Another defense of California Syrah

Tasting some memorable Syrah at Piedrasassi

In a blog post last week, Steve Heimoff critiqued California Syrah in general as having quality issues due to a lagging price point. Flaws such as brettanomyces and searing acid were listed by Mr. Heimoff as stumbling blocks to the varietal being on the top echelon of California red wine. And it was theorized that due to its price point being behind top reds such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir, producers are not making the necessary investments into production in order to make the best possible wines. In short, due to the market the grape doesn't meet its potential in the state.

It’s an interesting observation. Syrah’s greatest strength can sometimes be its greatest weakness. Its versatility as a grape – growing effectively in a variety of climates and locales – creates different profiles of wine that can be confusing to the average consumer. As a result, domestic wine tends to struggle in the three-tier system as distributors and retailers tend to gravitate toward things that roll quickly downhill. Throw on top the confusion people can easily run into about what is Shiraz? Petite Sirah?

Syrah seems to do best in the hands of producers selling directly to a consumer base that they can taste and educate on the wines. Or in the hands of sommeliers who can educate staff and guests on how versatile it can be with a menu; or how it expresses differently according to climate and terroir. Once the mysteries are unraveled, Syrah doesn't seem to have a problem attracting fans – both consumers as well as other wine critics.

A flaw such as brettanomyces that's listed in the blog post comes from uncleanliness in the cellar, and it doesn’t discriminate by varietal. Acidity is a virtue in California wine, not an problem. The best examples of California Syrah have a juicy acidity built around the fruit and depth. And is Syrah any more uneven in quality than Pinot or Cab in California? There are plenty of flabby overripe Pinots and Cabs, up to the highest price points.

The quality of Syrah in California is the least of its problems. There are plenty of great options in all price points and of varying styles. Value is excellent as well – I believe that one can consistently be amazed by California Syrah at price points well under those of top Cab and Pinot.

Here are four excellent California Syrah wines that I’ve had over the last few months that represent excellence, variety and value.

Tercero 2007 Thompson Vineyard Syrah, Santa Barbara County- From steep south-facing hillsides in the Los Alamos Valley of Santa Barbara County. 25% whole clusters. Lots going on. Bitter chocolate, cassis, cracked pepper, blueberry aromatics. All that and more pure fruit on the palate- blue and black. Smooth and round and polished- a pretty wine with fine balance. A full finish with peppery fine tannins. Excellent stuff. $30.

Cambria 2009 Tepusquet Vineyard Syrah, Santa Maria Valley- Loamy soils. Destemmed and cold soaked for 7 days. Pressed off at 2-3 degrees brix with fermentation finishing in barrel. Purple black opaque appearance. Primary notes of black olive, tomato skin, lavender and peppercorn. Ripe notes of cassis and black cherry forward on the palate. Round and polished with nice balance. Fine tannins and juicy acid on the finish, along with lingering fruit. Nice wine and very nice QPR. $22.

Piedrasassi 2009 Rimrock Vineyard Syrah, San Luis Obispo County- From cool-climate coastal southern San Luis Obispo County (around Nipomo). 100% whole cluster. New and neutral French oak. Aromatic savory fruit nose. Amazingly bright and vibrant with electric acid and pure fruit along with spice and long earthy depth. Firm structure and long finish. A great wine. $56.

Copain 2009 Les Voisins Syrah, Yorkville Highlands, Mendocino Co- Vineyard blend coming mostly from schist soils. Aging in neutral French oak. Plump aromatics of black pepper, black olive, marinating beef, violet and plum. Pure fruit and savory depth on the palate- seamlessly woven with fleshy feel and fine firm tannins and full finish. Deft balance. Excellent. $34.

Favorites from the Chardonnay Symposium

This weekend I attended the 2012 Chardonnay Symposium'sGrand Tasting at Byron Winery & Vineyards in the Santa Maria Valley. This is an annual event in Santa Maria sponsored by Wine Enthusiast Magazine and Byron. It's unique in its total devotion to Chardonnay. For a nice synopsis of the event and what makes it special, check out this blog post from Steve Heimoff.

