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California Classic Cellars AKA Kiddush Hashem Cellars
I first wrote about the California Classic Cellars wines, back during Passover, in this post. What I know of the story (if there is one) has not changed, if anything it is now further shrouded in mystery. I wrote about them because I got two bottles of the very good 2005 California Classic Cellars Cab/Syrah blend. However, it was not until I went down to LA and went to Glatt Mart on Pico that I realized there is a MUCH larger story here.
I visited the store with Gabriel Geller, as I was traveling around California with him, more on that coming soon, and we went in to the store to meet the famous Noah – the wine man of Pico Glatt Mart. Noah is a man that knows all the wine out there and then some, and I started talking to him about California Classic Cellars – because he had three more bottles from them! Yep! He had the 2004 California Classic Cellars Syrah Reserve, the 2005 California Classic Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, and the 2005 California Classic Cellars Chardonnay! When I asked him more about the man, Samuel Perez and this winery that seemed to come and go with almost no one talking about them, he kept what he knew close to his hip and was not open on the situation. To him, he has a great deal going. He is selling drinkable to Ok wine for 10 dollars or less! Wine that is fine to serve to guests or at least cook with, and to be honest – why not? The 2005 California Classic Cellars Cab goes for 6 bucks, which is less than that horrible cooking wine goes for, per ratio, and they are mostly salt!
So, I left it where I found it – nowhere. These wines are creations of Sammy Perez, or as he writes on the bottle, Samuel Perez. Samuel also made the Kiddush Hashem Syrah back in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004. I emailed him asking to get more about his story, but so far no reply. If anyone knows how to get hold of him – please tell me, I really liked the wine and would love to hear more about the entire story of Kiddush Hashem Winery and California Classic Cellars. The wine had the same stylistic approach to wine making as the 2003 and 2004 Kiddush Hashem, almost a fingerprint if would – quite interesting. Lots of toast, chewy yet finessed, along with great blue and black fruit, fighting back and forth – between the Cabernet and Syrah fruit, for who can take over full autonomy. In the end, the blue fruit won, but not before integrating a large basket of black fruit with it – quite impressive.
Another fascinating aspect of this story – is that he seemed to have two “wineries” going in 2004. He had the 2004 Kiddush Hashem Syrah and the 2004 California Classic Cellars Syrah, Reserve, and maybe others wine from 2004. Why have tow of the same wine with different labels? The 2004 Kiddush Hashem wine was made from grapes in the Santa Barbara wine region, and the 2004 CCC Syrah Reserve was made from Santa Ynez grapes, which is a sub-appellation of the Santa Barbara wine region. So, why a new label and why a new story – more mystery.
According to VOS Selection, it started in 2001. Dozen of years in kosher wine production and consulting led Rabbi Samuel Perez to create Kiddush Hashem Cellars in 2001. He has surpassed his own goal of creating a fine wine that is not only kosher and unpasteurized but is also a leading contender among ultra premium wines from the Central Coast. Using biodynamically farmed Syrah grapes from the Shiraz clone in the Santa Ynez Valley appellation, Kiddush Hashem wines are made in a traditional and minimal manner, unfiltered and unfined. The quality of the product, the classic Rhone style and pure expression of the fruit have made an impression on many in the California market. Wolfgang Puck of Spago said, “This is the best Kosher Syrah I have ever tasted.” Whether you seek a wine that is kosher or not, the Kiddush Hashem Syrah is truly impressive, opulent and sophisticated.
Why he left Kiddush Hashem and moved to CCC – I do not know. A few years ago the 2003 and 2004 Kiddush Hashem Syrah went on sale for 10 bucks a bottle – 2 case minimum. At that time, the wine was OK, but again, as I have said previously – they were hit and miss. Some bottles rocked and some were a total miss. Obviously, if the story of Spago is true, he tasted a good bottle.
