Saturday, September 11, 2010

2006 Sine Qua Non Syrah Raven Series

Popped and poured this bad boy right behind a Lillian syrah for Paul and Stefania as we were on a syrah kick.  This is the second time that we have had this wine, and once again it was solid.

On the nose, again, the black and blue fruits dominate.  For me, the blackberry and blueberry were teh standout stars, with other nuances of plum, mocha, and coffee tones.  The pepper and spice where there, but I was missing the tar and rubber from the last bottles.

On the palate, the jammy berries dominate, and this bottles seems to be even more youthful from the first bottle we had as the alcohol seems more prevelant.  Bottles variation?  Doubtful, but there seems to be a lot more heat on this bottle from what I remember.

This wine is loaded with layers of big fruits in the typical, high throttle, over ripe Manfred way, which is the very reason we love these wines!  Now if only we could get off the mailing list!  More black cherry and raspberry on the palate, again, with some pepper and spice, and a hint of smokiness.  This was by far the most peppery syrah we had tonight, again, I don't remember it being so prevelant in the last bottle.

Even so, this was an outstanding bottle, and there is nothing more enjoyable about this hobby than opening up a bottle like this for friends, and seeing them enjoy it!  As with the last bottle, I am going to refrain from scoring it, and in all honesty, I think that the Lillian prior to this edged it out.  Call me crazy!  Cheers!

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