Where to look for a savory domestic Syrah

WINE TALK
21

Some new names for me to try mentioned in this thread.

Pretty sure it is confirmed Petit Sirah so it doesn’t fit the variety but agree it would fit the bill and is fun to taste. Can be great. But man that price jump.

Jason

22

That is interesting!

I am slow to keep up. The last I heard was that he thought it was syrah, but the geneticists couldn’t figure it out! So, it’s petit!

Thank you for telling me that! [cheers.gif]

Now, I will continue to wait for him to make Taurus again!

23

Based on this list, I would second those who have said the following:

Sandler
Wind Gap
Qupe
Arnot Roberts

Cheers

24

Several good mentions already. I just want to second (or third) the nominations of Arnot-Roberts and Wind Gap.

25

Enfield Haynes
Lagier Meredith Mt Veeder

26

Failla Estate and Boheme OccidentalRidge.
Tom

1 Like
27

Mmm…Enfield…can’t wait to get back to my cellar…

28

Only had it a couple of times but Arcadian Syrah Hommage à Max was quite savory also La Clarine.

29

Enfield all day.

30

Gramercy all night

31

Drew
Riverain
Anything made from Griffin’s Lair Vineyard- Bedrock, Arnot-Roberts, Pax, etc.

32

Pretty much any syrah from Las Madres Vineyard in Carneros. If you like black olive, earth and savory notes you’ll like wines coming from this vineyard.

33

OMG! How could I forget Lagier Meredith. +50.

Jason

34

Not so much in recent times, but I tended to geek out on Thackrey wines … yet I have never had Taurus [cray.gif]

J

35

Reynvaan is pretty savory, without the Cayuse funk. I’m also a fan of just about anything out of SLH. A couple names have already been mentioned- Carlisle’s Rossella’s should do it for you. Also, Jeff Ames has made killer renditions of this style from Hudson (I don’t recall wether for Tor or his own label Rudius, but I remember one a few years ago being a huge meat/black olive bomb.)

36

Culler Syrah is great choice. She’s not making it anymore but it’s on wine bid often, three of them there right now.

37

I’ve had some pretty funky Reynvaan syrah before - the 2008 The unnamed was funkilicous! Heard some of the others are less so.

As to the Tor - the 2006 Tor Kenward ROCK Syrah Hudson vineyard was fruity, meaty, and minerally all at the same time. I scored it a 93 back in 2013.

38

Melville Verna’s is a nice option. Or for a bit more some of their single vineyards.

39

Savory, eh? I’m familiar with enough of the producers mentioned here to say, “wow are we ever all over the map.” Lots of great wines listed, but it’s all very emblematic of the difficulties of communicating taste. Congrats to Larry for trying, as usual, to rein things in a bit.

40

Unfortunately, even a term like ‘savory’ is up for interpretation. I dig syrah and many of the producers mentioned make killer syrahs for sure . . . but to me, it comes down to vintage and site. There are some sites like Las Madres that I believe produce, on average, quite savory syrahs . . .except if you pick too ripe.

A perfect example of this down in my neck of the woods is the Larner Vineyard in Ballard Canyon. Planted on 100% sand, the vines ripen slowly and yield is somewhat self-regulated. To me, there is a ‘sweet spot’ to pick, where the ‘site’ is noticable in the subsequent wines. Pick too early or too late and that is minimized . . .

Hope that helps - but you have lots of good hunting thus far me thinks :slight_smile:

Cheers!