2005 Lagier Meredith Syrah- USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder (6/4/2014)
Inky dark purple, lilacs on the nose. Dry with lovely tart tannins, medium fruit with acid that hits the back of the throat. Cherries and blackberries with ferns and mushrooms. Great balance with an acid emphasis on the PnP, 91 pts. I love the acid profile that balances the bold fruit. Looking forward to tomorrow night. Not much change from last night which indicates this is as good as it’s going to be. With the strong acid, it should hold for awhile. (92 pts.)
I had this at the winery in January, and found it both exceptional and stuffed to the gills. Drinking now is certainly fine, but I think it has some serious upside potential.
These really do reward patience. Yes, they are good young, but having had just a few with age, I am trying to not even look at these until they are 10 years old.
Just opened one on Thursday and it was drinking very well but still quite youthful. I think this is still years away from its peak - I wouldn’t open another one for 4-5 years.
Has anyone had a bottle of this that they wished they consumed earlier? Over the last year i had both the 98 and 00 and couldnt help think - “man a few more years…” All of them have been delicious BTW.
2005 Lagier Meredith Syrah- USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder (10/3/2016)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over 2-3 hours –
NOSE: expressive; ripe, dark red fruits; black licorice in the background; some alcohol fumes; medium-light oak note emerges after 1.5 hours; not complex.
BODY: lots of fine particulate matter present; dark garnet color with bricking @ edges — color is of medium-deep to deep depth; medium bodied.
TASTE: very spiky acidity and alcohol; purple fruits; hint of leather; alcohol and acidity is very pronounced (in a bad way); very light oak; alc. is very distracting; porter (ale)/whisky-like when paired with mashed buttered carrots; overall, very disappointed given this winery’s sterling reputation.
We did a complete vertical a few years ago and NONE were OTH or even really showing any age?
IIRC 2005 was the first year they offered mags and that’s all I bought and have yet to pop one.
The notation of oak is the giveaway for a flawed bottle to me. No LM I have ever tasted showed any oak. However, I have often associated assumed oak presence that gave way eventually to TCA. Granted, I am very sensitive to TCA, but I’ve yet to be wrong. TCA at low levels has also shown as way out of balance, sometimes having to wait for it to show up as smell or taste. So putting 2 and 2 together, pretty obvious for me.
If that’s the case, then I’ve had only bad luck with this particular wine …
2005 Lagier Meredith Syrah- USA, California, Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder (12/1/2010)
– popped and poured –
– tasted non-blind over one hour –
NOSE: restrained Nose showing hints of spice (cumin), meat, smoke, and oak; a bit volatile.
BODY: medium-light to medium bodied
TASTE: tart/sour; not big; some alcohol flavor; red fruits. A follow-up with the winery confirmed suspicions that this bottle was likely suffering from low-level TCA. NR (flawed)
I had a terrific 2005 just a couple of weeks ago, and a 2002 earlier this year was equally as good. My only disappointing bottle was a 2009 that was much like Brian’s description of his 2005, and Carole also thought it could be TCA affected without the usual telltale signs. Other than that one bottle, they have been fantastic wines.
I opened one of these tonight and it was a bit of a mess at first; seemed a lot like Brian’s bottle–thin and with a touch of cardboard and heat. I served a backup bottle with dinner and came back to it 3 hours later.
The second go-round was a different story. Still relatively light bodied, but now seeming correct. Tart cherry, mint, and a waft of charcoal. Maybe a hint of heat and modest tannic structure. This reads to me like the anti-Cali Syrah; all mountain chill and herb.
Give air and enjoy. If I had more of these, I’d have no hesitance to drink them now.
