($65; 14.8% alcohol; a blend of lots from multiple vineyards, all vinified with 100% whole clusters, and aged in a very low percentage of new oak) Good medium ruby. Sappy, spicy aromas of fruity chocolate and violet; offers terrific floral lift but without the benefit of any viognier. Then dense and almost painfully concentrated, with black fruit, bitter chocolate and spice flavors framed by firm acids. Finishes with gripping (stem) tannins that really call for four or five years of patience. "An un-California wine," Mahle notes.

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Notes of bacon fat, flowers, creme de cassis, blackberries, and charred wood jump from the glass of the 2003 Syrah Cuvee Keltie. No new oak is utilized, but 100% stems are used in the production of this big, tannic monster (14.9% alcohol). It comes across as a hybrid version of a ripe northern Rhone and a classic, rich, concentrated Syrah from California.

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