This one is not a food
wine; it is the whole meal! Our section of Thompson Vineyard is
at the top of the hill, and that, combined with the extra leaf-pulling
and crop-thinning that we did, turned out to be important in cool
1999. That last little warm spell we had in late October was just
enough to take these grapes to super ripeness. With a larger crop,
the grapes would never have ripened sufficiently. This wine is
the gem of the vintage, and showing off well 1999's attributes.
In any vintage, if you
have a warm enough location, you can make a monster wine. But
it takes a special vintage and a special spot to achieve the balance
necessary for great wine. Whether this wine is great can certainly
be debated, but we are very happy with it, and all the conditions
were right at Thompson in 1999. This wine displays the vineyard-specific
aromas of coffee, chocolate and smoke and is very rich in the
mouth. That richness is balanced by lots of tannin and reasonable
acidity, which will allow this syrah to age gracefully for many
years.