Superior Wine Alert

We always feature great wines, but today’s wine is a very special Syrah – from a region not particualrly known for producing great Syrah

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

Guest Reviewer Alert

Today we welcome guest reviewer, Kerry Winslow of GrapeLive.com. As a thank you, we bestow upon him the title of honorary Wine Spy and give him the spy name, Agent Noir.

Mission Codename: Carmel Valley VS. Napa Valley

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Send Agent Red to infiltrate an ultra-exclusive private blind-tasting, retrieve the winning wine

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Parsonage Village Vineyards

Wine Subject: 2004 Syrah

Winemaker: Bill Parsons

Backgrounder: When The Wine Spies got word of a very exclusive blind Syrah tasting – organized by Sonoma County Billionaire [CENSORED] – we sent Agent Red undercover, to witness. After the tasting, Agent Red makes contact with the winner, and secures a quantity of the wine for our well-deserving Operatives. Read Red’s Tasting Notes and Mission Report below

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – A beautiful and darkly concentrated burgundy-purple color with a deep heart of garnet. The wine maintains deep color right out to the edges, and has wide-spaced legs that take a long time to emerge, and then creep slowly down the glass

Smell – Dark and lush with deep aromatic fruit and a great earthiness. This wine drives big blackberry, sweet cherry and blueberry with smoky black plum, mild truffle, smoke, oak and soft cedar

Feel – Cool, soft and light at first, fast across the top of the tongue and then quickly mouth-coating, smooth and with medium tannins

Taste – Big jammy layers of delicious fruit of blackberry, sweet cherry and blueberry with sweetwood, cigar box, earth, mildest herbs and soft black pepper

Finish – Dry and slightly talc-y, with bright and ripe fruit flavors that are followed by more earthen qualities and soft vanilla oak – as the wines flavors and feel taper slowly

Conclusion – This is really a superb wine. Despite a caution from the winemaker, Bill Parsons, that the wine could have some hard edges, we Wine Spies all love the wine. With great aromas and flavors, plus a really wonderful mouthfeel, this wine is a beautifully balanced and deeply lush wine. Fun to drink and ready to drink now, this wine will likely cellar beautifully for several more years. Personally, I don’t think thjat my personal supply will last that long!

Agent Noir – Guest Reviewer – Tasting Profile:

Look – Dark and thick looking with a purple and garnet color

Smell – Violets, coffee bean and ripe red fruits flow on the nose

Feel – This Syrah has rich texture and big intensity on the palate

Taste – Lush black fruits, cassis, cherry liqueur, plum and hints of blueberry compote

Finish – The finish is long and ripe, with smooth tannins, creamy fruit and pretty vanilla from the French barrels

Conclusion – This is a stunner, a wine of depth and quality with complex flavors and super balance. Look for this Syrah to age well and continue to delevop over the next few years

Mission Report:

The following blind tasting really took place. Whether or not Agent Red was there, is still a matter of some debate. The names of the billionaire and the other winemakers have been redacted from this report.

It was a quiet night and I was enjoying some downtime by re-reading yet another John le Carré novel when I got the call:

“Agent Red, priority dispatch Alpha 1, Tango Omega 7. Transmitting the coordinates and legend to your handheld now. Confirm.”

Fishing my spyphone from my pocket I watched the screed as the progress bar filled – and then displayed a map and my mission.

“Confirmation code Syrah-Delta-Two.”

(click)

A blind tasting, and I was going in – undercover. Tonight!

Wasting no time, I hopped into my cover car, a green 1973 VW Beetle. With the road visible beneath the rusted floor of the car I though – and not for the first time – of the Flintstones.

I made it the the service entrance of what looked like a palace. The home belonged to [CENSORED], a pharmeceutical billionaire from China. My mission brief told me that he had dabbled in the wine business, and liked to surround himself with people in the trade – particularly winemakers.

The security office at the gate look scornfully at my smoking Bug, checked my ID and told me to check in with the head of house at the end of the driveway. “Ya can’t miss her,” he said. “A pile of red curls on her head.” For a moment he had a baleful look on his face, but then scowled at me again and waved me through.

I made my way from the parking lot to the entrance to the bustling kitchen. I found the head of house. Rather, she found me. “I’m HOH,” she said. “Here, put this uniform on and get back right away. They’re starting early!”

I returned from putting on the uniform and she handed me a tray of crackers and fancy cheeses. Following her pointing finger, I made my way out into the house.

The place was gorgeous! I was in awe.

“You need a hand with that?”

Snapping out of it, I looked up.. and up some more.. and saw a smiling, pleasant-faced man looking at me with his hands out.

I politely refused and walked to the table where I set the tray down among other foods. The man walked up and leanded in toward me. “You look about as comfortable here as I feel, son.”

I smiled politely and asked, “Are you in the wine business?”

“I am. I grow grapes and make wine. Some damn good ones, actually. You drink wine?”

“Not really,” I lied. “Excuse me, I need to get back to the kitchen.”

HOH handed me a tray of appeared to be six paper-wrapped wine bottles. “Take these out and set them, at least two feet apart, on the bar. Then, go behind the bar and place six wine glasses in front of each bottle. Without letting the wine labels show, pour an equal measure into each glass. Then, stay behind the bar and be ready to assist the gentlemen further. Got all that?”

I nodded and went out to prepare.

Once set up, HOH invited six men in from another room. Leading the pack with the host, Mr. [CENSORED]. I recognized a few as prominant Napa Valley winemakers. I assumed that the other were winemakers as well. Among them was the tall, smiling gent from earlier.

Once all of the men had tasted the wines and the scores were tallied, the host pointed to a bottle and instructed me to remove all other bottles. Then he spoke: “Gentlemen, I thank you again for being my guest tonight. Some of you are friends, others are professional rivals. I offer special thanks to Bill Parsons or Parsonage Village Vineyards for making the drive up here from Carmel Village to the south.”

With the mention of Mr. Parsons name, or was it Carmel Valley, some of the men visibly squirmed.

The host spoke again: “As you can see, our final decision is clear. By unanimous vote, the wine befor you is our winner tonight.”

He approached the bottle – and paused for dramatic effect, before lifting the bottle from the bag. Since I was behind the bar, I could not see the label on the bottle. Looking at the faces of the men, I saw something far more intriguing! A look of utter shock and disbelief befell their faces. One of the men actually dropped his glass, which shattered as it hit the terracotta floor. The men all looked aroud at each other. All but one of them, whose spreading smile revealed the winner to me.

Eventually, the host spoke. “Number one. You are the number one.” He repeated this several times. Bill Parsons stood there. The other men retired to nearby couches, but started grumbling among themselves while casting if looks could kill glances at Bill.

“Number one. You are the number one,” the host kept repeating quietly while staring at Bills bottle of Syrah.

I motioned for Bill to follow me out of the room. As we left for the kitchen we could hear the host repeating the same phrase over and over.

“Bill, listen,” I said. “Congratulations. I’m Agent Red, Wine Spy. Come with me and I’ll get you to your car. It’s obvious that your wine has stunned these poor guys. You won, that’s what matters.”

We left through the service entrance and Bill crammed his large fram into my car. I explained my mission and my desire to secure some of his winning wines for our Operatives. Grateful for the getaway from the akwardness that followed the tasting, he agreed. I dropped him at his car and left him with my calling card.

The next day, Bill allocated a cache of his wine to us. Today, you have a chance to try Bill’s delicious masterpiece.

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of Parsonage Village Vineyards can be seen in this satellite photo.