The grand tasting was held outside at Byron. It's nice being outdoors on a cool and beautifully bright sunny afternoon, overlooking the valley and sipping Chardonnay. However aromas were fleeting as a whipping wind made tasting conditions a challenge at certain tables.

It was a small drawback though. Overall there were many examples of finely balanced and lively California Chardonnay- mostly Central Coast (HELLO Wine Spectator!) with a few choice North Coast producers in attendance. Here are my ten favorite wines of what I was able to taste:

La Fenêtre 2009 Chardonnay Block 11, Santa Maria Valley-

From Block 11, originally planted to Chardonnay for Bob Linquist of Qupé for its sun exposure, low yields and shallow well-drained soils. La Fenêtre's Block 11 comes is a special selection of top barrels. The wine is hand-harvested and pressed into 66% new French oak barrels with 14 months on lees and 19 months total in barrel. In this I found butterscotch, lime and floral notes. Big fruit on the palate with integrated depth of earth and spice. Full finish. Very nice.

Au Bon Climat 2010 Chardonnay XXX Anniv Passant des Nuits-Blanches au Bouge, Santa Maria Valley- 

Newly released special bottling for ABC's 30th anniversary. Vineyard blend featuring top barrel lots. Notes of butterscotch, lees, floral and lime. Complex and dense with nice feel and weight. Mostly spice on a full finish. Very nice but needs time. 

Qupé 1999 Bien Nacido Reserve Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley- 

Library wine poured from magnum. From Qupé's Block 11 at Bien Nacido (see La Fenêtre note above). Expressive- nice apple and lemon creme notes on the bouquet. Nicely layered flavors of mineral, caramel, citrus, melon and spice. Rich on the palate with a fine feel and full finish. Drinking well at age 13.

Talley 2010 Chardonnay Oliver's Vineyard, Edna Valley- 

Hand-harvested and aged sur lie for 16 months in 21% new French oak barrels. Bottled unfiltered. Creamy, citrus & mineral bouquet. Palate of crisp lime/lemon/orange with leesy richness and baking spice. Silky medium weight with great depth and a long finish. Excellent.

Talley 2010 Chardonnay, Edna Valley-

Also from Oliver's Vineyard. Slightly earlier harvest, aged 11 months in 25% new French oak barrel. Expressive slate, lime and ashy earth. Bright and pure on the palate with orange & lime with flourishes of spice and mineral. Showing well all around with good feel, depth and finish. 

Riverbench 2008 Reserve Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley- 

Estate grown. 44% new French oak. Lees-spice and frommage notes lead on the bouquet. Bright citrus and melon fruit comes out on the palate with vanilla and gingerbread. Nicely balanced with a fine weight and full finish. Very nice.

MacRostie 2008 Wildcat Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast- 

Estate grown mountain-top vineyard in the far Sonoma Coast. Volcanic soils. Whole cluster pressed, racked off lees, full malolactic, and aged for 10 months in 25% new French oak barrel. Bright aromas- lemon creme, floral and slate. Complex on the palate with lees, lime, gingerbread and butterscotch. Pure and balanced with big finishing flavors. Excellent.

Solomon Hills Vineyards 2010 Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley- 

Flinty lees with subtle citrus & stone fruit and accents of spice throughout. Nicely weighted and balanced with a medium + finish. A little dense- should unfold with time. Very nice.

Bien Nacido Vineyards 2010 Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley- 

Aromatic with forward lime and mineral. Expressive palate with nuanced citrus and spice. Open, complex and pure in flavor. Full weight and finish. Very nice.

Williams Selyem 2010 Unaoked Chardonnay, Russian River Valley-

Vineyard blend, stainless steel fermented.   Creamy lemon and river rock notes accented with leesy lime and orange zest on the palate. Nice weight and texture on the palate. Good secondary depth and full finish. Very nice.

