Syrah

This is drinking quite well right now.  Reminiscent of a Crozes Hermitage.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries, roasted meats and some minerality.  On the palate, this has some complexity.  Good acidity.  Lots of black raspberry fruit.  Nice finish.  This is food friendly and would be great with roasts or stews.  It won't get better but no hurry as it has five to ten years left at peak.  

This is basically the second wine of Esprit de Tablas from Tablas Creek although they make a lot of different wines, not all available without being in their wine club (highly recommended).  This sell for around $30 and can often be found at retail shops.  It is young and will likely improve a bit over the next few years.  Screw capped!  Grenache, Syrah, Counoise and Mourvedre.  Whereas the Esprit can be compared to a Chateauneuf du Pape, this is more like a better Cotes du Rhone or even a Gigondas.  It has a deep ruby color with some purple swirls.  The nose has black cherries, slight eart

This is the new basic Syrah offering from Bedrock.  It is from multiple appellations thus carrying the California designation.  It is recently released and (hopefully) will improve a bit.  It sells for around $28 delivered from the winery.  Purple in color.  The nose is nice with black raspberries, white pepper, slight floral notes and slight bacon fat.  On the palate, this seems a bit restrained.  Nice black raspberry fruit and easy drinking.  Not showing a lot of depth or complexity at this point.  Nice finish.  Easy drinking, this will be a nice wine with BBQ or pizza.  Will it take that

This is their basic bottling (not vineyard designated) and is a tremendous value.  It is a warmer climate styled Syrah but not over the top.  Sporting a newly revised label and under new ownership, this wine is every bit as good as those released by Craig Jaffurs.  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, slight black pepper and roasted meats.  On the palate, this has a nice juicy acidity.  Delicious black raspberry fruit.  Nice depth although still young with medium tannins.  Nice finish.  This is a gulpable wine that goes down quite easily.  It will work with bigger and or s

Torrin makes some of the best Syrahs.  They are starting to get more respect from the major critics but they still don't have the buzz of some other wineries.  That is good for those people looking to get on the mailing list or not pay three figures for a bottle.  If there is a "complaint" it is that the wines are concentrated and backward and in need of cellaring to get the most out of them.  That is difficult because they are so good on release.  Somehow, however, I managed to make this one last.  75% Grenache, 25% Syrah.  Purple in color.

This is always a great value.  Just a step up from the Cotes du Rhone and a bit deeper and darker.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black raspberries, slight violets, cedar and pepper.  On the palate, this is juicy with bold black raspberry fruit.  Slight tannins.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  2015 was a great year in the Northern Rhone and value wines like this are a great play.  It should be good for the next five to seven years at least.  Great with stews, meats and spicier foods.  

This is our wine so this review is biased.  The wine was included in a blind tasting of Santa Barbara Syrahs with my tasting group.  I suspected this was it but wasn't sure (it was narrowed down to two wines).  It was quite a relief that this did not finish last and in fact, finished 4/10 with 1 first and 2 third place votes (I had it in 3rd).  Blind - my thoughts are:  Inky purple in color.  The nose has black raspberries, coffee, white pepper and slight earthiness.  On the palate, this has balanced but juicy acidity.  Layers of black raspberries and earth with some meat/pepper notes.  Thi

Sadly, this was corked (the cork was infected with 2,4,6-trichloroanisole or TCA).  Its too bad as the underlying wine seemed quite good.  Might have been a great value.  

This is very young and hopefully a few years in the cellar shows some improvement.  It is a good wine right now and presents itself in a more Northern Rhone style.  Inky purple in color.  The nose is spicy with slight green notes and some black raspberries.  That spicy quality carries thru to the palate along with some tart red cherry fruit.  Light tannins.  A tangy finish.  Strong acidity that really needs some fatty foods to work with it.  It was not helped by being in the same lineup as some more warmer climate, riper Syrahs.  

This was my first time trying wine.  It is a solid wine.  Whether it is worth the $40 price tag is up to you.  It did seem a bit advanced so perhaps look for younger vintages.  Purple in color with some browning.  The nose is dusty with black cherries.  On the palate, this is tart with black cherry fruit.  Also a black olive note.  This drinks like a cooler climate Syrah.  It will work with a wide variety of foods; stews will be great.