Escorihuela Gascon Syrah 2004
Bodega
Range
Wine
Vintage
Origin
Price
Appearance
Bright but dense scarlet red, with sligthly brick-red hues.
Nose
Dense, fresh and lightly spiced aromas of cherries, blackberries and blackcurrants. Some woody notes with plenty of coffee and a trace of vanilla.
Palate
Medium bodied, with round, lightly spiced fruit characters of cherries, blackberries and blackcurrants, with perhaps a crisp red apple freshness. Caramely coffee characters come through on the palate. Soft, integrated tannins and a well balanced acidity hold the flavours and aromas together evenly from start to dry, savoury, lingering finish.
Overall
Another impressive wine from Escorihuela. This Syrah is closer in style to the Old World than a typcial Aussie Shiraz - the style is lighter, and the fruit 'redder', with correspondingly less intensity on the palate (or, more subtlety, depending on your point of view): the slightly cooler microclimate of Alto Agrelo likely accounts both for that, and also for the intense and delicious aromatic characters. A decent stint in French oak adds lovely coffee-caramel complexities. The palate is absolutely consistent from start to finish, thanks to impressive structure that never comes close to dominating. Very fair price for a classy, sophisticated drop.
****
(October 06)