This is a huge, brooding effort from Helen Turley and the team at Martinelli.  This Syrah was quite a hit at our Thursday tasting panel with several tasters going back for a second tasting to “ensure consistent notes”, wink wink.  We scored it a “Classic 95″.  Less than 300 cases produced!  – Jeff

Purchase this wine at Porthos

Buy this wine at Porthos.

Produced by B Cellars.

Calliope Muscat

Recently, a serious wine collector friend of TheWineInsiders asked us to attend his wife’s birthday celebration and bring the finest current wines we could access. This included a combination of extremely rare wines as well as a few undiscovered gems (see full list is below). Each wine was paired with a particular course of the meal to enhance the flavors. We enjoyed the 2001 Patz & Hall Chardonnay “Dutton Ranch” with lobster bisque. We savored every drip of the 2005 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes with fois gras, and then we paused to sample the various Syrah. Later, we sampled the Cabernets and Cabernet blends with an exquisite lamb course. The climax of the evening was the chocolate dessert and the 99 point rated Australian late harvest Muscat (which I would describe as a combination of d’Yquem and molasses).

Two important guidelines:

1. It’s very important to open each bottle earlier in the day to let them breathe – particularly if you’re pouring young (less than 10 years old) Cabernets with powerful tannins. The benefits of doing this:

• You get to sample a tiny bit of each wine early in the day (with a clean palate) and establish an opinion without any food or distractions.
• The wines will most likely improve as flavors develop several hours later when you enjoy them with the food. 

Notable winners below were the Hestan Cabernet and the Two Hands “Aphrodite” which were both enjoyable when we first uncorked them (around 2 p.m.) but were noticeably richer and more flamboyant approximately 6 hours later when we poured them to enjoy dinner. I personally rated each wine 2 – 3 points higher after decanting.

2) It’s great to have a few leftovers at the end of the evening. This particularly applies to the red wines so that you can enjoy a sip or two the next day (hangover permitting) on a relatively clean palate. Most big, young Cabernet blends and Syrah can normally stand to be open at least one day before the quality of the experience deteriorates.

The Full Birthday Celebration Tasting:

• 2001 Patz & Hall Chardonnay “Dutton Ranch”, Sonoma
  In a Rare Jerobaom Bottle
• 2005 Chateau Guiraud Sauternes, France
  Wine Spectator #4 “Wine of the Year” 2008
• 2004 Elderton “Command” Shiraz, Australia
  Robert Parker “Classic 98″ Rating
• 2006 Long Shadows “Sequel” Syrah, Washington
  Original “Grange” Shiraz Winemaker
• 2005 Spencer Rolloson “La Herradura” Syrah, Napa
  Wine Spectator “Outstanding 93″ Rating
• 2005 Meyer Estate Cabernet, Napa
  Brand New Release!
• 2006 Tor Family “To-Kalon” Cabernet, Napa
  French Laundry Restaurant “House” Favorite + 96 points RP!
• 2005 Hestan Estate Reserve Cabernet, Napa
  TheWineInsiders “Classic 97″ Rating
• 2005 Vina Cobos Malbec “Marchiori”, Argentina
  Robert Parker “Classic 98″ Rating
• 2005 Two Hands Aphrodite Cabernet, Australia
  Robert Parker “Classic 98″ Rating
• R L Buller Calliope Muscat Rutherglen, Australia
  Robert Parker “Classic 99″ Points