Mount Palomar Syrah

Friday Group Brown Bag Tasting (EBCC) : Earth, back fruit, and spice with a wild, feral quality. Meaty qualities with black fruit, game and pepper. Balanced; fully-integrated. Elegant. 92-93 pts. This had been double decanted off its sediment almost two hours before it was poured. A lovely mature syrah.

This was even better than the last time we had the wine when I found it to be a bit more on the ripe and big side. This time we decanted for sediment and then chilled it down a bit. It's also a year later so a bit more bottle age. Drinking pretty nicely. Not quite as elegant as the '90 Cain Five, but an enjoyable wine.

This is a pretty big and full version of wine and actually surprised me that the 20 years have not tamed it much at all. By itself, I'd say it was too much. With a brisket and some cheddar mac and cheese it was in a great spot. Had the right heft to balance the wine. Will keep that in mind for our future bottles although I'd also say this is a wine that's not going anywhere at all and …

Young and still going strong. Hard to believe there's 22 years here. It tastes very similar to what I imagine it tasted like at release. A big wine, more fruit forward, more intense. Lacking nuance. But it's tasty. More hedonistic style. Got it for a good price and great for that.

Sunday Brown Bag Tasting: Paloma Syrah Vertical (Our house) : Aromas of plum, dark fruit, leather and licorice. Shuts down a bit in the glass, develops an odd cheesy note, eventually coming back around. Flavors of sour cherry and plum with tart acidity. My #7, Domino #5 Group #5, 60 pts

Complex and fruit forward, slight tannins and a bit of a brown sugar nose. Dusty and terrific. 4 on the AF scale as I taste through dust gatherers this holiday season.

Dinner with Mike Grammer (Pera, San Francisco) : Showing some alcohol, thin red fruit; tannic. The balance isn't quite right here. Doesn't compare favorably to the other syrah tasted.

WineBerserkers Offline with Mike Grammar (Pera Restaurant, San Francisco, California) : Bricking very dark red violet color; mature, roasted plum, savory, dried herbs nose; roasted plum, olive, reduced tomato sauce palate with medium acidity; medium-plus finish 91+ points (14.2% alcohol)

14.2% alcohol. napa (spring mountain). we opened a bottle, and quickly noticed a great deal of sediment, so immediately into the decanter it went. the cork was saturated to the top. right away, the debate began between super nose jane and me regarding corked versus oxidation. in any event, the wine was clearly off. so...the power of multiple bottles in the cellar produced round two. this cork was red to the center. same allocation (mailing list), same meticulous provenance. the …

I detected a touch of VA on the nose which slightly detracted from this wine. More Northern Rhone in style than California and very good with lamb shank w/risotto and goose breast w/mushroom medley.

Cork showing heat damage. Obviously flawed bottle.

i'm sitting here sipping this wine which i have had twice previously, and enjoyed. however, tonight the wine is over oaked, candied, and somewhat over extracted cali pinot like. it doesn't taste anything like syrah. what's the deal? anyone else have a recent TN?