To be fair, when the Kiddush Hashem wines were released, in 2005, there were few good kosher Syrah out there. There was the REALLY good Herzog Syrah, Reserve in 2004 and 2005, but the came out in 2006. There was Hagafen‘s Syrah – pre Prix, and yes there were Yarden Syrah and others from Israel, but not many were well known in those days – some 8 to 10 years ago! We take Israel for granted now, but 8 years ago – that was not the case, unless you lived in New York. Even then, most people were stocking up on French, Herzog, and Hagafen – unless you were a real Israeli wine groupie.
All my friends laugh at me – with my serious infatuation with all things CCC and Kiddush Hashem. I know there is a clear story here, I just cannot find the person that is free of biases, to help me close out the story. I know many people who seem to know about him, but they are all keeping coy, because of reasons that I cannot and will not discuss on this medium. So, I leave it to all of you – if you have a way to close this story please do contact me.
Before I left Glatt Mart, I bought the Cab and Syrah and they turned out cookable to OK. The clear winner of the CCC, is the 50/50 blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah.
So, without any further delay – the next two wine notes from the CCC and my best wishes to you all. These wines were enjoyed last weekend:
2005 California Classic Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon – Score: B (or less)
This wine is way too hot and way too overripe, but I had to taste it. The nose does show notes of overripe blackberry, raspberry, and plum, along with some mineral. The mouth is packed with still searing tannin and good acidity, but really not much else, other than alcohol and herb. The finish is long and spicy with too much heat to really take in anything of substance. It is selling now for 6 bucks, which is not bad for good cooking wine.
2004 California Classic Cellars Syrah, Reserve – Score: B++
The nose on this near black colored wine is throwing crazy sediment – so be careful. The nose starts off with lovely blackberry, and controlled forest berry fruit, with clear floral notes, along with sweet herb with Oregano. The mouth on this full bodied wine is missing bright black fruit, what is there instead, is crazy mouth coating tannin, solid structure, very nice spice, along with a hint of blue fruit, and nice cedar. The finish is long with more spice, cinnamon, cloves, pepper, allspice, lavender, and tar.
Yitzchok Bernstein does it again – a 19 course culinary kosher tour de force
A few months ago Heshy Fried, Yitzchok Bernstein’s sous chef and frum-satire blogger, was at the house for a shabbos dinner and he said that Yitzchok Bernstein, was back on the scene. Bernstein is the culinary mastermind behind the epic haute cuisine event that lasted some 27 courses, and which was one of the most often read posts on my blog, in the past year. Bernstein was lurking in NY for a few months – but he returned to Oakland after a short, yet successful, stint at Pomegranate.
So, when I heard that Mr. Bernstein was back – we agreed that a dinner was in order. Fried was not sure what the actual cost of a multi-course dinner was, but after a few back and forth discussions with Bernstein we were set. Well, while the dinner was set, the next two hurdles were a bit complicated; finding and arranging with 10 other participants and then locking down a date. Throughout the process, Bernstein was as professional as they come, and responded almost immediately to our correspondences. Getting the final gang together had a few missteps along the way, but while the overall process was a bit long to arrange on my end, the final outcome was an absolute delight, but more on that in a bit.
Once the gang was roughly worked out, we agreed that the date was not going to work until after Passover. So once that was decided the next step was agreeing on a final date – which took a few emails. After that we were set and then came the fun part, deciding the food and wine menu. The dinner does not include wines, which is fine with me as I am picky about my wines, but wow were the dishes impressive! Initially, there was some interest in lamb, but in the end that did not work out, as I am not that in love with lamb. In the end the set of dishes were truly innovative and fascinating and unique – so I am happy we passed on the lamb for the dishes we got instead.
