buyer. Our World Cup of Syrah has confirmed our sense that Syrah.or Shiraz, whatever your preference.is poised to be the ascendant red wine of this decade. This is the grape the growers and winemakers have put their markers on. Happily, there is already a dazzling selection of quality offerings to choose among, and a rosy.er, a dark red, aromatic, deeply fruited.future ahead. We reviewed over 200 Syrahs for this tasting, but didn.t have the space here to reprint them all on the Web. For the complete listing of all the Syrahs we tasted (plus tasting notes), see the print version of the November 2001 issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine. ----- End forwarded message ----- -- ------------------------------ * * Dr. James Lee Ellingson, Adjunct Professor jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, tel: 651/645-0753 fax 651 XXX XXXX * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *