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What We Say 2004 Syrah
If you are visiting us for the first time, Welcome! The Wine Spies feature one exceptional wine each day – and we only bring you wines that we ourselves seek out and love. Always, the wines are great. Sometimes even better than that, as is the case with today’s wine from Bluerock Vineyard.
SUPERIOR WINE ALERT!
We always feature great wines, but today’s 2005 Bluerock Vineyard Syrah is exceptional! Grab some, Operative, before we run out
Savings Alert!
Shipping Included on 6 bottles or more. Enter this coupon code at checkout (discount will be shown before you complete your order): SPYSYRAH
SUPER SONOMA WINERY ALERT!
Some of the best wines in the world come from wineries that are right here in Sonoma County. We frequently feature great Sonoma wineries so be sure to check back every Tuesday, when we always feature one great Sonoma County winery.
Mission Codename: Its that good
Operative: Agent Red
Objective: Respond to reports that Bluerock Vineyard has a stupendous Syrah. If valid, secure a quantity for our Operatives
Mission Status: Accomplished!
Current Winery: Bluerock Vineyard
Wine Subject: 2004 Syrah, Alexander Valley
Winemaker: Nick Goldschmidt
Backgrounder: Today’s wine marks a milestone for us. Wines that we feature here are usually sold at a discount of at least 20% off. Sometimes 30% off – or even more. Our discounts give our Operatives (customers) a chance to try superior, high-quality wines while reducing some of the risk associated with trying a premium wine that they are unfamiliar with. Today’s winery produces superior wines, and has a policy that doesn’t usually allow anyone to discount their wines. Bluerock Vineyard made a small exception today, blessing our Operatives with a 15% off offer. At any price, we are honored to bring you their superb 2004 Syrah. Be sure to take advantage of our Free Shipping offer as a way to save a little more. We’ll ship the wine to you for free, with your purchase of 6 or more bottles. Enjoy!
Wine Spies Tasting Profile:
Look – Deep ruby red with great clarity, a bouncy surface and thick legs that move slowly down the glass
Smell – Beautifully aromatic with a unique blend of black currant, pomegranate, forest floor, dusky earthen chocolate, and a hint of slate and smoky meats
Feel – Supple and wet and big, mouth-coating with great soft to medium tannins
Taste – Delicious layers of flavors, including dark mixed berry, black cherry, dusty chocolate, a hint of black fig and dark plum
Finish – Juicy, rich, mouth-coating, delicious and supple, with soft tannins and flavors that linger and linger
Conclusion – All winery owners boast about their wines when I interrogate them. Most of them should but when a winery goes way over-the-top in describing how superior their wine is, I leave it to my own palate to decide the quality. When speaking with Kenny Khan, the affable owner of Bluerock Vineyard about today’s wine, he exuded confidence about his Syrah. He declared it among the best I would try. A sampling was all it to make me a believer. This wine strikes a great balance between California Syrah and Euro-styled Syrah, delivering both great California fruit and the more subdued and refined balance of European Syrah.
Mission Report:
Today’s mission might as well have been called, “Virtually”, for I have never met the winemaker in person. Nor have I personally surveil his vineyard. Let me explain:
Recently, while on a mission in Monterey County, my communicator rings. The voice on the other end introduces himself as Kenny Kahn, owner and co-winemaker for Bluerock Vineyard. As chance would have it, Bluerock had recently come to my attention and they were on my mission backlog – not slated for full surveillance for several more weeks.
I was driving to my next destination and had a few minutes to chat with Kenny. He told me all about his wines and about his personal commitment to crafting only the best wines. I was intrigued, but also a little skeptical. Honestly, what winemaker doesn’t love his own juice, right?
We chatted for a while and I arranged to have Kenny send me tasting samples. A few days later, they arrived. A few days after that (I believe in letting wine settle after being jostled around during shipping) I opened a bottle. The wine was gorgeous and I was really blown away by the smells, flavors and feel of the wine. This wine finds perfect harmony with its California-grown fruit and the French heritage of Syrah. This wine delivers an experience that is both Old-world European and new Californian. It works completely, without one overpowering the other.
Subsequent ‘meetings’ with Kenny have all been over the phone. Our schedules never meshed up well enough to allow us to meet face to face but not matter, tasting the wine and speaking with the man was enough. This wine is superior and Kenny has provided me with all of the background and information I needed in order to bring this wine to our Operatives.
This wine is ready to drink now and will age for a few more years. For best results, decant for a few hours and the wine will really open up and soften up. I hope that you enjoy this delicious treat as much as I do!
I dearly wish that I could have
Wine Spies Vineyard Check:
The location of the VINEYARD can be seen in this satellite photo.
What the Winery Says
Blue Rock Vineyard
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About This Wine:
Our fourth vintage of Syrah is our most elegant ever! This wine emphasizes grace and complexity rather than heavy extraction. It is beautifully balanced with fine tannins and a great sense of polish. It has wonderful Syrah character and is more Northern Rhone in style with smoked meat, pomegranate, and black currant aromas; The flavors are consistent with the nose with complex black cherry as well as gamy/earthy flavors. Due to the soft tannins it can be enjoyed upon release but will improve for another 5 years.
History:
Blue Rock was first settled by poor Italian immigrants who were drawn to the Alexander Valley in order to be near to the Italian Swiss Colony Winery in Asti. Fortunately, they brought with them olive trees, vine cuttings, and a knowledge of grape growing.
The stone house and barn were built around 1880 and once housed a winery known as Villa Maria. However, prohibition brought an end to the winery and vineyards until the rebirth of the American wine industry in the late 1970’s.
Blue Rock was reborn in 1982 when the vineyard was planted to the 5 Bordeaux varietals plus a small hillside of Syrah. The Estate, consisting of 100 acres, was purchased by the Kahn family in 1987 who set out to create the infrastructure for a great wine estate.
The work continues today as the vineyard is slowly replanted to a very high vine density with the best Bordeaux clones and knowledge of the vineyard’s various soil and microclimates.
Philosophy:
We will produce only small quantities of luxurious red wines that express their sense of place. Blue Rock, therefore, will always make wine from grapes grown exclusively on the Estate.
We believe that small is beautiful. In our experience, the finest, most individually expressive wines come from small places.
We believe that place is paramount, “…a memorable wine is as much a map as a taste. A place where man and plant and planet meet. A kind of liquid geography…” Blue Rock will always come from the blue rocks, pebbles and boulders that make this hillside property so unique and special.
Technical Analysis:
Production: 394 Cases
Varietals: 100% Estate Grown Syrah Alexander Valley
Winemakers: Nick Goldschmidt and Kenneth Kahn
Alcohol: 13.5%