I laughed so hard throughout the process because initially, the number of courses was set at 12 or so, which was 100% fine. However, throughout the process of setting the menu Mr. Bernstein kept adding courses – it was HILARIOUS, I could not help from laughing whenever I would read the revised menu. It turns out that we were very lucky, Bernstein was trying out some new recipes and we were the beneficiaries of some wicked cool imaginative dishes. To be fair, some worked really well, some were awesome, and some were just 100% off the charts. Read the rest of this entry
2009 Tishbi Syrah and 2011 Hagafen Sauvignon Blanc with Whiskey braised ribs
This weekend we enjoyed another simple meal of alcohol and brown sugar braised ribs cooked in a crockpot overnight. The ribs were lovely and only needed for the fat to be removed from the braising liquid – and magically we have a dinner. The dish was paired with some brown and black rice and a fresh green salad.
I recently wrote about the Tishbi Winery and when I was there in December last year, I enjoyed the 2009 Tishbi Syrah. So, when the opportunity to try it again came my way – I was more than happy to buy some. I bought the Tishbi and Gush Etzion wines from a local distributor, Harken Spirits here is the South Bay run by James Jimenez, an ex-software guy turned wine runner! Harken is selling some very good wines, like Tishbi and Gush Etzion wines. Both of which I have written about many times. I cannot say I like any of the Kadesh Barnea wines, but to be fair there are many who like the wines – and are good examples of starter wines; wines that are sweet and ripe and not overly complex; AKA gateway wines.
The other bottle I had was the 2011 Hagafen Sauvignon Blanc. I really like Hagafen wines, the whites especially and some of the reds. I last wrote about Hagafen in 2010, and I really need to update the notes – look for that soon.
The wine notes follow below:
2009 Tishbi Shiraz Estate – Score: B+ to A-
The wine is round and ready and one that pairs extremely well with dishes needing spice and ripe fruit, such as stews, ribs, and cheeses. The nose starts off with ripe blueberry, plum, currant, and cherry, with hints of rich dirt and licorice. The mouth is nice round and spicy, with good concentrated fruit, but lacking in deep complexity. The mouth is sweet with lots of date, sweet blue and red fruit, with hints of blackcurrant in the background, but with ripe sweet and deep strawberry flavors coming out over time, with candied raspberry, sweet cedar, and good integrated tannin adding to the mouth. The finish is long and spicy with Garrigue, bramble, light leather, animal notes, and chocolate. Drink in the next two years.
2011 Hagafen Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley – Score: B+
The nose is rich with fresh cut grass, ripe peach, apricot, guava, and melon. The mouth is ripe and fresh, with great acid, only a hint of residual sugar, crazy ripe and fresh mouth with nice grass, awesome lemon fresche, more bright fruit, pineapple and ripe pink grapefruit. The finish is long and ripe with green notes a bit of pith and a hint of blood orange. This is a lovely wine but lacking complexity to take it to the next level.
Tishbi Winery – one of Israel’s oldest and original wineries
The Tishbi winery has a history that spans more than 120 years in Israel; one that intersects with many of the famous names of modern Israel’s short history. The story begins in 1882, when Malka and Michael Chemelitsky immigrated to the city of Shefeya at the foothills of Zichron Yaakov. There they worked for the Carmel Wine Co-op that was founded by Baron Edmund de Rothschild in the late 1800s. They worked the land, planting vineyards, clearing rubble and stones, with nothing more than the barest of tools and technology. The work was backbreaking and endless, and unfortunately more work, was the only reward for many of the early immigrants, that came to settle the barren land. However, for the few farmers that were lucky to work with Edmund, they saw salvation from his deep pockets, huge heart, and massive resources that he brought to bear, to teach, bolster, and, ultimately, build the, then fledgling, wine industry into the forebear of where it is today.
Soon after the Chemelitskys came to Israel and started working the land, they were advised to change their name to Tishbi, which is actually an acronym in Hebrew that stands for “resident of Shefeya in Israel”. The world-renowned poet Chaim Nachman Bialik, Israel’s national poet extraordinaire, gave the name to them. In the early days of Israel’s wine industry, the cooperative farmers would work the vines, planting them, pruning them, caring for them, and then sell their grapes to the Carmel Winery. However, after many decades of work and toil, it became clear to many of the cooperative farmers that life was changing, and that they would either need to break out of the cooperative or be left behind.
