Saturday, May 30, 2015

Lewis Cellars Ethan's Syrah 2012

Lewis Cellars Ethan's Napa Valley Syrah 2012

We're big fans of the artwork of Lewis Cellars, partly because they focus on the varietals that we favor most, notably Cabernet, and they also produce this Syrah, another of our favorites. Also, we identify with their Hoosier connection to the Indy 500, and we respect and support their devotion to family, such as their labels named for their grandkids.

Indeed, we've adopted their Alec's Blend as a signature wine for our Son Alec. Lastly, we whimsically have fun with their 'L' labeling which we identify with our Linda, and two generations of Lucys, and we're all about labeled wines for special occasions and birth year wines.

We track the Lewis range of varietal releases from vintage to vintage.  This vintage release just appeared in distribution so we picked up a few bottles to try while it is still generally available. Tonight, for a casual evening at home we pulled from the cellar our favorite profile Syrah to try.

Its not as flavorful or polished as the earlier release (s) I've reviewed due to a the detracting aftertaste from a not-so-subtle metallic graphite tone on the finish. Moreover, the fruits are somewhat subdued relative to earlier brighter, more vibrant vintages.

Dark garnet purple colored - full bodied - rich moderately concentrated and nicely balanced and polished black and blue fruits are accented by a layer of mocha chocolate and vanilla offset by a somewhat hard tinnish graphite edge that detracts from the firm full finish. Still it warrants a high rating and is pleasant tasty sipping.

RM 91 points.

https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=1889084

www.lewiscellars.com