QUPÉ SYRAH CENTRAL COAST 2006

Qupé is a winery in Central California that specializes in Rhone style wines and Chardonnay. The Syrah Central Coast has a 2% touch of Grenache and is comprised of grapes from Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. This inky, mellow wine has a jammy nose and coffee flavours with a peppery finish.

JACKSON-TRIGGS DELAINE VINYARD SYRAH 2006

Picked up this bottle during another recent visit to the Niagara wine region. Jackson-Triggs is one of my favourite Canadian wineries. I find their wines to be consistently outstanding. Of the wines I tasted, the Delaine Vinyard Syrah stood out for its distinct character. It had just been released to the public when we visited and was apparently selling very well.

The Delaine Vinyard is a 100-acre plot along the Niagara Parkway that grows vines for JT's premium wines. Several varietals are grown in this vinyard, including Syrah. Also known as Shiraz, this grape is well known for comprising many Rhône wines from Southeastern France. I often associate Shiraz with spice, although the spice was subtle in this wine. I detected leather, cloves, and cinamon on the nose. This wine showed nice tannins, with flavours of blueberry pie and cranberries. I also found hints of chilli peppers. This wine could probably benefit from a year or two of aging, but it definitely shows well now. It was a very enjoyable accompaniment to the lamb chops and grilled vegetables we had tonight.

SANTA RITA FLORESTA PETITE SIRAH SYRAH 2003

I bought this as a birthday present for myself. Julia and I enjoyed it immensely as we sat on our hotel patio in Whistler gazing up at the mountains.

If you have ever heard someone say that only cheap red wine leaves your mouth red, don't believe them. This wine was expensive and delicious, and it left our mouths a deep purple. It may have been a result of the high juice concentration - this wine had legs! As I swirled my glass, I could see it slowly drip down the sides.

The Floresta had flavours of plum and leather, with spicy notes. It was very dry, so much so that Julia said her mouth was like a desert. She also called it a man's wine, and was able to pick out the oak (I didn't until I read the label). It was definitely an indulgence and worth the price.

Score: 93

BCLS: SKU #24513 / UPC #00686586000445

P.S. Gismondi on Wine reviewed this wine recently and gave it the same score. Maybe I have a new career in reviewing wine! (Oct 8 '07)