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 Broman Cellars.

SUPERIOR WINE ALERT!: Today’s Napa Valley Syrah is among the most unique, deeply robust and delicious examples that we have come across

ALLOCATION ALERT!: With fewer than 300 cases produced, we were only able to get our hands on a small quantity. Be sure to take advantage of this offer – before we run out

SAVINGS ALERT!: Enjoy FREE Ground Shipping with your purchase of 6 or more bottles when you use coupon code: NAPASPY at checkout

Mission Codename: Wine is Life

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Operatives have been clamoring for a great California Syrah, particularly one with good bottle age. In order to keep our Operatives happy, send Agent Red to the Napa Valley to retrieve an excellent Syrah

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Broman Cellars

Wine Subject: 2001 Syrah

Winemaker: Robert Broman

Backgrounder: Robert Broman has been ‘in wine’ for more than 30 years. As winemaker for some of the most prestigious wineries in the world, Robert Broman has perfected his skills, making some of the most precious wines. Today he brings his depth of skill and accomplishment to bear in making his own wines under the aptly named Broman Cellars, where he makes wines of remarkable distinction. Read about Agent Red’s accidental discover of today’s great wine, and his tasting notes and mission report below to and see what makes this Syrah so unique

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep garnet to burgundy with a deep and inky dark heart. The wine also has a pronounced spring to its tight surface and it leaves behind supremely thin and slow-moving legs that crawl slowly down the glass

Smell – Beautifully aromatic with a layers of rich blueberry, blackberry, black currant, dusky earth, leather and smoky meats

Feel – Supple and wet and big up front, then mouth-coating with great soft to medium all-over-mouth tannins that grip the entire tongue, cheeks and roof of the mouth

Taste – Delicious layers of giant flavors, including dark and jammy mixed berry, black cherry, and dark plum with subtle dusted bakers chocolate and soft spice

Finish – Hugely Juicy and rich, mouth-coating, delicious and supple, with soft tannins and flavors that go on and on forever

Conclusion – This delicious, remarkable and intensely flavorful Syrah is unlike any other Napa Syrah we have tasted. This wine imparts intense dark flavors and a richness usually reserved for the almighty Napa Cab, making it a standout wine, even among other brilliant Syrahs. This robust Syrah reminds this spy that the masterful winemaker infuses his or her wines with their own personality. In the case of today’s Robert Broman is written all over it; The wine is big, serious, genuine, hearty, bold and sincere. If you are a lover of great Syrah, and you particularly love BIG Syrah, this is certainly a wine for you. Enjoy!

Mission Report:

Holy WOW, did I score with today’s amazing Syrah. Finding it was an accidental act of possible intuition.

While perusing my local bottle shop (in disguise, of course) I spotted a bottle that practically leapt off the shelf. While I had received intel briefings about Broman Cellars, I had not yet had the occasion to taste their wines. Luckily, the label yelled out to me to take the bottle off of the shelf.

To the eye, the labels on all Broman wines stand out with a distinct dimensionality that no other label possesses. The feel of the label is also unique; The paper used is deeply thick with a soft cloth-like feel. The printing reminds me of the finest engraved printing that one would find on a classy invitation. All combined, these attributes were my personal invitation to purchase the wine – and take it back to the Safe House for tasting and analysis.

I chose the Broman 2001 Syrah as I love wines with some bottle age.

When I opened the wine, a rush of boldly beautiful aromas nearly floored me. I love rich and big-nosed wines. A quick sip told me that this was a wine that needed time in the air to stretch out, so I spent the better part of an hours swirling, sniffing and admiring the wine. When it came time to finally sip, the wine had become more balanced and way more flavorful.

As you know, all of the wines that we bring you are great – but when we come across one that is very special, we issue alerts. It was obvious that I would be issuing a superior Wine Alert for this wine.

I conducted a thorough tasting of the wine and then left it open for a few hours. On my return to the wine for another taste, I was rewarded by even more goodness! Further harmony had found its way into the wine and the fruit really emerged, mellowing out some of the oak that was present at first.

By anyones estimation, Bob Broman is a masterful winemaker. From his careful selection of fruit to his care during crush, fermentation and in the cellar is easily apparent in his wines.

Bob only uses the best Syrah fruit and if a particular year produces fruit that is below his standards for quality, there will be no Broman Syrah for that vintage. Case in point: There was no 2002 Broman Syrah! Thank goodness for this superb 2001.

If you are a lover of GREAT Syrah, this is a sure-win wine!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the legendary Page Nord (where much of the fruit for today’s wine was grown) can be seen in this satellite photo.