($150) Saturated, bright ruby-red. Slightly high-toned, ineffably complex nose combines red and black fruits, smoked bacon, herbs, minerals, licorice, violet and gingerbread-is this syrah or what? Wonderfully concentrated and bright, showing an almost confectionery sweetness to its primary black fruit, brown spice and fruitcake flavors. The wine's great verve and intensity, along with its extraordinary length, suggest that it will enjoy a leisurely evolution in bottle. This wine was bottled in mid-May of this year, which means it spent 43 months in barrel.

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SQN's Syrahs are dynamite. In 2001, Krankl began to experiment with a limited production Syrah aged over 40 months in new oak (a la Marcel Guigal's famous Cote Roties - La Mouline, La Landonne, and La Turque). The second rendition of this cuvee, the 2002 Heart Chorea, is a Cote Rotie-like blend of 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier. Most of the fruit comes from the Alban and White Hawk vineyards. The opaque purple-colored 2002 Heart Chorea possesses extraordinary levels of concentration, intensity, and subtle nuances, a fabulous nose of charcoal, acacia flowers, creme de cassis, blackberries, pain grille, and espresso roast. Opulent, full-bodied, and super-intense, but neither heavy nor out of balance, it is unfortunate that production of this unreal Syrah is less than 100 cases.

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