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Tasting Notes
Medium bodied with plus acidity and tannin, this Syrah is more about restraint than power, yet still has admirable complexity, including attractive blackberry, red berry, garrigue, black pepper, leather, game, and subtle mineral and violet notes.
Body is the impression of a wines weight, density, or its ‘mouth-feel’. Some wines feel weighty, or full bodied, while others feel light bodied. Wine runs the gamut from light to full, with most falling somewhere in between.
TANNIN
Low
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Tannin can range greatly in wine, but it is necessary to some degree, and a necessary constituent for red wines to age well. In high amounts, it can cause a drying affect, which is sensed mostly on the gums and tongue. Tannin is a natural preservative extracted from grape skins, otherwise known as polyphenols that are micronutrients and antioxidants with potential health benefits.
ACIDITY
Soft
Subtle
Balanced
Pronounced
High
Acidity is a foundational component in wine. In fact, low acidity, or ‘flabby’ wine (as the term suggests) is a negative. You can sense acidity mainly on the sides of your tongue. Acidity generally ranges from balanced to high. Crisp acidity adds freshness, making your mouth water. Acidity is a necessary element and helps to balance other components.
SWEETNESS
Dry
Off Dry
Medium Dry
Medium Sweet
Very Sweet
Most wines are characterized as dry to off-dry, but there are some grape varietals, like Riesling, that run the gamut from dry to sweet. The tip of the tongue mainly detects sweetness, which is why it is often the primary characteristic detected. Sweetness is derived from residual sugar that did not ferment into alcohol.
ALCOHOL
12.5%
Alcohol is the by-product of fermentation. Differing grape varieties have differing potential alcohol levels, but regardless warmer areas result in riper grapes resulting in higher alcohol. Alcohol level is an objective number, but its affect on its palate impression is largely determined with how well integrated and balanced it is with other components.
A restrained Syrah that will sing with rich foods.
GRAPE VARIETAL(S)
Syrah
100%See-RA
Syrah is widely planted throughout the world, but that was not so until the late twentieth century when Syrah was principally grown in the Rhone Valley and, as Shiraz, in Australia. Stylistically, the Palate Character of Syrah can vary depending on ripeness from a rich Round & Fleshy, Tone & Backbone, to a Powerful & Extracted. The flavors and aromas can also vary with a dark, sometimes sweet, fruit character, varying amount of spice, floral, and earth, and smoke, and meaty aromas and flavors.
Domaine Georges Vernay is located in the heart of Condrieu and is the area’s reference standard dating back to 1940. Francis Vernay, and later Georges Vernay, played a critical role in restricting the limits of Condrieu to the best granite slopes, even at a cost to his own vineyard holdings.
Christine Vernay in Winery
Georges retired in the early nineties with the future somewhat adrift. That was until his daughter Christine returned home in 1996 and assumed control of the estate, taking the wines to new heights while expanding their offerings.
Domaine Georges Vernay now organically farms vineyards in St. Joseph, Côte-Rôtie, and, of course, Condrieu, with one of the best expressions of viognier that one can find. All of the wines of George Vernay are precise and pure, showcasing the complex fruit of their respective terroirs.
Blackberry
Game
Black Pepper
Organic