So, in 1984, the great-grandson of our story’s Protagonist, Jonathan Tishbi, stepped out of the shadows of the Carmel Winery and into the shadows of the Carmel Mountain range. Initially, he called his new winery Baron Winery, in honor of Baron Edmond, but later changed it to his namesake – Tishbi Winery. At that time there were few wineries in Israel, and even fewer successful ones that were not just making sacramental (sweet) wine. Jonathan went to Italy to see how generations of family-owned wineries had succeeded, and from where we stand, he seems to have emulated them quite impressively. The family tradition continues to the 5th generation, with Jonathan’s son – Golan Tishbi, acting head winemaker. The winery’s tradition is impressive, but it feels like it will always be overshadowed by the massive mountains under which it lays, and the equally massive foundation upon which it is built. Read the rest of this entry
Wines from Passover and before
Well, to say I was busy in the past two weeks would be a minor understatement! I had people calling me, emailing me, and god knows what other forms of communication, including the time-sink of them all – Facebook!!
So, while getting ready for Passover I also posted some four articles on my trip to Israel, this past December 2012. I have tons more to write up, but for now I need a break – LOL!!! Still, as I have said many times, this blog is more about my journal than a real peek into my insane life of wine.
So, this Passover was the usual madness of hurray up and then wait and then hurray up and wait! Clean one part, boil water and wait. Clean something else, than wait for it to try, and then pour water – man these laws!! Anyway, in between all the madness I was posting about my Israel trip and never got to post about the wines I wanted to enjoy this Passover or even the past Shabbos wine! By the way, the Barbera was awesome from Ramat Naftaly, but man that bottle was crazy! The bottle had cracks going down both sides of the bottle. The cracks were actually done at the time the glass was blown, they need to do a better job of checking their bottles!
2013 Jewish Week kosher wine tasting at the City Winery in New Yory City
As I stated in my previous post, my heart was in the Shabbos but my mind was on my trip that I was taking to New York. All the thinking did not help make the trip any less miserable. Once again I have proven to myself that flying to New York is hard enough, doing a stop in between is miserable and downright idiotic. Lets take a step back here and explain the situation. The Jewish Week holds a wine tasting every year, showing of the top kosher wines they thought made an impression to the wine judges. This past year, they tasted through some 400+ wines and came up with a long list of wines, many of which I like and some I did not like. Anyway, the tasting was this past Sunday, the 3rd of March, 2013, at 1 PM. To get there from the west coast, it would mean either sleeping in NY for Shabbos (not an option), or flying out Saturday Night.
I LOVE Jet Blue, but they canceled flying out Saturday night from San Jose airport, and now only fly out Saturday night from SFO – AHHH!!! So, the only other option was Delta, which I should never have done, because it meant a stopover in Atlanta. The idea was to fly out by 10:45 PM, have an hour in Atlanta and hop on the 9 AM flight to NY. That all sounded OK, no storms in the forecasts, no crazy storm trackers or watcher on the news – so it looked like I was in the clear! Not so fat, turns out that there may not be Godly reasons to not fly – but Delta is more than capable of creating man-made disasters – all by itself!
