TN-various shiraz/syrah

[Roberta]

A few weeks ago, Karena posted on the Brand X boards about a tasting of shiraz/syrah from around the world. I later retasted my favorites of the evening along with another one from Washington's Columbia Valley, the '97 Glen Fiona Bacchus Vineyard.

It was a beautiful purple with intense fruit aromas of blackberries, cinnamon, raspberry, black cherry and earth. Very smooth, soft tannins with good pepper-spice notes. My twin said "dirty socks in the best possible way". B+

With respect to the other wines, the '93 St. Hallets was the best. Slight eucalyptus, mint, lamb fat, floral notes with deep fruit - a gorgeous bottle.

The '93 Qupe "Los Olivos Reserve" was my second favorite and it had toffey, smokey bacon with a hint of pepper and olives. A solid fruit core but slightly candied.

My third favorite was the '96 Folie a Deux which was still quite concentrated but not as complex as the other two. We'll see in a few years if it develops.