Shiraz/Syrah Wines

wines

The 2002 Run Rig (97% Shiraz and 3% Viognier aged in 100% new French oak) represents the essence of old vine Barossa fruit. Extraordinarily opulent and rich, but playing it closer to the vest than the 2001, it gets my nod as one of the most remarkable wines made in either the Southern or Northern Hemisphere. An inky/purple color is accompanied by a sumptuous bouquet of apricots, honeysuckle, black raspberries, blackberries, licorice, and a hint of roasted meats. The wood has been soaked up by the wine’s extraordinary concentration. Fashioned from four sectors of Barossa (Maranaga, Koonunga Hill, Moppa, and Greenock), it spent 30 months in primarily new oak, and was bottled without fining or filtration. Anticipated maturity: 2007-2020+.Robert Parker | 99 RP(includes 3% viognier) Saturated, inky, opaque ruby. A ripe, roasted, porty black hole of a nose. Impossibly ripe, musky, dense aromas of dark cherry, cassis compote, blackberry confit, molasses, fruitcake, violet pastille, licorice and candied rose petal. Thick to the point of being a solid, or at least a colloid, with dense, inky, even resinous flavors of bitter chocolate, creme de mure, coffee liqueur, licorice and black cardamom, accompanied by a spice rack of accents. The finish seems to never let go, which in this case is a good thing. Sticky, palate-staining and amazingly dense, a monument to this style of syrah.(The 2002 Descendant, reviewed in Issue 115, rated 91 points on my most recent tasting.)Vinous Media | 94 VMFeels a bit reticent, with a shy range of aromas and tightly packed blueberry, plum and cherry flavors that pop right through the finish, extending into a long, generous aftertaste. Tightly wound now; needs cellaring. Shiraz and Viognier. Best from 2009 through 2020. 1,500 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WS

Similarly concentrated to the 2010, yet not quite as refined or elegant, the 2009 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde offers knockout richness and depth to go with notes of graphite, sweet black raspberry, earth, and spice. Possessing exuberant and overflowing levels of fruit, with chewy, rustic, yet ripe tannin, this is a blockbuster to drink over the coming 15-20 years.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPDeep, vivid ruby. Explosively perfumed aromas of red and dark berry preserves, potpourri, licorice and incense, with intense minerality adding lift and an incisive quality. Black raspberry and bitter cherry flavors shows a striking marriage of depth and vivacity and are complemented by suave floral pastille and fruitcake notes. Refuses to let go on the finish, which lingers with serious fruity, floral persistence.Vinous Media | 95 VMVery perfumy at first, with violet and singed bay leaf notes leading the way for very silky plum and cherry confiture flavors. The long, dark finish lets an iron hint flitter through as this expands steadily, revealing lots of charcoal-tinged grip that blossoms and blossoms, turning this into an intense, dark, brooding wine. Best from 2015 through 2027. 600 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WSThe 2009 Côte Rôtie Côte Blonde isn’t far off the 2010 but has a more sunny, opulent style that’s very much in the vibe of the vintage. Lots of ripe black raspberry fruits, graphite, peppery spice, and earthy minerality give way to a full-bodied, opulent wine with chewy tannins and a blockbuster finish. It too has another two decades or more of prime drinking.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD

I loved the 2017 Côte Rôtie La Landonne, a magical expression of the Grand Cru terroir. Deep purple-hued with killer notes of black raspberries, bacon fat, ground herbs, and obvious minerality, this beauty is full-bodied, has ultra-fine tannins, a deep, concentrated mid-palate, and a finish that won’t quit. Do your best to hold bottles for 4-5 years.Jeb Dunnuck | 97+ JDThe winemaking at Domaine Rostaing is now in the hands of René’s son Pierre, and it follows the same format for all the Côte-Rôties: four weeks in tank, 18 months in mostly old oak, natural yeast fermentation, and as many stems as possible - 100% in this case. This wine shows supreme freshness and vitality, and is very direct and straight, with notes of violets, black pepper and blackcurrant leading onto a long finish. It’s a powerful wine but shows great energy and presence. The acidity is pretty biting, and the tannins are tough, dense, saline and directional. This 2017 is lous, powerful, almost fierce.Decanter | 96 DECIn tank and awaiting bottling when I tasted it, the 2017 Cote Rotie la Landonne has smoothed out and added complexity in the past year. It now shows classic savory, meaty, la Landonne character and plenty of mocha goodness. It’s medium to full-bodied, lush and velvety on the mid-palate, then finishes long and tannic.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPInky ruby. Spice-accented blackberry, cherry preserve, pipe tobacco and licorice on the deeply perfumed nose; a sexy floral topnote gains strength as the wine opens up. Sweet, spicy and penetrating, displaying velvety texture to the ripe dark berry, cherry and fruitcake flavors. Shows superb clarity and finishes smoky and impressively long, with mounting tannins and a lingering suggestion of candied violet.Vinous Media | 94 VMThis has an old-school persona, with a dusty sandalwood and cedar frame around a mix of mulled plum and black cherry fruit, showing bay leaf, leather and savory notes. A smoldering dark earth accent runs through the finish. Best from 2022 through 2038. 800 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WS

Wonderful aromas of blueberries, black olives, dried meat, and dried flowers. Iodine and peppercorn. Full body, firm and chewy tannins, yet always polished and refined. Shows a compact and silky texture. Needs two or three years to come around.James Suckling | 98 JSThis is one of my happy wines from Italy. You take three things—Syrah, sunshine and Tuscany—and fit them magically together to create the 2017 Syrah Per Sempre. If I am happy with this wine, so is its creator Stefano Frascolla, who was downright giggly as he presented it to me. This vintage puts it all out there and misses nothing. There is dark, exuberant, rich black fruit followed by carefully measured concentration and velvety richness. Both the 2003 and 2009 vintages were similarly hot years, but those editions showed a hardness or roughness, especially within the first few years of their release. This wine is quite the opposite, showing seamless transitions with layers of spicy softness, velvety richness and supple fruit definition. This wine is a true beauty with a more immediate style that will reward those who chose to drink it in the medium term, or those who prefer to wait longer. This is also one of the highest scores I have awarded to any Italian wine from the 2017 vintage thus far. Bravo!Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPThe 2017 Syrah Per Sempre is aromatically deep and so expressive. As always, what comes through is a heady wine that captures the personality of Syrah on the Tuscan coast, and yet the 2017 also possesses quite a bit of nuance. Black pepper, lavender, spice and chocolate wrap around a core of inky dark Syrah fruit.Antonio Galloni | 94 AGWell-marked by spicy, toasty oak, this red is opulent and powerful, with blackberry and boysenberry flavors that are submerged for now. Balanced, yet needs time to tame its youthful exuberance and absorb the oak. The long finish echoes vanilla and toast notes. Best from 2022 through 2032. 300 cases made, 15 cases imported.Wine Spectator | 93 WS