I arrived to the airport with an hour to go, and by the time we took off, I was in the airport for some 3 and a half hours! AHH!! Yep, you guessed it Delta screwed up and lost a tire on landing so the plane could not take us to Atlanta. By the time they fixed the plane, the man fixing it broke another part and we had to deplane and get on another plane – a gate over. By the time that plane was fueled and had everyone’s bags repacked – we were two+ hours behind. I slept like a baby on the plane, but by the time we arrived in Atlanta – I knew I was cooked. The connecting flight was 5 terminals over and the “plane train” could not get me there in time to save my bacon. So here comes the best part – I arrive at the gate and the plane was not departed, but the man would not let me on – no matter how much I screamed and begged. However, he gave me a printed ticket (I have not sen one of those in years) and told me to run to the next terminal where the Laguardia flight was boarding. I ran like a mad man, and in the interim broke my hand luggage! One thing after another – I know! Anyway, as I get to the gate the lady tells me that there is no such flight, I say what – the man told me there was a plane boarding now! She says – oh sure – that is one gate over, the dude gave me the incorrect gate number! Anyway, she walks me over and I start talking to the gate agent who tells me – once again – sorry the gate is closed and the plane is leaving. This is when the other gate woman turns into SuperWoman! She says – OH NO – this poor man has been through enough. She swipes her card, opens the gate door, walks me down the jetway – and bangs on the plane door! Seriously! She screams – open this door!
Now – let me please recap, I have a ticket – printed ticket, for JFK. I am trying to board a plane for which I have NO TICKET – none whatsoever! Actually I have a ticket for a totally different airport! Think of me as one of those lost souls dropped on a plane. That was me! Of course, I have no checked luggage – for two days, but still, this is COOL! The unflappable stewardess, behind a massive closed door replies; the door is closed. The gate attendant is equally unflappable, and she fires back (sorry bad use of verbage) open the door, you forgot this guy! Will you believe – the stewardess blinked and opened the door! Heck these folks were half way through the security demonstration! I was told grab any seat – we need to move. I grabbed the first window seat I could find, and promptly went back to sleep! WOW!! By the time I land in Laguardia, I had two hours to go and once I finished davening, I hopped in a taxi and found my way to the City Winery. Read the rest of this entry
Four Gates Winery’s new vinatges continue to impress – but slightly weaker
I have written often about Four Gates Winery, here in 2008, again for a Shabbaton, and then when I crashed Alice Feiring’s visit to the Four Gates Winery, and then my last writeup – the most complete to date. As always, I state up front that the winemaker, Benyamin Cantz (Benyo) is a good friend of mine and that in the end, the wine talks and scores and notes I give on wines are unbiased, as much as I can be.
I get a bunch of “smack” about being a good friend of Benyo, which is true, still I write what I smell and taste. Clearly, Four Gates Winery is one of those California wineries that is very different. It is different because of a few factors:
- Benyamin is a Vigneron – as explained before, Vigneron is French for wine maker and winery owner, but it also means that it is a person who does it all – wine wise. He manages his vineyard, he manages his cellar, and makes the wine – a nice way to say one-man shop. Is that good? Well, I can say it is awesome because he gets to know his vines and wines, but really it is just a view into the unique man who is himself the physical embodiment of the Four Gates Winery.
- The vines are grown organically and meet the CCOF standards of organic farming. Please do not think that a Vigneron is not a farmer. Remember he grows his grapes and knows his grapes and does so in an ecologically sustainable manner – since he started in 1997. This is NOT a fad for Binyamin – it is part of his way of life.
- His vines are dry farmed (there is that word again) – and for good reason. The Pinot pops because of it, as does the Chardonnay and Merlot. Essentially, dry farming allows for the fruit flavors to concentrate as the vine stresses. Stress, for a vine, is great. Too much stress, like in humans is BAD! Luckily it does not get that hot in the mountains and therefore, the water requirements are lower, keeping the stress constant – but maintainable.
- The climate in the vineyard and winery, as mentioned earlier, is indeed cooler than the city it overlooks and that helps the vines in many ways. The obvious benefit is that the vines need less water than they would elsewhere. It also allows the vines to cool down over night and it allows the vines to stay cool for longer, meaning more ripening time, but in a controlled manner.
