The Reverse Wine Snob's #1 Syrah Put to the Test

Sue wanted to make a pot of chili. I told her we could have a couple of people over to enjoy it and do a little tasting at the same time. She was all for it.

Bob and Carolyn, Jose, and even John joined us for chili and a Syrah blind tasting featuring the #1 and #9 wines from The Reverse Wine Snob's May 2012 Top 10 Red list. To give us something to contrast them against I threw in the Syrah we recently picked up from Silvertip Vineyards, and a highly rated unknown wine I found via K&L's website.

We randomized everything and put the wine in decanters in anticipation of our guests' arrival. The group was small enough to supply 4 glasses per person, which is always nice.

All Dressed Up and Waiting to Go

John arrived early, so Park entertained him with Fruit Ninja and Spelunky on the Xbox 360. We couldn't convince him to give it a try. Sue carved up John's gift of warm bread and set it out to be enjoyed with the cheese, crackers, and dried meats. The warm bread and brie tasted great! These held my growing hunger at bay, for a while.

Both Bob and Carolyn, and Jose were running late, so my "starvation" lead me to change the normal order and eat a couple of bowls of delicious chili before we began the tasting. When the others arrived, they caught up quickly enough with John and I. Sue topped her great chili with some warm corn bread.

Carolyn through the Haze

They May be Buying it, but CJ's Not!

No Wine in Hand Makes Sue Mischievous

We tried each of the wines a couple of times, sharing and comparing notes, all the while enjoying each other's company. We tallied the ratings and ripped the bags open.

The Tasting Notes of a Mad Man?

Results

Top to Bottom from Left to Right

A - 2008 Bonny Doon Vineyard, Le Pousseur, Central Coast came in first place with an average of 2.49. It cost $16 and used a screw top. This was #9 on RWS' May 2012 Top 10 Red list. This was velvety and tasted of chocolate. We brought some of this home when we visited Bonny Doon a couple years ago.

D - 2008 Big Basin Vineyards, Mandala came in second place with an average of 2.49. It cost $39. I found this via the K&L website, searching for highly rated Syrahs. The last Syrah blind tasting we had, the Rattlesnake Rock from Big Basin Vineyards came in first.

C - 2008 Silvertip VINEYARDS, Santa Cruz Mountains came in third place with an average of 2.49. It cost $25. Sue and I picked this up on our recent trip to the vineyard. I remember it tasting very different at the vineyard.

B - 2009 Andrew Murray Vineyards, Tous Les Jours, Central Coast came in last place with an average of 2.08. It cost $14 and also used a screw top. This was #1 on RWS' May 2012 Top 10 Red list. This tasted very rough to me. 

None of the ratings were very high. Out of the 24 ratings, only 4 were I Liked It(3) or better. I don't know what to make of this. I usually like Syrah, but this tasted mostly bitter. Surprisingly Jose's notes indicated all of the wines were drinkable, though he gave half of them less than 3.

The RWS' choices were a mixed bag, coming in first and last, but a good reason to have a blind tasting.

An Explosion of Pinots

We had a wonderful wine filled BBQ for the fourth joined by Jose, Carlos, and Craig.

2011 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier

We started with an inexpensive bottle of white Paul had been recommending: 2011 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc-Viognier. I found it at KnL for $10.99. The first taste was unfamiliar, but I quickly warmed up to it. Everyone agreed it was quite nice.

Continuing my Reverse Wine Snob inspired inexpensive tasting spree, we moved to an intimate blind tasting of Pinots that included the Kirkland brand and two unknowns that I had picked up at Santa Cruz Mountains wineries. I pulled out more glasses. We tried each of them, comparing notes, and talking about this and that.

Results

Top to Bottom from Left to Right

C - 2009 Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains, Branciforte Creek Vineyard came in first place with an average of 3.35. Sue and I picked this up at the winery the last time we were there. It cost $39.

This wine was darker than the others and had an aroma of cured meats. Yum! Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the taste. I thought it was very rough, but it was everyone else's favorite. Jose thought this wine reminded him of the Picchetti.

B - 2007 Regale, O'Neal Vineyward, Russion River Valley came in second place with an average of 3.18.  Sue and I also picked this up at the winery the last time we were there . It cost $50.

