Yeah but it’s better than half of the others up there, granted, the poll does a great job of hitting all ends of the spectrum fairly, and identifying the best of breed imo. Maybe I just love my colgin too much.
Great list.
Too soon for Arnot Roberts?
Has anyone else encountered Cornas from Julien Pilon? I tasted it as part of a Northern Rhone flight at a steakhouse in NOLA (that also include Chave, Barge, and Faury), and was very impressed.
Matt - it is a bummer I missed you in Chicago the other day. A 1995 ESJ Durell Syrah was legit amazing, and certainly held its own alongside a bottle of 99 Chave Hermitage. I know the usual crowd from the Rhone will get their plaudits, but I’m convinced that Steve makes wines that are, with age, every bit their equals.
yep and i agree (on being bummed that i wasn’t able to get dinner, and that Steve’s wines are incredible).
I can’t believe no one has brought up Cabot, if nothing else just from a QPR point of view.
Well…a list w/o BobLindquist and AdamTolmach is pretty superficial.
Not to mention EhrenJordan and Steve&Carole.
But…then…what would I know??
Tom
I mentioned Bob and Ehren. Can’t believe I missed Carole - you can’t talk about Syrah without including her in the conversation.
It’s kind of a silly exercise though. Paul Achs in Austria makes a good Syrah. It’s never talked about on this board, so it basically doesn’t exist. There’s plenty of really good Syrah made in Australia and South Africa, not to mention other countries in Europe and South America. I think it’s one of the better grapes coming out of Chile. All of those wine makers have “mastered” it, at least in their respective environments.
Ojai and Qupe baby!!
Sorrel should be there.
EDIT: Also Clusel-Roch.
Hard to talk about great Syrah producers without mentioning Villard, Cuilleron, and Gangloff.
No it’s not.
Another vote for the Syrah made by Carole and Steve on Mt. Veeder.
-af
True dat!!!
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reincarnation of David Z!
Nope. If the intent of the OP is to identify the true masters of the grape, then there needs to be some cutoff. None of the three in John’s post come close to the top tier.
This is what generally happens with any topic like this. The OP starts with a fairly clear request or list, and then 30 posts add every producer that can be thought of.
Yea David, but Tooch’s post also asked “who are your masters”?
Love this poll and the perspectives so far.
I do think David B. is onto something with his articulation of a ‘master’ as best-in-class, e.g., the top 10%, 15%, 20%, etc. of the distribution curve. With that in mind, my masters as follows:
Top tier: Chave
Next tier: Jamet, Allemand, SQN (but in a style that is singular)
Next tier: ESJ, Pax, Gonon, Clape
Several others I enjoy, but wouldn’t peg as my ‘masters’: Faury, Cuilleron, Graillot, Balthazar, Levet, Vernay, Guigal, Lagier-Meredith, Carlisle
I’m admittedly not experienced enough with classic Australia Shiraz like Grange and Henschke. I also need to try more Qupe with age on it.
+1 for Faury, Graillot
I would add Clonakilla for an Aussie
The results really are strange to me. And the discussion, to me, is getting more interesting . . .
It’s really tough to look at a subject like this and have folks ‘comparing’ producers from places like the Northern Rhone to CA and WA.
Can’t wait for the Masters of Pinot thread next . . .
If we are just looking at CA, nods need to go to those who have been doing it for awhile - and doing it successfully. I’d have to put John Alban near the top of the list - not everyone may be enamored with the singular style, but I would say the same could be said about SQN, too.
You have to throw Craig Jaffurs, Steve Edmunds, Bob Lindquist, Randall Graham, and Bill Easton into the mix, too.
So many more but that’s a good start for here in CA . . .
I agree, this is a more unique conversation since Syrah has such a huge range of expression. I couldn’t begin to put a knowledgable vote in for Washington. The same is pretty much true for California, except for a couple of the old hands(noted in my earlier post) and I do have some experience with a few of the “new California” producers like Ceritas, Wind Gap, and Arnot Roberts. Interesting wines and enjoyable but “master” seems like it needs a career of great wines that should be (for me at least) still another step up from what I have had from Arnot Roberts etc. Especially if we’re equating an American master as the same quality as Chave, Allemand, and Verset. Or Graillot, Faury, Jamet for that matter.