#Shirah wine co

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Paso Zinfandel that WORKS Could this be my favorite Paso Robles Zinfandel? I haven't even tasted it yet, but it just might be.

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Alder Drinking

Bright ruby with just a touch of ruddiness at the thin clear edge. Massive soil and fruit blow out of it, a beautiful sanguine berry, and citrus earthy cola. There was a stage of alcohol, but it passed nicely, leaving me with gobs and gobs of black goodness, grimy, sticky fruit, a healthy dose of dank barnyard oozing in underneath sharp mineral razors. Pretty flower petals drift gently in,…

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750 Void

Little bit disappointed how this wine has held up… No heavy garnet or bricking, but a flabby, dull nose edged with significant eucalyptus. A smokiness akin to blown-out match and no real fruit of substance. Tasting it heads us back into a more acceptable realm of BDX Blend, but nothing exciting. Nearly fruitless, a shy bit of bleached woody berry smiles from the background before disappearing…

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Shirah/Syrah

We’re all used to big Syrahs now. Between Paso Robles and Santa Barbara and various spots up through Napa and Sonoma, we’ve all gotten used to the big, concentrated Syrah. And this is a big Syrah. But it’s not big like THAT. The thing that strikes me about Alder Creek is the wines will be big, but they arrive that way is such a glorious, un-sweet, un-concentrated, un-massive-mash way. The fruit…

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Could this be my favorite Paso Robles Zinfandel? I haven't even tasted it yet, but it just might be. I can tell already. first of all, it smells like Zinfandel.  That is crucial. Sure, I have gone on record thousands of times as not being a fan of the big ripe jam-bombs, and occasionally I will be wooed by a lean mean claret-style, but listen: It NEEDS to smell and taste like Zinfandel. Not-too-dense garnet out to a bright, clear bricked edge.  More clean-ness in the nose, Concord jelly and flour tortillas with a beautiful streak of dirtiness providing the funky bass-riff.  No alcohol, and ALL Zinfandel--headed just a touch pruney, but in a mischievous way, not a deleterious one--I mean there's just NO WAY of mistaking it for anything else but PURE Zin. Nearly flawless in the mouth.  Nice and curvy on entry, but not too thiccc.  Thistle and fresh oat stems, a drrrty drrrty Zinfandel core burning wild with searing acidity and the addictive bitter crush of sour cherry and rose hip.  The pruney-ness no longer bothers me. Zin inherently will have some, and here it bounces off a tight struggle with stemmy briar smartly.  A fat rasher of tannin smears the finish all over your fruit-ridden face, grinding it all in for one last nutty memory--and still, no alcohol.  I am guessing this at 14-9. Here's some fun stuff from the label--and NO, unlike many bloggers I am not C&P this to stretch my word-count or make my blog look smarter, it's just interesting stuff on the label that as winemakers and dorks, we groove on. I'm even TELLING YOU: Hey, I'm typing this STRAIGHT off the label. I'll even put in quotes. "Paso Robles Westside Templeton Gap Whalerock vyd Primitivo & Hambrecht clones Head-trained, Certified organic Harvested 10/22/15 at 28°, 100% d/s, 7 day cold soak, 21 primary mac. press to 100% Fr 25% new, Bottled Feb 2016" <--do the math on that. This is brilliant BRILLIANT Zinfandel. And if you're a fan, FIND IT. 2015 @SHIRAHWINE CO #Zinfandel #PasoRobles Central Coast 15.5 #libbeyglass (at Shirah Wine) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzb1-XinzJD/?igshid=hsni97oih8cs

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Bright clear pink medium ruby.  Grainy, briary nose, sultry and gamey, bruised hard cherry, mascarpone, blueberry yogurt and beautiful NyQuil maraschino playing peek-A-boo from a sort of rosy, baby-powder cheeriness of dull briar. A spirited decant is definitely in order on this one, and more ridiculously dark, minty fruit exposes itself with each swirl. Fresh off the kosher Syrah I opened the day before Passover, I was surprised to find these BDX babies in the wineries line-up.  I'm gonna guess a fat chunk of PV in this blend and maybe even a nice wholesome 13-5.  It is muddled and dirty, peppery and flowery, no big huge steroidal Cabernet Sauvignon showing here, boys & girls--it is a lean and versatile bottle, with curves in all the right places. In the mouth, rich black cherry stereotype starts off, but immediately a perfumed fig-newton Borkum Riff situation advances upon you, delightfully briary, rife with bitter seeds of anise, mustard and white pepper. All the worldliness of the nose cleans up like Britney Spears at the Oscars, and you are left with a surprisingly elegant package--although a bit shy on manners. I'm still stickin with Petit Verdot on this one, which isn't super-normal for Santa Barbara cabs, but that's what's talkin to me. It's a gorgeous wine, it's just: if you are suckled on the teat of massive vanilla-chocolate-cherry-hi-proof cabernets, this thing is going to probably set you back a couple notches.  I would stop well shy of calling it waifish--it is chubbed out in all the right places--and if you have a selection leaning towards lower alcohol and less extraction and purer interpretations of natural fruit with just enough attitude, THIS needs to be on your shelf. 2016 @SHIRAHWINE CO. 'Bro Deux' CS/PV 75/25 Paso Robles & Santa Ynez Valley Central Coast 13.7 #libbeyglass (at Shirah Wine) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwn2FtQhvd9/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1io8wru9qh0v8

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Bright ruby with just a touch of ruddiness at the thin clear edge.  Massive soil and fruit blow out of it, a beautiful sanguine berry, and citrus earthy cola. There was a stage of alcohol, but it passed nicely, leaving me with gobs and gobs of black goodness, grimy, sticky fruit, a healthy dose of dank barnyard oozing in underneath sharp mineral razors. Pretty flower petals drift gently in, mingling with the funk. I can't wait to taste this thing. A heavy decant is in order. It needs it. I don't decant a lot of Syrahs, but this one is a definite candidate. See, we all know some kosher wines. I'm not going to mention any brands, but if you came up through wine in the 80's and 90's,  you know who they are. There were a handful, and they were BAD wines. Seriously bad. I did a poll recently among my fairly heavy-wine-people on Facebook and almost 60% responded if they saw "Kosher" on a label they would have negative predispositions about the wine and a good third said the flat-out wouldn't buy it. So when I heard of this brand making primo Rhones from some of the best vineyards in California, a solid wine-making team and a positive marketing dynamic, I jumped all over it. There's no logical reason kosher wine can't be good. In the mouth, thin refreshing fruit greets the tongue. It takes a slight pause and then unleashes a fury of decadent Syrah all over your mouth. Deep sweet curls of black cherry curve around under the acid and alcohol, and more of that perfectly muddy cola crashes over the middle, parting the red sea of bite and beauty.  A powerful mineral astringency akin to age and terroir introduces the extremely manageable tannins--a bitter pill with a sweet coating. This is a gorgeous Syrah. Alcohol pops up now and again, I'm going to guess 14-7--which is not super hi, but there are areas where it doesn't wear it well. Then it goes away. Then it comes back. The way this thing opens up though... I've only been into it an hour and I'm learning new things constantly. 2015 SHIRAH WINE CO. Syrah/Viognier 94/6 Alder Springs Mendocino County 14.5 (at Shirah Wine) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bwa9DrohwV5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1b9gn4zo71yb