The wine merchant's build-up to Christmas can be fun, fraught or a total fucking disaster. More often than not, it's mix of all three. Today was long, but not without its rewards.
Once again, I have ties to this winery. In fact, I loaded most of the Syrah that went into this cuvée (there's Grenache in it as well) into the de-stemmer myself. I still have a scar on my elbow from trying to stop a pallet-load of the grapes collapsing onto the floor of the winery. Good times.
Dark, inky purple and quite broody. It's almost impenetrable at the core.
Rich blueberry and black current nose, with just a bit of red apple skin as well. There's also something just a little wild and animal about it. Earthy and with maybe a hint of wild herbs on the edges.
Touch viscous on the palate - it's a big wine - but never gloopy. Nor does it seem heavy on the palate. The fruit is focused, pure and rich, with blueberries, blackberry seeds. After the fruit comes winter spice - cloves and cinnamon with a hint of nutmeg. This is serious stuff - proper, linear palate with great structure holding together some awesome wild flavours. After the mulling spice comes a bit of stone on the mouthfeel and a lingering finish. Weight and elegance; great balance.
***** (everyone's probably bored with me raving about these wines but it's my blog and I'll do what I want :-P)
Tasted at Shorehead 8/12/2010
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