Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/101724
SPEED TASTING REPORT REVEAL NUMBER NINE Qupé 2009 Sonnie's Syrah, Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard, Edna Valley ($55) A 100% Syrah from Edna Valley is a barrel-select wine from a vineyard irst planted in 2005. Farmed biodynamically from the start (and now Demetercertiied), this cool-climate Syrah is grown on a combination of clay, gravel and calcareous white mudstone. Aged for 16 months in Ermitage barrels (50% new), this small production red (186 cases) is named after Sandra "Sonnie" Granger Lindquist, the mother of California Rhône pioneer and Qupé founder Bob Lindquist. Our Panel's Notes "Rustic nose and dark fruit create a Northern Rhône–style Syrah." —Spencer Cruse "I would buy this wine! Very Crôzes-Hermitage or St-Joseph style (not brooding enough to be Cornas) with its cracked pepper and violet character and very ine tannins." —Matthew Kaner Qupé owner Bob Lindquist. REVEAL NUMBER TEN Terlato Vineyards 2008 Syrah, Block #9, Dry Creek Valley ($45) Terlato Family Vineyards produces wines from esteemed vineyards throughout California. Purposely multi-appellational, the concept was to carefully select vineyards from viticultural areas known for growing particular varietals and produce wines that are authentic expressions of their region. Winemaker Doug Fletcher oversees winemaking for the family-owned properties and serves as a consultant for the family's joint ventures around the world. Comparing its terroir to the Northern Rhône, Fletcher explains the Block 9 location at the conluence of the Dry Creek and Russian Rivers: "The weather is warm during the day and cool in the evenings, and the ENTAV Syrah clone #877 produces fruit with small berries and dark color." Only free-run juice goes into the Block 9 Syrah, aged 20 months in French oak and bottle aged for two years. Only 450 cases.. Our Panel's Notes "My favorite of the tasting: leshy, dense and lovely with blackberry spice, sweet cassis. Balanced and long." —Anthony Dias Blue "Sleek and velvet-textured, with a big presence. Juicy blueberry and an expressive espresso bittersweetness carry every lengthy sip to a satisfying inish." —Bill Brandel 132 / the tasting panel / january 2013 Doug Fletcher, Vice President of Winemaking for Terlato Wine Group.