Nellessen Vineyard Syrah

Haven’t tasted in a couple years, a definite and welcomed move to the savory side for me. Peppercorns, eucalyptus, fir, parsley. Fruit is tight, compacted and crunchy, tart blackberry and plum skin. A certain stoniness about it too. On the palate that crunchy fruit is up front, showing a darker expression than on the nose, mid-back palate are all umami and spice, finish a melange of cooling herbal notes. The acid is bright and hides those classic WC tannins a bit. Really digging how this is showing right now.

One of my favorite syrahs. Black olive for days.

Northern Rhone a la California! It has that wonderful combination of meat, stone and flowers on the nose and palette.

Holy smokes this is was a nice surprise

White and black pepper for days. If there was more weight in the mid palate this would be a 90 point wine.

At 11.9, I was expecting something green and mean. I was pleasantly surprised. Lifted nose, very different but not too herbaceous. Vibrant fruit, fresh yet balanced acidity. Tannins are a bit rough but overall the wine is not underripe or hollow. I usually prefer more flesh, but this is quite fun.

Black pepper for dayz and some violets.... Complex, great juice

Straight Out bangin! Many thanks for te bottle @Scott Schultz !!!

2013. My favorite of their Syrah lineup at their Sebastapol tasting room. Deep translucent red color. Medium full body. Suave and smooth despite shocking low 11.9% alcohol. A bit gamey with a slight tart edge. Needs 5 years. I would like a bit more ripeness but I can respect what they are trying to do here.

Deeper, darker, stronger, more Cornas than St. Joseph.