"K, Syrah, Syrah" Wine Club

Wine club met last week and we sampled a French Syrah from northern Rhone and an Australian Shiraz. As Syrah and Shiraz are the same grape and Australian wines are very popular right now and French wine has been the standard, I was looking forward to this tasting.

"The Competitors"

This was our sixth meeting of wine club and our last official one. When Adam and I started Wine Club we asked people to commit for 6 sessions at $25 each. For the $25, each person gets to be apart of the tasting and takes home a bottle of wine at the end of each tasting. We will be having a seventh wine club meeting as most months we didn't hit the $25 limit and have enough money left over to do a bonus tasting.

The two wines we tried at the tasting were -

“ESPRIT DE GRANIT SAINT JOSEPH” Syrah by CAVE DE TAINLCBO Information

Stock Number – 17152
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 23.30 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: Rhone, France
By: Cave De Tain L'Hermitage
Release Date: Mar 3, 2007

Description - Saint Joseph is one of Northern Rhône’s undiscovered gems. Produced from 100% Syrah, Saint Joseph wines are well-regarded for their fruit-forward blackberry intensity and attractive pepper tones. They can age beautifully, however, many 2003s, such as this, are really hitting their stride now. Enjoy with rich lamb or beef dishes.

Wine Spectator – 2003 Rated 90

Dark and ripe, with blackberry and plum fruit running over toast and bittersweet cocoa notes. Long finish is a bit firm, but there's plenty of exotic fruit to offset it. Drink now through 2009. 15,000 cases made. –JM

”Y” Series Shiraz by Yalumba

LCBO Information

Stock Number – 624494
Volume - 750mL
Price: $ 14.15 (+ $.20 deposit)
Made in: South Australia, Australia
By: NEGOCIANTS INTERNATIONAL

Tasting Note - Deep violet colour; blueberry, plum and currant aromas with a hint of anise; fresh, juicy palate with chocolate notes.

Serving Suggestion - Grilled bison burgers, lamb or firm cheese

Wine Spectator – 2003 Rated 87

This well-crafted Shiraz has plenty of jazzy blackberry and currant flavor at the core, lingering nicely against a frame of spicy oak on the finish. Drink now through 2009. 23,000 cases imported. –HS

The Yalumba that we tasted in Wine Club was purchased a couple of years ago. I had bought two cases as I found it very good and at $13 it was a steal. I'd imagine that the current year at the LCBO is 2005. I used the 2003 "Y" Series so both wines we were comparing were from the same year.

The picture below shows one of the best ideas for wine marketing I have seen in years. The bottle comes with a tear away tab on the label that has the wine information on it. So you are at a restaurant or a friend's house trying the wine, if you like it, tear off the tab, put it in your wallet and next time you are at the Liquor store you have the name of the wine, etc.

As we were trying a different wine region at each meeting I thought it would be appropriate to end with France. The St. Joseph's was the bottle that everyone would be taking home with them. Dorie (a co-worker) brought in some BBQ Beef and Cheese and Crackers to go with the wine. I'm grateful that she did as I was finding two heavy dry reds at noon on a Monday just a bit much. They both mellowed quite nicely with the food.

The St. Joseph's tended to be smoother and more subtle than the Yalumba, but the Yalumba had a bigger mouth feel to it. Everyone enjoyed the wines but the French Syrah wasn't the clear winner over the Australian Shiraz - the split was about 70% preferred the Syrah over the Shiraz. With the Syrah at $23 a bottle and the Shiraz at $13, I would call this match a tie.

Next month's Wine Club 'bonus tasting' will 3 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignons at 3 different price points.

Cheers!

Mark