2006 Testarossa Subasio Central Coast Syrah

Hello everyone! This was a gorgeous wine!! Possibly the best wine I've ever had! We had this with little filet mignon steaks stuffed with blue cheese. The color on this wine was a deep inky ruby -purple color. The aromas were blackberry, forest, spice, and licorice. The blackberry aroma gradually became more cherry as it opened. The flavors were true to the nose. It had a long, lingering finish with just a touch of tobacco. The flavor was big, but the body was medium. What made this wine really stand out was the texture It was soooo smooth and silky! It was balanced and elegant. Different aspects of the flavor profile emerged as we drank it with different foods. With the salad there was more spice, horehound and tobacco. With the steak there was more fruit and the silky texture was more apparent. The wine was such a nice surprise! I wish I had more of it. I purchased this wine at McScrooge's over a year ago. It was on the clearance rack and I believe I paid $20 to $30 for it. It sat in my wine rack all that time, because I wasn't sure what it would be like. I tried to find Testarossa syrah on-line and found that the current vintage is sold out at the winery. The price listed for this wine was $54. I couldn't find it on-line, but I will keep my eyes open.

I'd like to take a minute to explain the lack of scores in these blogs. I feel that rating, grading, scoring wines is something of a necessary evil. How do you score poetry or art? Do I give one Shakespearean sonnet a 93 and another a 97? Do I score Michelangelo higher than Rembrandt? Isn't it better to just stand back and take it in, to let art, poetry or music move you? I feel that wine also fits into this category. This was one of those wines that had such grace and beauty about it. I've had a few other such bottles. They are best experienced, not analyzed. I know it helps consumers to look at the scores from various reviewers as a quick reference. It can be very helpful, and I use the scores myself to help select new wines. It's the ultimate shorthand for wine. I'm absolutely not qualified to score wines. I would need to drink a lot more of those inspiring bottles. Wow, that's something to look forward to!

2006 Domain de Couron Cotes du Rhone 100% Syrah

Hello everyone!!

We're back in Knoxville now and we have had a couple of very nice wines this past weekend, especially this one! We attended the Second Harvest wine tasting hosted by Campbell Station Wines and Spirits. This event is always held on the second Saturday of the month from 4 to 6 pm. Both this wine and the next one I will blog were featured at this tasting. We came back from the tasting and I cooked lamb chops, brussel sprouts and spinach. I decided that the syrah would be a great pairing with the lamb, and it was! A bite of lamb and then a sip of wine and back and forth because they complimented each other so well.

The color was a deep ruby to garnet. The nose was big but not huge with aromas of cherry, raspberry, licorice and subtle forrest scents. On the palate it started out as fruit forward with cherry and blackberry flavors. As it opened it became less fruity and flavors of licorice, dark chocolate and black tea became more apparent. Both early on and after opening the flavors were smooth and velvety and coated the entire palate. The tannins were firm, but smooth. We loved this wine! It was big and round without being overpowering. It was elegant and controlled. If this wine were a dinner guest, it would be William F. Buckley: smooth, elegant, witty and conservative. If syrah can be like this, it explains all the new world plantings of the grape. What I don't understand is why some producers make such big, overly muscled, gloppy wines when they could be making something elegant and refined like this.

I paid $16.50 at Campbell Station Wines and Spirits and I'm planning on running back over there and picking up a few more bottles for later.