Renaissance Syrah

Decanted for 2hrs, and boy did it need it. Pronounced aromas of cured meats, black olives, dried black cherries, blackberry compote, funk and mineral, getting some leather and spent coffee aromas as well. Complex. In the mouth, tannins are silty and mature, there still is a vibrant acidic streak to the wine that gives it the lift it needs. Flavors match the nose and are intense, well integrated with a saline finish. Full body, med tannin, med+ acid, mature and …

We opened this with a pasta dish heavy on the garlic and salami and the wine could not have been better. It was all dried fruit, herbs and not a hint of oxidation. I don’t know how long it will hold at this place, but I’m guessing it still has years in front of it. The secondary flavors were fascinating. I’m pleased that I have several bottles to work through. 93+

This glass is from a bottle tasted yesterday at the winery alongside the '05 Syrah. The latter was more typical CA syrah with bigger fruit, more heat, more primary (a bit prune-tasting). This wine shows more of the elegance that I expect in a Renaissance wine, and a tertiary nose reminiscent of some of the Côte-Rôtie wines I've tasted from similar year vintages. Scents like soya, raw asparagus?, and raspberry cream gush from the glass. The palate is smooth, mouth-coating, …

i thought I underrated this earlier. Amazing mouth filling wine with impressive fruit and more impressive length and energy. Exception Syrah that eclipsed the Ferraton Meal bottling 1999.

This could be mistaken for hermitage. Meaty and mineral with still plenty of fruit. Great balance, medium level of chalky tannin. Drinks excellent day two. ��

This was drinking very nicely over the 4th of July, when I shared it with wine geek friends. The fruit (which was never overdone to begin with) is just beginning to recede, but even so, the secondary/tertiary aromas aren't yet emerging. Regardless, the balance is spot on: it has good acidity and tannic structure, dark and slightly spicy minerals, and enough black fruit to hit certain pleasure centers in the brain. This worked well with steak and even better with …

Wow, this is exquisite, and far and away the best California syrah I've ever had. Warm blackberry scents and chalky aromas promise beauty, and that beauty plays in spades in the mouth: for all its power and concentration, it's delicate. The tannins are smooth but they grip the far reaches of the tongue, while the acidity keeps the mouth watering. There's not much to say about fruit here — there's plenty of it, black and blue both, but fruit is …