The color shows the wine’s age, just starting to go from deeper colors in the center to a brick red at the edges. The nose shows classic Northern Rhone - a bushel blackberries in a room full of dry-aging beef. The same blackberries and meat show on the palate, with
It’s interesting to see just how loosely terms like “cool climate” can be used sometimes in today’s wine world. For instance, take this Kingston Family syrah from the Casablanca Valley, supposedly one of Chile’s coolest areas. The owners of the winery certainly insist that they are “cool climate,” even though
A little hazy (unfiltered), bright, medium intensity, bright purple color. Clean on the nose, medium intensity aromas of black fruit, moss, cedar, black pepper, spice, stewed black cherries, oak, and smoke. Dry, medium body, medium tannin, medium-high acidity. Flavors of red and black fruit, Bing cherry, red fruit, strawberry, raspberry
What made 2009 a special vintage in Horse Heaven Hills, where you sourced your Syrah, or for Helioterra in particular? My Syrah came from Coyote Canyon Vineyard, which is farmed by Mike Andrews. Mike and his crew are amazing farmers with generations of experience farming in Central Washington. 2009 was
A very interesting twist on Syrah, New World and Old World meet in South Africa. Dark fruit, smoke, eucalyptus and pepper make for a very interesting nose. It is much darker on the palate, blackberry and mulberry, with loads of hickory-smoked meat, adding mint on the mid-palate, with a smoky
A very interesting twist on Syrah, New World and Old World meet in South Africa. Dark fruit, smoke, eucalyptus and pepper make for a very interesting nose. It is much darker on the palate, blackberry and mulberry, with loads of hickory-smoked meat, adding mint on the mid-palate, with a smoky
As Publisher of Palate Press: The online wine magazine, it is my honor to announce the 2011 Palate Press Wines of the Year. This year we have three Wines of the Year. The first was selected in a blind tasting of Palate Press Wines of the Week at the
Editors' note: To close 2011, Palate Press: The online wine magazine will be featuring some of our top stories from the past year. Our fourth piece comes from columnist Evan Dawson, reporting on the uproar over rumors that California Pinot Noir producers beef their wines up with Syrah. “I do