SaintJoseph 2003 Offerus

Hi privates,

When it comes to 'old world Syrah', I'm reminded of several 'table wines' I enjoyed while in southern France. Most were next-to-unlabelled, small production from some local vintners (names escape me now, but there were most likely '94 vintage), but I do recall some very distinct qualities you simply cannot find here in the States. They all seemed lighter, softer, much more easy-going and not so much of a production effort. I've not really found any Syrahs here that compared to that -- although I have developed a flavor for some of the richer 'Stateside' Syrahs.

My impression from recent vintages is that many Californian Syrahs are simply too acidic. Way too heavy. It's as if the grape had one, last breath before dying, and then was fermented. I'm under the impression that some of the drier-climate and Mediterranean varietals being grown in Calforinia, are being done so with increasing difficulty due to the global warming and the like.

There are a few Oregon producers that make a decent Syrah. In recent years, the southern portion of the state has really warmed up - but not too much. Abacela (in the Umpqua Valley) has some really rugged, rocky terrain in which they grow grapes you'd typically find in N. Spain (Tempranillo, Syrah, Grenache, etc). However, in true New World style, the wines are rich and fruit-forward. Even the Tempranillo is a little heavy, though in their own way, very nice.

Duck Pond Cellars (Willamette Valley) has lots of acreage, especially in the Columbia Valley of SE Washington state, and they produce a pretty good Syrah, both under the Duck Pond and Desert Wind Vineyard labels. It tends on the lighter side of things.

I've found a few good Syrahs up and down the Columbia Gorge, both Oregon and Washington. The relatively dry, continental, slightly higher albreastude climates make for some lovely, aromatic Syrahs that aren't too heavy. The Hood River area (now part of the newly formed Columbia River AVA) is seeing a lot of new wineries springing up. The relatively fertile, but also dry and warm, volcanic valley, just north of Mt. Hood, is producing some very unique wines these days. It's a lovely tour if you ever want to pbutt through during harvest time (not simply for wines, but also the endless apple-pear-nut orchards...)

It's interesting though... it's much easier to find a Columbia Gorge Syrah with a WA State label than OR... I just think many of the vintners in this state haven't yet realized that Oregon's 45th Parallel puts it not only on-par with Burgundy in terms of climate, but also, with recent warming trends, has opened up a lot of opportunities to do a decent job of the more 'southern' varietals as well.

Cheers,

David