- The cooler climate makes for perfect Pinot, Chardonnay, and Merlot and believe it or not Cabernet Sauvignon, which is why the 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon from Monte Bello Ridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains is so FANTASTIC! Yes, I am sure you would think that Cabernet in a cooler region would be a disaster, as it would never fully ripen. Well, a not-so well-known fact is that the 2005 Four Gates Merlot M.S.C. has a bit of Benyamin’s Cabernet Sauvignon in it. WHAT? Yes, Benyamin grows a very small amount of Cabernet Sauvignon (I hope he does not kill me – LOL!) His Cabernet Franc also benefits from the cooler weather.
- Finally, what makes this winery unique is Benyamin Cantz himself! On this bullet point, I must pre-warn that I am very biased. To me Benyamin Cantz is one of those people where the expression stands true – good things happen to good people. Sure, he is my friend, but it does not take long to talk with him and feel the same way. He is like a few wine makers I found in Israel, that are humble, with so much to be arrogant about. The wine talks for themselves, but he is a unique man in that his actions may be wrapped up in the winery and vines, but they revolve around his religion, and that is more than most of us can ever say about ourselves. Read the rest of this entry
2013 Kosher Food and Wine Experience (KFWE) lived up to all its billing
For years I have always sported a purple colored beaming grin when I finish my tasting at the IFWF (International Food and Wine Festival) in LA, which hid my grumbling stomach’s discontent. Like I have documented for years, I never get to eat at the events, even as the entire food court mocks me, attempting to pull me into their warm, delicious, and very present embrace, with their wafting and intoxicating aromas. Still, I stand strong and I taste through the night until my teeth are purple and my stomach is close to rioting on the lack of food. Truth be told, I am not that good at taking notes when eating – the flavors of the food cover up and belie the flavors and aromas of the glass that beckons me closer with its “come hither” look and aromas. So every year, after the event I go to dinner at Jeff’s Sausage (down the street from the new location of the IFWF). Which is sheer madness of course, here I have half the Pavilion at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, filled with food from one of the best kosher restaurants in the world – Tierra Sur Restaurant, and I pass on that for the spicy and homely fare of Jeff’s Sausage. In no way is this a slight to the joy of Jeff Rohatiner’s cookery and food. Rather, it has been my conscious tradeoff, throughout my many year experience at IFWF to drink through as much of the world-class wine I can before my taste-buds shutdown, rather than give them to the food court, no matter how wonderful it is.
This year was a massive shift for me, gone was the purple grin and my mutinous stomach, as I visited and added the New York KFWE to my travel dates. To say the KFWE was different than the IFWF would be an extreme understatement, the IFWF has close to 1000 people at the show, while the KFWE has closer to 2000 people. Further the event hall at Pier 60 is some 2 to 3 times larger than the Pavilion tent at the Hyatt Regency. Also, there were many options for lunch and dinner from the myriad of NY restaurants that all share half the hall, all clamoring to share their wonderful fare with great fanfare. The Pier 60 overlooks the Marina and Harbor and many folks were outside braving the cold to grab a smoke, but at least they had some comfort of looking at the marina and its waterfront.
To really appreciate the event you had to come to it with a game plan, and there were many guests who had a few of their own. The event started at Noon for those in the trade, a new thing that the KFWE started last year and something that the IFWF has been doing from the start (though initially with a smaller trade time). The trade event was crowded but there could not have been more than a thousand folks there, so access to wine was not a problem in any way. The event hall can easily handle 1000 people, it is a bit more complicated when the number swells to two thousand people, but still there was no pushing or shoving going on even at the end of the public tasting, when the number of guests was at its maximum. But I digress; the trade tasting allowed me to focus solely on wine and the winemakers, which was great. Read the rest of this entry
2004 Yarden Syrah, Ortal Vineyard, Single Vineyard – Drink NOW!!!
For the longest time the 2004 Yarden Syrah, Ortal Vineyard, Single Vineyard, was the wine to have. It was the wine that the late Daniel Rogov called one of the two best Syrah of Israel!
