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397 points worth of Syrah

…I suppose that 397 points is a bit over stated but it's true that Syrah is finally getting some praise, and it's about time. ​Of all the noble grapes, Syrah is the most underrated.  Syrah exists among the "power grape" ranks and I'm not spending my time preaching praise for obscurity like Mondeuse or even a more well-known grape like Aglianco. I'm talking about killer wines from one of the top five red grapes with specific success in the Northern Rhone and Central Coast of California.  

Take a look at Asimov's NY Times write up on Cornas's producer Franck Balthazar, look at the 95+ point review in Wine Advocate for the Melville estate bottling, consider Chave's 500-year winemaking history or newcomer Vallin from the Santa Ynez Valley, and you'll get a sense for why these wines are NYV favorites.

Even so, Syrah is a grape that tends to be harder to sell for retailers and winemakers alike. Niche sales are not a result of quality but, rather, the industry's inability to look past Cabernet and Pinot Noir as a source of great wine.  Syrah is a grape that offers intense dark fruit flavors, surprising amounts of tannic structure, acidic lift and beautiful white pepper spice that creates in an exhaustible source of food pairing options (think about lamb, sausage, any grilled meat or game, BBQ, stews, black olives, Indian or Moroccan food, and of course a ton of different cheeses).

Below is a mixed case of Syrah that will jumpstart your understanding of this amazing grape. We're even sweetening the deal by knocking off 15%.

Mixed Syrah Case
$500 (after a 15% discount)

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Franck Balthazar
2011 “Cuvee’ Casimir” Cornas

$44.99/bottle

The Cuvee Casimir makes use of the young vines from Franck’s Nothern Rhone estate. The wine is very accessible despite spending 18 months in wood. The wine is vinified entirely with whole clusters of grapes that offers deep fruit flavors. A true, winning, value wine, especially when considering the size of and care taken during production.

Melville 2012 Estate Syrah
Santa Barbara County

$35.99/bottle

Melville is owned by father and son Ron and Chad Melville, with Greg Brewer as their winemaker. After having owned vineyards in Napa, Ron Melville came to Santa Rita and never looked back. Greg Brewer uses only 30% whole cluster fermentation in steel tanks. The result is a bright wine with plenty of minerals.

Vallin 2012 Syrah
Santa Ynez Valley

$42/bottle

Vallin is a new project headed by master sommeliers Dustin Wilson and Brian McClintic and with the Eric Railsback and Tyler's winemaker Justin Willet. The inspiration and influence of Tyler is felt in this wine. The key is to pick the grapes many weeks earlier than would be considered traditional in Santa Ynez Valley. The result is an elegant and pure rendition of the Syrah grape.​

Domaine Jean Louis Chave
2011 Saint Joseph

$42/bottle

This is an estate wine from a family that has been making wine at the highest level since 1481. Domaine Jean Louis is easily one of the finest wine estates in all of France where their king grape is Syrah. No other place exemplifies the savory black pepper, olive, and wild herb flavors that are possible in the Syrah grape.

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Sincerely,

  Jesse Warner-Levine
  Director of Sales
  jesse@newyorkvintners.com
  212.812.3999
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