2003 McCrea Ceil du Cheval

[winoweenie]

Another in the hit list from this killer producer. Fruit is from Red Mountain. Deep ruby. Nose has loads of black fruits, spice, earth and just enough funk to be attractive. Powerful juice that is ageing well. Still has considerable tannins to shed but is drinking beautifully now. All three releases in 03 are killer wines. 91/90 44 14.8% alc. WW

[wondersofwine]

WW,
Do you know if this is 100% Syrah? I like the few Red Mountain syrahs I've treid.

[dananne]

Speaking for the esteemed, yes -- 100% Syrah. Great vineyard, too, probably one of the best in WA. This wine got stellar ratings and reviews, FWIW. Thanks for the notes.

[Kcwhippet]

I have to agree there. Everything we've had from Red Mountain has been wonderful. It's a tiny little AVA with not much more than 600 acres of vineyards, but it's putting out some great grapes.

[winoweenie]

Had this for lunch yesterday and the hummer was so tasty decided to kill of the remaining bottle for lunch today. The increase in the intensity of the nose dictates kicking this booger up a point. Love this producer. WW

[dananne]

Anne and I put together a mixed case purchase at our favorite local shop this afternoon, and I passed up a bottle of this at the last minute in favor of a Merlot/Cab Franc blend from Buty, another WA producer, mainly because Buty is never, EVER seen on the shelves down here. After reading your notes, however, I'm kicking myself for passing this up. To make it worse, it's on sale at $34!. Same vintage, too. Guess I'll have to go back and get it! Thanks for the notes!

[winoweenie]

At that price I'd make sure their inventory had nothing left of this sucker. WW