BUYING GUIDE - Wine Enthusiast

in blackberry and cherry fruit and exotic spices, sweetened
with new oak. Delicious now and for the next few
years. —S.H.
abv: 14.5% Price: $36
91
Pessagno 2009 Manzoni Estate Vineyard
Syrah (Santa Lucia Highlands). What a
nice Syrah for drinking now. It shows that firm structure
of Highlands reds, with fine acidity and dusty tannins,
and is rich in blackberry, currant, licorice, bacon, black
pepper and cedar flavors. Too bad more Syrahs aren’t
this good. —S.H.
abv: 14.6% Price: $35
90
Novy 2009 Syrah (Santa Lucia Highlands).
Robust and fruity, this big Syrah floods
the mouth with blackberries, currants, bacon and black
pepper. It’s a delicious wine, wrapped into firm tannins,
and ideal with a nice charbroiled steak, with salt and
pepper to echo the wine’s spices. —S.H.
abv: 14.2% Price: $27
90
Samsara 2009 Turner Vineyard Syrah
(Sta. Rita Hills). Lots of flashy blackberry and
blueberry fruit in this rather forward Syrah. It’s also
quite tannic and spicy, the result of 100% whole cluster
fermentation. With its fairly high alcohol, it has a
mouth-warming fullness. Drink now. —S.H.
abv: 14.9% Price: $40
89
Blair Fox 2009 Fox Family Vineyard Syrah
(Santa Barbara County). This is a rich, ripe
Syrah, with deep, long-lasting chocolate, blackberry jam
and oak flavors. Impresses for its sheer razzle dazzle.
Probably best over the next few years. —S.H.
abv: 14.7% Price: $45
89
Cakebread 2009 Syrah (Napa Valley).
Made from Carneros-grown grapes, this Syrah
strikes the palate as rather candied in blackberries and
cherries. It’s smooth in the mouth, and the oak brings a
pretty layer of smoky cedar. —S.H.
abv: 14.1% Price: $55
89
Q 2010 Syrah (Sonoma County). For full
review see page 10. Best Buy.
abv: 13.9% Price: $12
88
Dogwood 2008 Syrah (Dry Creek Valley).
This is a dry, robust Syrah, packed with blackberry,
blueberry, anise, bacon and pepper flavors, and
wrapped into sturdy tannins. Give it a decant, and drink
with game or Mexican beef dishes. —S.H.
abv: 14.5% Price: $30
88
Samsara 2009 Verna’s Vineyard Syrah
(Santa Barbara County). This Syrah is remarkably
ripe in blackberry, blueberry and cherry fruit,
with a bite of acidity. It feels fine and vital in the mouth.
Give it a brief decant. —S.H.
abv: 14.4% Price: $32
88
Whetstone 2008 Phoenix Ranch Syrah
(Russian River Valley). A fine Syrah, dry
and rich in blackberry, currant, dark chocolate, grilled
meat, spice and cedar flavors. It’s pretty firm in tannins
and acids, though, making it hard and chewy. Difficult
to predict its future, but an educated guess suggests it’s
not an ager. —S.H.
abv: 15.7% Price: $55
87
Black Box 2009 Shiraz (California). Robust,
peppery, dry and fruity, just what an inexpensive
Shiraz should be. Easy to like for its array of
blackberries, spices and cedar. A great value in a barbecue-style
wine. Best Buy. —S.H.
abv: 13.5% Price: $25/3 L
86
Manzoni 2009 Home Vineyard Syrah
(Santa Lucia Highlands). Huge flavors of
jammy blackberries and cherries dominate this Syrah,
with a coating of sweet, caramelized oak. It’s yummy,
but not especially complex. Drink now. —S.H.
abv: 14.2% Price: $26
83
Radar 2009 Syrah (California). Thick, soft
and sweetly extracted in blackberries and licorice,
this Syrah can best be described as rustic. It’s not
bad, just simple. —S.H.
abv: 13.9% Price: $15
PETITE SIRAH
93
Rutherford Grove 2008 Spring Creek
Vineyard Petite Sirah (Napa Valley).
