2003 SYRAH THOMPSON
Santa Barbara County

Wow, this wine smells incredible! It is forest-y, meaty and animal-y, but at the same time there are aromas of graham cracker crust, chocolate and coffee-this wine just has everything! Although it is a bit of a bruiser to drink right now, if you like that sort of thing I recommend decanting the wine a few hours before drinking. The bottle I tasted today opened up dramatically after six hours to show a pretty blueberry jam character and additional textural softness. This is exciting, because truly age-worthy young wines often demonstrate their potential by showing off many facets as they develop after decanting. All of the Thompson syrahs have taken years to really show their stuff, and this one really has the elements to make a great bottle of wine in six to ten years.