Jose claimed this wine had the Pinot aftertaste, whatever that is.

A - 2010 Kirkland, Carneros came in last place with an average of 3.13. I picked this up at Costco. It cost $9.99. When I picked it up a friendly Costco patron told me she thought that it was pretty expensive for a Kirkland brand and I should try the ménage à trois.

This wine had a very light aroma and tasted like medicine. The others disagreed, giving it a likable rating. As it opened up, I settled on rating this a 3 too, giving it the nod over C.

This is the second blind tasting the Branciforte Creek Vineyard has won (see other tasting). There must be something there, but it doesn't work for me.

Dinner

Sue served us huge New York strip steaks, accompanied by shrimp, corn bread, corn on the cob, and my mother's cheesy potatoes. Does life get any better?

To finish the evening, I brought out the 2010 Châteauneuf-du-Pape I had also pickup at Costco. It cost $19.99; one can only image what the friendly patron would have thought of this price. I couldn't believe there was a Kirkland French wine. I wonder what the French think? I found the bottle mediocre, though no obvious flaws; decent, but nothing special. Were I Robert Parker, I would have rated it high 80s.

At 8:30 we headed off to enjoy the fireworks from the mall garage roof.

The Reverse Wine Snob

Carlos pointed me to this Business Insider article, which interviewed the The Reverse Wine Snob. I'd never heard of him. He rates wine under $20. Had I found my wine arch-nemesis?*

Not at all! While I tend to only drink wine that costs more than $20, I would love to find enjoyable wine under that price. It's possible I have become snobbish in what I like, but I hope not.

Reading his Top 10 Red list inspired me to try his highest rated wines and see what I thought. I called up Jose, resident Costco evangelist, to get me in. I had been wanting to go there since I watched the CNBC special on Costco. We walked the wine aisle, looking for any matches from the list. I picked up a few bottles, two from his list, and we headed home to give them a try. A couple of texts to Bob, and he and Carolyn were on their way to join us. They arrived with enough cocktail weenies, cheese, and crackers to feed an army.

2008 Dry Creek, Old Vine, Zinfandel

The first wine we tried was a 2008 Dry Creek, Old Vine, Zinfandel. It wasn't on the top ten list, but I always like to have a Zin for Jose. It cost $18.89. Variants of this wine, there are 3 different Zins, have scored high in a couple of our blind tastings, but this bottle didn't work for me; it tasted chalky, perhaps from tannins. It may also have been from the serving temperature; Jose pointed out the wine was too warm.

2008 d'Arenberg, The Laughing Magpie, Shiraz Viognier 

The second wine we tried was a 2008 d'Arenberg, The Laughing Magpie, Shiraz Viognier. It wasn't on the top ten list either, but it was from the creator of The Dead Arm, a bottle Jose gave to me as a birthday present years ago, and I figure what the heck. It cost $17.99. It tasted pretty good.

2009 Tudal Family Winery, Tractor Shed Red

The third wine we tried was the 2009 Tudal Family Winery, Tractor Shed Red, a California blend of Sangiovese, Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Franc. This is #2 on his list and cost $6.99. It tasted great! I'm going to have to try a couple more bottles to verify our original findings. Bob asked me to pick him up one, which I did, but since he didn't take it home...

2010 Napa Cellars, Napa Valley, Merlot

The last wine we tried was the 2010 Napa Cellars, Napa Valley, Merlot. The 2009 is #7 on his list. This cost $12.99. It too was very good and warranted further investigation.

Bob and Jose concentrate on the tastes and smells

Sue shines with glass in hand

* Everyone knows that Carlos is my poker arch-nemesis.

Redux

I tried the Dry Creek again days later at a poker game and did not at all get the chalky taste. In fact, it tasted quite nice, though it didn't help my poker game (but what can). Either the temperature was too high or the bottle was bad. I would guess it the former.

We tried the Tractor Shed Red again last night. It's unfamiliar taste seemed pretty rough to me. I may try it again, but I'm not thinking this is drinkable unless you proceed it with two other bottles.

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• The Reverse Wine Snob's #1 Syrah Put to the Test