2000 Kongsgaard Syrah Hudson Vineyard

The opaque purple-colored 2000 Syrah exhibits a big, sweet bouquet of blackberries, white pepper, creosote, and bacon fat. Full-bodied, structured, backward, and concentrated, with the tannin currently dominating its full-bodied style, this 2000 has gone to sleep; I do not expect it to re-emerge for 5-6 years. This may be one of the few California Syrahs that evolves and tastes better at age 12 or 15 than it did in its youth. The mystical John Kongsgaard is one heck of a winemaker. These are low tech, artisinal offerings that eschew commercial yeasts, bacterial strains, and enzymes. Of course, they are bottled naturally, with no fining or filtration. What one gets is the essence of the varietal, vintage, and vineyard. As readers know, these wines are sold via a mailing list. Fax (707) 963-4512

Very, very deep crimson. Lovely, integrated, very ripe Syrah. Most impressive! Beautiful texture and truly appetising. A wine that is unusually diffciult to spit out. Much more Rhône than, say, Australian. Very slightly rusty nail finish spoils it – along with the price. Shame. (JR)

Full medium ruby. Knockout nose of black raspberry, minerals, violet, gunflint, white pepper and smoky bacon fat. Dense, sweet and silky in the mouth, with sharply delineated fruit, pepper, spice and meat flavors. Wonderfully layered, gripping syrah, with superb juicy persistence and big but suave tannins. The finish throws off notes of graphite, woodsmoke, pepper and charred meat. After I tasted this compelling syrah, Kongsgaard told me he had poured the wine into a decanter seven hours before our tasting.