It’s no secret that I am a syrah lover. I love it’s wild side, it’s unpredictablility. Winemakers find it to be a malleable grape, one that can take off on tangents. Soil, climate and winemaking technique can affect this grape, making syrah from different regions dramatically different in the glass.

I listened to winemakers across the Santa Barbara region talk about their Syrah’s a few years ago. The difference in climate there can be a bit more dramatic than in other regions their size. The temperature increases by a degree each mile inland you go, making syrah grown in the Santa Rita Hills climatically different than that grown in Ballard Canyon or even further into Happy Canyon. We tasted these wines as they spoke with us about them and the differences were interesting to note.

Since then we have traveled further in California falling in love with the Rhônes at Tablas Creek, and discovering one of our favorite Rhône Rangers, Randall Grahm. We ventured further north into Washington and tasted syrah’s from Yakima Valley, including Red Mountain, which, while primarily known for Cabernet Sauvignon is turning out to be an exceptional place to grow syrah.

2013 Descendants Liegeois Dupont Red Mountain Syrah from Hedges Family Estate.

On a chili evening a while back, we pulled out a bottle of Syrah . This was the 2013 Descendants Liegeois Dupont Red Mountain Syrah from Hedges Family Estate.

We had picked this bottle up when we visited Red Mountain this last year and spoke with Sarah Hedges Goedhart.

I posted about this wine on Instagram that evening…

The geeky bits…

These grapes are from their Les Grosses Vineyard on Red Mountain. Destemmed, partial crush, stainless steel fermenters…pressed to barrel, malo-lactic fermentation, racked off lees. Barrel aged 11 month in 40% new American and French Oak.

14.5% abv $29.00 srp

My notes

It opens with great Syrah funk that I adore! Earth smoke barnyard leather cocoa….my nose was in heaven! The fruit on the palate is blueberries, blackberries and figs, with dark cherries and chocolate and then a bit of lovely baking spice on the end.

Intense without being overpowering, we sipped this for a while (working on videos) before pairing (you’ll have to watch for the pairings)

Crushedgrapechron on Instagram January 15, 2020

At the time I promised to share the pairings. Well, as we started with the pairings, Michael got up, he came back with a bottle of 2013 Le Pousseur Syrah from Bonny Doon. There is a little sadness as I write this. I went to the website to check some of the production notes on this wine…they are gone. Bonny Doon, a legendary California winery helmed by Randall Grahm was sold to Lapis Luna Wines on January 1st. Randall will still be involved, but he will be able to spend more time focusing on his Popelouchum project in San Juan Bautista. (You should read about that, because it’s really fascinating)

None the less…on to the wine.

2013 Le Pousseur Syrah from Bonny Doon

Here’s a snipet I found on the web about this wine

If the ’12 Pousseur bore an uncanny resemblance to Crozes Hermitage, our ’13 Syrah definitely shades slightly in the direction of a St. Joseph. With a (gulp) substantial (63%) percentage of Bien Nacido Syrah in the mix, we certainly recognize the contribution of the mostly coolish (global climate change adjusted) Santa Maria climate to the natural acidity and freshness of this wine, as well as to the correctness of varietal expression. Wild plums, blackberries, Griotte cherries and licorice (of course). The tannins are soft and supple, but the wine has so much persistence, there is every indication that it will greatly benefit from cellaring. But for now, the Pousseur will enormously benefit from decantation and the investment in large balloon Burgundy glasses. Excuse me, a lamb chop with a bit of a minty chimichurri is calling my name.

Winemaker notes from (from Randall Grahm) Wine.com

Let it be known that I am indeed a sucker for Bien Nacido. I have waxed poetic before about wines from this vineyard. Recently, I listened to a wonderful interview (from a while back) with Bob Lindquist about the planting of Syrah in this vineyard. (I highly recommend diving into the “I’ll drink to that” podcasts with Levi Dalton). The Bien Nacido Vineyard imparts something to a wine, the nose…I can put my nose in a glass and if it is from Bien Nacido I can tell. So..to begin I knew I was in love with this wine.

Pairings

We paired these wines with bleu cheese, gouda, proscuitto and some dried seaweed snacks. Then we did a simple dinner of peas, potatoes in herbs de provençe and bbq beef. Why peas and seaweed? The umami in these pulls up the umami in the wine.

Comparing the two…

So the Le Pousseur gave me barn, wet hay, leather and smoke on the nose, followed by Eucalyptus and mint. Red and black fruits and barbeque spices. This wine as compared to the Red Mountain was more red fruit, less smoky. It was brighter and a little less brooding.

Both wines were delicious, but the differences were noticeable. While the both had barnyard, earth, smoke and leather, there were nuances between the two even in those notes. The Hedges gave me darker fruit; blackberries, blueberries, dried fig, dark cherries while the Bonny Doon was red and black currents, brighter fruit. The Hedges finished with notes of chocolate and baking spice, while the Bonny Doon pulled in notes of eucalyptus and mint and finished with bbq spices.

It’s something I love about syrah, the nuances. These were great wines that both checked in at under $30 a bottle. The Bonny Doon runs between $20 and $27, depending on where you pick it up. I recommend getting your hands on both of these bottles if you can. Try a side by side, like we did and share with us your thoughts!

Want more on Syrah?

Well we can help you out with that. Here are just a few of the other pieces we have done on this grape!

• https://www.crushedgrapechronicles.com/wine-secrets-syrah/
• (the above link has additional links at the bottom to all of the conversations with Santa Barbara Winemakers on syrah)
• The Syrah clones at Larner Vineyard
• A Trio of Syrahs from the Central Coast
• The Secret to Syrah Wine pairings
• Dedication Syrah from the Larner Vineyard & Winery
• 12 days of Wine 2019 – Owen Roe Chapel Block Syrah

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Robin Renken is a wine writer and Certified Specialist of Wine. She and her husband Michael travel to wine regions interviewing vineyard owners and winemakers and learning the stories behind the glass.

When not traveling they indulge in cooking and pairing wines with food at home in Las Vegas.