2004 Spring Mountain Vineyard Syrah

Wine Monkey and I recently opened a bottle of this 100% Syrah from the Spring Mountain District in Napa and - wow - what a nice surprise. I say surprise because I tend to think of California Syrah as overwhelming to the palate - too spicy, overly smokey, or simply over-concentrated and overpowering. The 2004 Spring Mountain Vineyard is textbook Syrah but in just the right proportions. It has nice smoke, jammy fruit, appealing spice, good texture and weight and is well balanced. If your palate is tired of tongue-staining, overblown Syrah and you like a refreshing dose of acidity in your wine, give this a try for sure.

All the fruit is from the Miravalle vineyard, one of Spring Mountain Vineyards four properties, and there are only 495 cases of the 2004 vintage. The first vintage was 1997 and the wine costs $50 from the winery. Spring Mountain Vineyard's primary wine is a red Bordeaux blend but they also produce wine from the traditional white Bordeaux varietals - Sauvignon Blanc, Semillion and Muscadelle. Syrah and Viogner are more recent plantings.

Save your smile, cheers!