CURRENTLY SERVING:

Truchard Carneros Syrah 2003

Tony Truchard has always straddled the lines of Old World and New World. His Syrah likes to mix and match her styles, but in the end never seems out of place in any environment. She dresses like Elaine Benes, but dances so much better. She might not be as smart as Elaine, but she’s also not as abrasive or slutty.

You find white pepper and bramble aromas on the nose along with light vanilla notes (from the barrel) and some cigar hints. The new world is quite apparent in the taste, though, as it’s a supple currant, red fruit and herb attack with a long lingering finish. The spiciness hangs in the back of your tongue for 20-30 seconds. It has a deep, sexy color, with a lot of leg showing.

Success in producing a classic-style Syrah, and selling to the new world is no small feat. Tony Truchard started growing grapes on his farm more than 30 years ago. He found that the soil on his land was different than others. His acreage was covered in dirt with healthy amounts of sandy, chalky deposits that are ideal for growing fruit with character. Up until 1989, he sold his fruit to winemakers in the region so they could make their own juice.

As I have expounded on often in this column, I find many California wines to be too fruit-forward, hiding the character of the terroir in which they are grown. This is not entirely the fault of the winemaker, sometimes it is our fault. We as consumers don’t like to be challenged. If it’s sweet and gets me drunk, I will buy it. Winemakers are often influenced by sales numbers and scores (Hey Robert Parker, $#@! you for ruining classic French wine) and forget why they started making wine in the first place. Truchard does sell a good amount of his fruit to winemakers to create the sucktastic swill forced upon us case-by-case, glass-by-glass. The money he makes from that fruit allows him to create his own estate bottled wine, made from his own crop that he didn’t sell off.

Good rule of thumb is to look for ‘Estate Bottled’ on the label to be sure the grapes are grown on the property where they are fermented and bottled. Usually (not always) you get more classic wines, because the Chateau sweats and toils with the weather and the difficult task of growing grapes, and respects the earth from whence it came. Otherwise there’s a chance the winemaker is standing on the shoulders of genius (the viticulturist) and will ruin all the respect, love, and care that goes into growing grapes.

Tony Truchard is doing right by classicists and Parker disciples alike. While he isn’t hitting a homerun for either camp, he’s producing something everyone can enjoy. The PLCB has picked up a TON of this and you will find it as a Chairman’s Selection all over. Not just in the specialty stores, most stores have more than 150 bottles of this juice. It was just released yesterday. It’s on sale at $17.99, while the rest of the country is paying around $28-$30. It will be on a display along with a Zinfandel from the same Estate. The PLCB Code is 014509.

Collin Flatt is a former Beer Pong champ turned oenophile. Collin Flatt spends his tax refunds on wine. Collin Flatt has his Bachelor’s Degree in drinking and is getting his Master’s Degree in winemaking. Collin Flatt is working on an Arctice Splash Cuvee. Collin Flatt writes about wine for Phoodie.info.

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