Home Wine U The Buzz Wine Reviews   Review Archive   Rating System Calendar Fun Stuff About Us Key Contacts Search FAQ Links		January 2007 Wine Tasting Notes: 2004 William James Cellars Syrah, Santa Barbara County. This wine is a deep smoky garnet color. The nose shows dense, almost jammy blackberry with light pepper and cherry and plum notes. On the palate, cherry, pepper and a hint of leather precede notes of mineral and savory herbs. A balanced combination of tannins, acids and alcohol make for a medium body and smooth mouthfeel. Cherry and plum notes truncate rather quickly on the finish to give way to firm but supple tannins and notes of savory herbs. RWB Score: 89 breakdown 14.3% Alcohol $28.00 Retail (from winery);        200 cases produced This 2004 is a well-extracted and straightforward, medium bodied Syrah. Its fruity nose may be a bit understated, but is more generous than the palate and finish. The asset of this soft wine is that it is a good pairing with BBQ and even slightly spicy dishes. Should drink well through 2011. Detail   More William James Cellars reviews. More on Santa Barbara County 100% Syrah, Premiere Coastal Vineyards. Aged 10 months in neutral oak barrels. Syrah is an ancient varietal proven by DNA analysis (in part at UC Davis) to be a native of the northern Rhône region of France. Prior to this evidence, its origin was disputed between the Rhône region and that around the Persian city of Shiraz – hence the two names for the grape. Syrah gives tannic and spicy red wines with significant longevity. Because of its weight, it contributes body and structure to blends with the softer, fruitier Grenache and Mourvèdre. In the southern Rhône, these varieties make up the core of Châteauneuf du Pape reds. Syrah not only needs hot climates but thrives in them - as its rapid propagation in California and Australia demonstrates. It is also widely grown in the southern portion of Oregon, Washington and South Africa. It was first planted in California in 1971 from cuttings from the Hermitage appellation in northern Rhône and Australian Shiraz cuttings (which are said by some to be of Hermitage origin themselves). Current reports indicate total California Syrah acreage to be approaching 13,000 acres. The thick-skinned, very darkly pigmented grapes give inky, deep colored wines described as violet or nearly black. Syrah is very tannic, rich, chewy and textured and is typified by high alcohol and a spice-over-fruit character. The latter tends to be more accentuated in cooler climates where the grapes develop a higher skin-to-pulp ratio. This can be nicely demonstrated by tasting Syrahs from growers spanning the north-south gamut of the Central Coast regions. Although expressivity may vary slightly between different clones, Syrah typically shows black (sometimes white) pepper, licorice, clove, thyme and bay leaf as part of its spice component. The dark fruit typically expressed are blueberries, black currants and blackberries. Syrah may also show cedar or sandalwood notes. As with just about all wines, bottle age brings out terroir and cedar, tobacco, earth and leathery notes. The 458-acre Premiere Coastal Vineyard sits outside the obliquely running southwestern border of the Santa Maria Valley AVA along Highway 101 at Palmer Road, north of the town of Los Alamos. Planted in 1998, the vineyard produces Chardonnay (200 acres), Pinot Noir (100 acres), Merlot (80 acres) and Syrah (78 acres). The Los Alamos Valley, the proposed new AVA where the vineyard is located, sits between the Santa Maria and Santa Ynez Valley AVAs. Its intermediate geography translates into intermediate climate. The temperatures here are on average 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than in the Santa Maria Valley and 10 degrees cooler than in the Santa Ynez Valley. Growing on the southwestern-facing slopes of the Solomon Hills (which form the northern border of the proposed Los Alamos AVA), the 26 blocks of the vineyard are farmed for and sold to small and large producers including: Au Bon Climat, Bridlewood, Wild Horse Winery, William James Cellars, Fetzer and Beringer Blass Wine Estates (formerly Beringer). The hot 2004 growing season was one of the shortest in the history of the state. Harvest came two to three weeks earlier than usual, at the start of August. Statewide reports of light to normal yields of excellent quality fruit with superb extraction raised anticipation of the wines to come. However, red wines from this vintage are proving variable by our experience. While this "crop of crops" was lauded as producing highly extracted fruit, some wines have been rather unbalanced while others were stunning an memorable. This seems to depend more on the combination of AVA and vineyard management, rather than winemaking techniques. Each offering from this vintage should be judged individually and not by virtue of vintage alone since the shortened growing season affected different varietals in different AVAs and even vineyards. In 2003, winemaker Jim Porter entered the commercial wine making scene in Santa Barbara County. Jim started making home wine with “with kitchen utensils, strainers and trash cans”. Spurred by his successes in home wine competitions, and aided by his connections with various vineyards made through his agricultural irrigation business over the past eight years, Jim was able to put together a winery operation at Fess Parker’s Wine Center in Santa Maria as an alternating proprietor. William James Cellars currently offers Chardonnay, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Roussanne, and Syrah Sourced from all over the Central Coast. With an annual production of 4,000 cases, Jim is moving to an independent wine making facility to be be announced. Their tasting room is located at 113 S. College Avenue in Santa Maria at the corner of Main St. and College Ave. Color  5 points Nose  4 points Palate  3 points Finish  2 points Tannins  5 points Acidity  5 points Alcohol  5 points Aging potential  2 points Overall quality  8 points Back to top Rating Scale explained Search our wine reviews archive by: review date, vintage and winery.			Get the buzz: Wine reviews Great stories Interviews Wine education tools New content every month It's FREE! Click here
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