I'm in a Rhone mood lately and as SWMBO has temporarily taken leave for warmer
climes I thought I'd treat myself and check and see how this was doing.

The colour was relatively light, almost like a Burgundy. The nose had the
telltale violets, however - I am told that this comes from the addition of
Viognier to the Syrah (in this case 4%). I have not yet convinced one of the
local BC winemakers to do two batches of Syrah, one with the addition of a bit
of Viognier. I think I will keep working on La Frenz, as he makes Viognier
already, and as an Aussie has an innate right to dabble with 'Shiraz'.

This wine was medium weight, with a very pleasant sweetness on palate, and
although the tannins are present, they are almost fully resolved. It has good
balance and very good length, and I doubt it will get any better, though it
should last quite a few more years. Very nice bottle. A shame it is now in the
$80 C. range for the current vintage. I enjoyed it over a whole evening and it
kept getting better.

In article >, wspohn4@aol.
comnojunk says...
>
>I'm in a Rhone mood lately and as SWMBO has temporarily taken leave for
warmer
>climes I thought I'd treat myself and check and see how this was doing.
>
>The colour was relatively light, almost like a Burgundy. The nose had the
>telltale violets, however - I am told that this comes from the addition of
>Viognier to the Syrah (in this case 4%). I have not yet convinced one of the
>local BC winemakers to do two batches of Syrah, one with the addition of a
bit
>of Viognier. I think I will keep working on La Frenz, as he makes Viognier
>already, and as an Aussie has an innate right to dabble with 'Shiraz'.
>
>This wine was medium weight, with a very pleasant sweetness on palate, and
>although the tannins are present, they are almost fully resolved. It has good
>balance and very good length, and I doubt it will get any better, though it
>should last quite a few more years. Very nice bottle. A shame it is now in
the
>$80 C. range for the current vintage. I enjoyed it over a whole evening and
it
>kept getting better.

I went back and checked my TNs for the '97, because of your mention of the "
violets." Though my wife and I both enjoy Viognier, she is much less a fan of
"violets" in a red, and to her, it is almost a "fault." While I do not share
THAT idea, I found none in the '97, but that may have been because of the
rather ecclectic pairing, smoked duck tamale w/ chilies and raisins. The '97
was a bit darker, than I gather from your notes, the '94 was. As the few '94s
that I had are all gone now, I'll grab another of the '97s and play with it
soon, without the influence of the tamales. Thank you for the TNs.

Hunt, here's to violets in reds!

I'm in the mood for a break from all the pontificating you pompous asses do.
"Bill Spohn" > wrote in message
...
> I'm in a Rhone mood lately and as SWMBO has temporarily taken leave for
> warmer
> climes I thought I'd treat myself and check and see how this was doing.
>
> The colour was relatively light, almost like a Burgundy. The nose had the
> telltale violets, however - I am told that this comes from the addition of
> Viognier to the Syrah (in this case 4%). I have not yet convinced one of
> the
> local BC winemakers to do two batches of Syrah, one with the addition of a
> bit
> of Viognier. I think I will keep working on La Frenz, as he makes Viognier
> already, and as an Aussie has an innate right to dabble with 'Shiraz'.
>
> This wine was medium weight, with a very pleasant sweetness on palate, and
> although the tannins are present, they are almost fully resolved. It has
> good
> balance and very good length, and I doubt it will get any better, though
> it
> should last quite a few more years. Very nice bottle. A shame it is now
> in the
> $80 C. range for the current vintage. I enjoyed it over a whole evening
> and it
> kept getting better.

I'm in the mood for a break from all the pontificating you pompous asses do.
"Bill Spohn" > wrote in message
...
> I'm in a Rhone mood lately and as SWMBO has temporarily taken leave for
> warmer
> climes I thought I'd treat myself and check and see how this was doing.
>
> The colour was relatively light, almost like a Burgundy. The nose had the
> telltale violets, however - I am told that this comes from the addition of
> Viognier to the Syrah (in this case 4%). I have not yet convinced one of
> the
> local BC winemakers to do two batches of Syrah, one with the addition of a
> bit
> of Viognier. I think I will keep working on La Frenz, as he makes Viognier
> already, and as an Aussie has an innate right to dabble with 'Shiraz'.
>
> This wine was medium weight, with a very pleasant sweetness on palate, and
> although the tannins are present, they are almost fully resolved. It has
> good
> balance and very good length, and I doubt it will get any better, though
> it
> should last quite a few more years. Very nice bottle. A shame it is now
> in the
> $80 C. range for the current vintage. I enjoyed it over a whole evening
> and it
> kept getting better.