While, I would never disparage the words of such a world class wine critic, I would love to know what he would think of the wine now. The wine may well continue to evolve to 2018, but it will evolve with more of a portish style than a wine style. The wine turned on me and it turned FAST after I opened it this past weekend.
The last time we had this wine; it was tasting fine – but sweet as always, but not showing signs of dying off. This time the signs were clear and made me think this wine will not last till 2014 (fruit wise) let alone 2018.
It continues to be a beast of pure attack with little to any relent. It comes at you with a two-by-four to start and continues until you scream uncle. Its power and its body are not sagging, like many of advanced age. Rather this wine has and continues to have clear over-the-top fruit that comes out as date and raisin that is a bit too much. That was my concern the last two times I had it. However, this past time I opened it and again, it reminded me of the fruit platter we were having for Tu Bishvat. Filled with date, fig, and nuts, along with wonderful fruit, anise, and leather. However, a few hours after that it turned into a more over the top fruit bomb, with clear port leanings – more than I was expecting. The body never failed, but the fruit is failing the wonderful wine and its age is showing in the way the fruit is displayed. What can I say, I would really love to hear what Daniel would say about this Syrah in comparison to the newly released 2010 Tulip Syrah, Reserve or the 2010 Flam Syrah, Reserve. Either are far better wines and one that blow me away.
It is a shame that such a special wine that I was saving has made its slow turn into the sunset. Still, it is another example of how holding wine till it is too late is a far worse crime than enjoying a wine before its peak. Drink up your special wines and please enjoy them while they are still upright and lacking all the flab and defects that come with older age.
We paired this semi-wonderful wine with the killer steak recipe that we wrote about before. Isaac’s kindness (a friend of mine) continues to bless us with this great recipe from food critic and cookbook author – the late Craig Claiborne. The recipe is built for the Shabbos and it worked great. Read the rest of this entry
2004 Four Gates Syrah and whiskey braised short ribs
This weekend I wanted to taste something American, having drunk Israeli wine for the past few weeks, while very enjoyable, I was looking for a change of pace. The weather is cooling down here and so we went with a pair of good old chicken soup and whiskey braised short ribs. The soup came out quite nicely, as did the ribs, but we did not have much in way of sauce, as it seemed to all cook out in the crockpot overnight. So, we made more and threw it in with the meat in the oven, Friday night, such is what you get for last minute cooking.
I was wondering which Syrah I would enjoy and I thought – hey it was time to drink another bottle of Four Gates Syrah. Without realizing it, this is the second time that I enjoyed the wine recently, the past time was 6 months ago, or so. The last time we had it – the wine was showing more blue fruit, this time, the blue fruit (Blueberry or boysenberry) was far in the background and the black fruit, tar, and dirt were in the foreground – interesting stuff. If I tasted this blind I would have thought this wine to be an Israeli or French wine – definitely not a California Syrah. The bottle had a slight leak because of it upside down position in my cellar, and a slight defect/crease in the cork. So, the wine may have been compromised, but the end result was still quite lovely. I do not think this wine is in drink up mode yet; it has another year or two. I will track this a bit more slowly with the stash I have left and report back as I drink them up.
2004 Four Gates Syrah – Score: A-
The nose on this electric purple colored wine explodes with roasted animal, smoky notes, licorice, floral notes of rose hips, mounds of loamy dirt, heavy mineral, lovely herb, eucalyptus, and deep rooted vegetation. The mouth on this medium plus bodied wine is filled with dark and alluring fruits, mouth coating, rich, still integrating tannin, lovely bracing acid, along with a powerful, layered, concentrated blackcurrant, ribbons of blueberry, bushels of plum, blackberry, all wrapped up nicely with good cedar and a mouthfeel that is quite impressive. The finish is long, rich, and loaded for bear, with truckloads of black asphalt, chocolate, huge amount of spice – almost like a cabinet full of it, with cloves and black pepper taking up center stage, charcoal, all appearing for split seconds on a long and lingering finish – BRAVO!
