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Barnard Griffin 2007 Syrah


Washington Syrah
Day One: This wine is a dark purple/violet color, with dusty violets on the nose, slightly chalky (powdered candy & vanilla taffy), with a hint of coconut.

Good mouth feel, plum, mint, vanilla, coconut, chocolate. Leave the bottle open longer, and this wine really fills the mouth with fruit flavors. The finish lengthens too.

Velvety finish, balanced tannins, with just the proper amount of acidity. A refined wine, easy to appreciate with a medium finish that encourages another taste.

This wine puts me in the mood for salami, aged Cheddar and the best crusty bread you can find - with a chocolate truffle to finish. Although not as big as the last two wines I reviewed, it still hits all the correct notes for me, and gets better the longer it is open (read on).

Day two: I saved half the bottle to taste the next day. Wow, this wine has transformed itself. The medley of flavors has unified into a silky, luxurious and suave wine. The dry tannins punctuate the experience. There is a great deal of life in this wine. If only I'd saved more of it for day two.

My advice? Go buy a case of the 2007 Barnard Griffin Syrah, and open a bottle every two months. You'll then be able to enjoy this wine over the next two years. Sometime over the next 24 months, this wine should start drinking, on day one, as well as it does on day two. At least that's the excuse I would use.

The spirit of Washington wine lives in this bottle, ever changing and improving. Washington is a terrific place to live and to make wine. I've known for years that Rob Griffin has respect for the fruit he uses to give his wines heart and soul. I'm going to miss Washington wines.

Recommended.

http://www.barnardgriffin.com/

Cheers!

note: This is going to be my last Washington wine post for a while (unless someone would like to contribute a post to this blog - email me). I'll continue to post wine reviews on my other wine blog, http://www.stillwild4wine.blogspot.com/
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