93+ 2007 Carlisle Papa's Block RRV Syrah 4/18/09 ($37(pre-release)/$43(retail))
100% Syrah from Atoosa's Vineyard 15.0% alc
Color: Very deep black cherry purple garnet. (4.0) Bouquet: Very sweet black cherry with papaya and black plum. Lively and dense. (3.5) Body: Heavyweight that coats the mouth big-time with silk. Dense fruit, excellent acidity and good tannin. (3.5) Flavor: Parallels bouquet, but not quite as exotic. Shows sweet tobacco and black olives here. (3.0) Finish: Parallels flavor, but could be longer based on the impressive bouquet. (3.0)
Overall: Hedonistically delicious stuff that drinks terrific right now, but has the structure to improve in the next 2-5+ years. Shows impressive fruit concentration of black cherry, papaya, black olives and sweet tobacco combined with enough structure to give it perfect balance. This is likely to achieve greatness once given a little time to totally integrate and open further. (17.0)Note: This was tasted next to the '07 Carlisle Rossi Ranch Zin and an '05 Ridge Geyserville. The latter showed the most complexity and the longest, most impressive finish of the three and scored a 92. Similar to the Syrah, the Geyserville is drinking very well right now and has room to improve. The Rossi Ranch is young and fierce at present, but has enough fruit to even out with time, showing excellent potential. The Papa's Block won the day with its dense, multidimensional fruit combined with perfect balance. Repeating this exercise in about 5 years would tell us a lot.