Another 2001 Napa Valley Syrah

When I was trying to decide which bottle to open for OTBN, another contender was the 2001 Shafer Relentless, also from Napa.  The bottle looks to run about $65, but it was given to me by a big wine lover who knew I liked Petite Sirah and blends.   This vintage is 81% Syrah and 19% Petite Sirah. Grown on a hillside ranch just south of Stags Leap, this field blend came from Elias Fernandez, the winemaker, and his  passion for the Rhone grape and the name from his level of determination and commitment.

This particular wine came to me with meaty smoke, chocolate, tar, plummy spice, and tilled dirt.  BK found pomegranate and carne asada. It moved through different stages and later became more hickory laden, then tasted slightly off, as if maybe there was a hint of brett.  The trek continued past green olives and soy, then heated spices such as corriander, and later into dried cranberries.

It was an interesting wine and maybe a little more complex than the bottle I did choose for OTBN.  Or maybe I’m just saying that because the Lagier Meredith was the next-to-last wine in a line of many….