Here’s a big, thick, tannic, ripe wine, impressive for its
sheer power and fruit. In other words, it’s classic Petite
Sirah. The flavors are just wild, suggesting blackberries,
plums, bacon, orange tea and exotic spices. Absolutely
delicious, with classic Napa balance. Shows why Petite
Sirah has such momentum. Will age easily for at least a
decade. —S.H.
abv: 14.5% Price: $37
92
Madrigal 2008 Barberis Family Reserve
Petite Sirah (Napa Valley). This is one of
those Petite Sirahs that will benefit from a little time in
the cellar. Even though it’s made in the modern style,
with softer, sweeter tannins than the variety has shown
the past, it’s still a bruiser. Yet with a gigantic core of
blackberries, blueberries and chocolate, it should negotiate
the next 5–6 years easily. Cellar Selection. —S.H.
abv: 14.6% Price: $65
90
Jacob Franklin 2009 Hayne Vineyard
Petite Sirah (Napa Valley). The vineyard,
which is in St. Helena, certainly yielded grapes that
were ripe, to judge by this wine’s flavors. It’s gigantic in
berries, cherries, mocha and spices that are jammy and
sweet. The best thing about it are the tannins, which are
smooth and complex. Give this flashy young Petite Sirah
a couple years to integrate and mellow. Cellar Selection.
—S.H.
abv: 14.2% Price: $65
90
Jaffurs 2010 Thompson Vineyard Petite
Sirah (Santa Barbara County). Rich, ripe
and oaky, this Petite Sirah charms with flashy blackberry,
cherry and dark chocolate flavors that are opulent
through the long finish. The vineyard is in the Los Alamos
region. —S.H.
abv: 14.5% Price: $34
87
Carica 2009 Kick Ranch Petite Sirah (Sonoma
County). If you’re sensitive to high alcohol,
this wine isn’t for you. If you’re not, it has plenty
to offer in the way of flavor, including raspberries, chocolate
and pepper. Turns a bit overripe in the finish, but
not too much. —S.H.
abv: 15.6% Price: $36
86
John Tyler 2008 Bacigalupi Vineyard Petite
Sirah (Russian River Valley). Tastes
like it was just bottled, with jammy red fruit, sweet licorice,
vanilla and spice flavors and a fresh burst of acidity.
Almost like it’s been frozen in time over the years, but
not likely an ager. Drink up with barbecue, ham or pork
chops. —S.H.
abv: 15% Price: $58
ZINFANDEL
92
John Tyler 2007 Bacigalupi Vineyard Zinfandel
(Russian River Valley). Sweet, soft
and delicious, this is a rich Zinfandel to savor with barbeque.
It’s tasty in blackberry, cherry and blueberry
fruit, with a coating of smoky oak. Earns extra points for
a long, exotically spicy finish. Great now and over the
next four years. —S.H.
abv: 14.8% Price: $38
91
Fritz 2009 Estate Zinfandel (Dry Creek
Valley). A delicious Zinfandel, one of Fritz’s
best in years. It shows Zin’s robust, briary character,
with a peppery, brambly mouthfeel. Yet the long, cool
vintage has resulted in sweetly ripe flavors of wild berries.
—S.H.
abv: 14.5% Price: $25
90
Peachy Canyon 2010 Mustard Creek Zinfandel
(Paso Robles). A soft, exceptionally
ripe Zinfandel, sweet in what tastes like residual sugar,
although the sweetness also comes from very high alcohol.
The flavors are pure Paso Robles, all about black
cherries, raspberries, red plums, red licorice, bacon
and exotic spices. A splash of Petite Sirah brings tannic
depth and weight. This is a good example of Peachy
Canyon’s style. —S.H.
abv: 15.5% Price: $36
90
Uvaggio 2010 Primitivo (Lodi). If only
more California Primitivo could be made in this
style - soft, lower in alcohol, modestly showing its fruit -
there would be more converts among Zin fanatics, who
would be wowed by the subtle black cherry and licorice
flavors and dry finish, minimally aged in oak. —V.B.
abv: 13.5% Price: $18
90
Yorba 2007 Shake Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel
(Amador County). Yorba is doing the
world of Zin lovers a huge favor by holding its wines in
bottle for longer than most producers, and what you get
for all that waiting is a wine ready to drink that’s still got
plenty of structure and ageability. This Zin shows great
depth, with subdued fruit and darker flavors of plum
and coffee allowed to shine, rounded out by an intensity
of spice. —V.B.
abv: 14.6% Price: $28
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