Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Robert Craig Central Coast Syrah 2004

Robert Craig Central Coast Syrah 2004

We pulled this Robert Craig Syrah from the cellar for a casual sipper with mid-week light dinner. Readers of these pages know we have a significant collection of Robert Craig Cabernets from the range of labels across a wider range of vintages. We also hold a collection of various Craig labels of other varietals from a range of vintages such as this one.

Robert Craig is known for a range of Napa Cabernets, but he ventures off the reservation occasionally to source occasional fruit for smaller production labels from other areas such as Chardonnay from Sonoma, Zinfandel from the Sierra foothills, and this Syrah from the California Central Coast region - sourced from a 20 acre vineyard in Ranchita Canyon, north of Paso Robles. We've typically sourced these other wines from many visits to the winery as well as occasionally from auction.

I think the berry fruit flavors have been affected by age to reveal tones of metallic graphite and ripe raisiny fruits.

Dark blackish garnet colored, full-bodied, this Syrah offers a complex concentrated ultra ripe black and blue berry fruits that come across as raisin or dried cherries giving way to tones of graphite, licorice and creosote with hints of black pepper, cardamom and clove spice - the off-fruit flavors perhaps attributable to age.

This was best accompanied by dark chocolate and dried cherries. 

RM 87 points.
https://www.cellartracker.com/wine.asp?iWine=341610

https://www.craigwines.com/