The other day I was wandering through Sunflower Market with Aiden who is three years old and a very astute shopper. He knows that I like wine and he's always trying to get me to buy things that I don't need. In this case the item was a bottle of 2004 Syrah by Shale Ridge which retails for around $9. I decided to humor him, figuring that the wine couldn't be that bad. I opened the bottle last Friday after a long week with the mentally handicapped, and proceeded to write this review.
The 2004 Syrah by Shale Ridge is a slightly transparent dark ruby color in the glass with no sign of aging and moderate glycerin extraction (legs). The nose consists of the typical Syrah dark fruit aromas with some sage and tar notes. In the mouth the wine is medium dry with good acidity, not flabby, and fairly tannic. The usual dark berry tastes were evident along with white pepper, cumin, thyme, meat, leather and asphalt providing interesting complexity during the rather short and otherwise undistinguished finish. Alcohol and oak were moderate. This wine conveys good varietal distinction and would go well with Middle Eastern food. It is a dry wine that might not appeal to the average American wine drinker, and one that I will not purchase again since I like my Syrah with a bit more extraction and a rounder sugar to acid profile. All in all a worthy effort at a modest price, just not my style.
No comments:
Post a Comment