01 Casa Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Rapel Valley Syrah

[newsguy]

their initial vintage of syrah shows that this chilean producer can work wonders with much more than merlot.

($17.99) 14%. this bruiser is blackish crimson, nearly opaque. huge intial nose of roasted coffee, dark fruits (blackberry, black cherry, plum), plus notes of dark chocolate, grilled meat and hints of tar, pepper and spice. big flavors of dark fruits and spice, with chocolate on the expanding finish. full mouthfeel, with medium, round tannins. tasted great out of the bottle and improves with decanting up to 3 hours. after that, seemed to plateau then started to lose some of its charm. i would say very short term cellaring or decanting. best through '06. great wine; great value. 92 points.