2008 Radio-Coteau Syrah Cherry Camp
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
Very energetic and vibrant, with more pure fruit and minerality than the Timbervine, the 2008 Radio-Coteau Syrah Cherry Camp delivers a core of sweet black fruits that are supported by complementing and complexity adding notes of underbrush, violets, wet stone, smoked leather, and hints of pepper. This medium to full-bodied Syrah has fantastic purity of fruit, a rich, yet awesomely focused texture, and a structure and age-worthy feel on the finish. While certainly approachable now, this should continue to evolve positively for 2-3 years, and drink well for a decade after that. This vineyard is very late ripening and benefitted from the long growing season and perfect autumn weather in '08.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
A blockbuster for both complexity and intensity, the opaque purple-colored 2008 Syrah Cherry Camp comes from a vineyard that was originally a cherry orchard. It exhibits an incredibly floral-scented nose along with beautiful kirsch, blackberry, black currant, camphor, forest floor and licorice characteristics, supple tannins, an exuberant, opulent mouthfeel and a full-bodied finish. This beauty comes from a cool vineyard sitting on top of a ridge overlooking the Sonoma Coast's Freestone Valley. Drink it over the next decade. Proprietor Eric Sussman seems to go from strength to strength at this small boutique winery. One of the buzz words in the wine world is -natural- winemaking, which has no real definition and is often shamelessly used to promote a certain style of wine. Yet Radio-Coteau is a great example of 'natural winemaking' native indigenous fermentations, incredibly low usage of SO2 and biodynamically farmed vineyards. Then add the fact that the wines are bottled without fining or filtration. Of course, human beings/civilization have to intervene in the winemaking process, so until grapes are produced that can detach themselves from the vine and hop, skip and jump to a fermenter and make themselves, we will never have 100% 'natural' wines. Eric Sussman's three 2008 Syrahs have also turned out fabulously well, with all of them living up to the higher end of my barrel tasting range of scores of last year. The 2009 Syrahs are not as intense as their 2008 counterparts. However, given how Eric Sussman's wines often put on weight in the barrel, my current ratings may look conservative a year from now. Tel. (707) 823-2578; Fax (707) 823-2112
Glass-staining purple. Vibrant aromas of raspberry, smoky minerals, potpourri and cola. Impressively dense and silky, with a surprisingly lacy texture to its red and blue fruit, floral and spice flavors. Saturates the entire palate without leaving an impression of weight. The spicy finish leaves behind resonating notes of mace, smoky minerals and floral pastilles, with just a hint of dusty tannins. This vineyard does especially well in years with a classic Indian summer, like '08, says Sussman.