Tuesday, March 08, 2011

2008 Chono SYRAH Reserve (Elqui Valley, Chile)


Holy crap! I've never had as strong a sense of "deja wine" as with this one. It reminded me of a 1979 Cakebread Howell Mountain Beatty Ranch Zinfandel I had a couple of bottles of in the early 1980s in my Upper West Side apartment on w89th Street in NY. It almost literally transported me back to that place and time. But enough New Age drivel.

Dark ruby color was not remarkable. But then I stuck my nose in the glass. And the time warp began. Fragrant nose of cracked black peppercorns, smoky gravel, and ripe, flavorful spicy blackberries. Ripe (but not jammy or overblown) dense, clingy flavors of black peppercorns, cassis, and smoky embers. Long, very clingy, low-toned, minerally finish. Full-bodied, yet not overdone, with good acidity for its size and good balance. Will keep and maybe even improve over the next 2-4 years, but, why wait? This is delicious now. A. I got this (I think) for around $13 at Whole Foods on Bellaire. Imported by one of my favorite importers, North Berkeley Imports.

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