Southern Rhône- the ultimate cellar defender? and other stuff

Is there another wine region where you can drink as many $20 wines that are truly exciting as when delving into the Southern Rhône. This rhetorical question occurred to me again this weekend when I popped open a bottle of 2009 Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras.

Vacqueyras, located northeast of Chateauneuf du Pape and just south of Gigondas, can certainly be a sweet spot for bold full bodied reds- the '09 Domaine La Garrigue Vacqueyras is no exception. From 70 year old estate vines grown in clay and limestone soils, the wine is a blend of Grenache with Syrah, Mourvedre & Cinsault. It is imported by Eric Solomon Imports.

My notes- Popped and poured. Dense purple garnet color. Impressive bouquet of crushed rock, violet, earth, peppercorn and blackberry- very expressive. Palate shows medium weight and vivid layered flavors, consistent with the nose, that start a little tight on the front palate but come alive through the middle and finish. Spicy grainy tannins are firm and the finish is deep with nice length. Showing very well, but could get bombastic if the fruit opens up more on the front palate. Good candidate for short to medium term cellaring and a fantastic value at $20.


I'll rate it an "I really like!"

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In other news- here's a link to a recent blog post from Steve Heimoff commenting on the wine media and intelligentsia artificially trumping up a lower alcohol wine trend in California wines. Working on the sales end of the wine business at the street level- it seems to me like the reverse is true. Wine buyers and sommeliers, as well as consumers that I've run across, have been at the forefront of this alleged false trend for some time now. If anything the reverse is true and the broader wine media is just catching up.

It's an interesting read though, and the comments are entertaining as well. I've enjoyed Mr. Heimoff's books, reviews, articles and blogs over the years- sometimes for totally different reasons. He runs the spectrum from insightful to insane and from outsider to insider... you never really know where he's going to land.

Thoughts From New Classic Winemakers of California

I recently read New Classic Winemakers of California. The book is a series of conversational interviews conducted by Steve Heimoff from Wine Enthusiast with noteworthy California winemakers. The sections are divided by decades which the winemakers got their start, either the 70's, 80's, or 90's. Big names such as John Alban, Heidi Peterson Barrett, Greg Brewer, Merry Edwards, Elias Fernandez are profiled- and the list goes on and on.

Heimoff does a great job conducting candid conversations with the subjects. For instance, the question is often asked about rising alcohol levels in California fine wines. The variations of responses are fascinating, and some winemakers offer theories about why this might be the case. An idea that came up more than once was the role that lowering yields plays in driving up sugars in the remaining fruit. If the goal is to pick with ripe mature tannins, then the brix is often already high due to the reduced yields, resulting in higher alcohol. Another idea that was mentioned was the lack of old vines in California. The idea being that old vines produce a naturally lower yield and this allows the tannins to ripen in concert with the sugars in the grape- allowing for a complex profile at a lower brix. This makes sense when considering the recent history of California viticulture- new vineyard development, replantings, phylloxera in the late 80's, etc.

The discussion also gets into cellar techniques that winemakers may or may not use when picking at high brix. At least one noteworthy producer admits that they are willing to resort to water addition as a means to lower alcohol. Others say the high alcohol is better than using reverse osmosis or water addition, they view it as the natural expression of the vineyard. Most seem to regard it as an issue that they are beginning to deal with and that the levels will start to come down in the future. Plenty of other subjects in the cellar and the vineyard are discussed, the brix discussion just happens to be what resonated most with me.

If you're interested in issues in the vineyard and the cellar and haven't checked this out, it's a fascinating and worthwhile read. I like Steve Heimoff's stuff in Wine Enthusiast- his reviews seem to correspond with my tastes, and he's not easy to peg like other critics can be. I'll look forward to reading his earlier book, A Wine Journey Along The Russian River.