Wine Writer, WSET Level 3 Certification, #KosherWine Consultant at Kenneth Friedman Events
Over the chag we tasted this absolute treat from Shirah Wine: the Power to the People, Santa Barbara County, 2014. An always generous friend with a great cellar brought this wine to share. I've heard lots of confident talk about Shirah's inability to create age-worthy wines. While there is good consensus that Shirah wines are well-regarded and consistently good to great upon release, I hear lots of chatter that there is no point to cellar these wines. I will (again) vehemently disagree. This is not to say that each wine Shirah releases will improve. In fact, some are done a great disservice by aging - e.g. the CounterPunch, with its incredible juicy fruit. It's been some time since I've tasted the 2014 PTTP (Pesach 2022 to be exact) but, man, was this worth the wait. This wine has continued to improve and evolve. The 2014 is 98% Syrah (50% Thompson Vineyard, 48% McGinley Vineyard), cofermented with 2% Viognier. The label is very distinctly Shirah- black velvet with silver underlayment text- a conversation piece on its own. (And notoriously difficult to photograph.) In the glass, deep, dark purple, almost quite dark to the rim and no bricking, with pronounced still-youthful aromas of primary black fruit. Closer inspection yielded incredible aromas of tart red cherry, game, soy, mushroom, red cherry, and a floral character. What a heady nose! Waves of dar fruit and acid up front with mid palate depth and rich red and black fruits with plenty of umami and spice. There was still good concentration and far more depth and interest than I'm accustomed to with Syrah. Black peppercorn, soy, wild strawberry. The finish was lingering and elegant. An incredible showing. With one bottle remaining I'll plan to revisit in about 2 years. I think this wine is likely at its peak but its stark improvement in the last 2.5 years leads me to believe otherwise. There is some thought Syrah shows its true greatness at 10 years and here is some corroborating evidence. Drink now until 2026 or longer? https://lnkd.in/eBMizieE
