($76) Glass-staining ruby. Spicy dark berries, singed plum, violet, olive and black pepper on the nose. Offers lush, sweet blackcurrant, blackberry and spice flavors, along with deeper licorice and olive tapenade qualities. Suavely blends sweet and savory elements, with a supple texture and fine-grained tannins on the back. This wine is already showing well but Smith believes it really needs at least five years of bottle age to show what it has, adding that 2008 and 2009 "are going to be superb for syrah." (JR)

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The dense, elegant 2007 Syrah Eddies Patch offers up aromas of pepper, tapenade, bouquet garni, and blackberries. This structured, tannic Syrah requires 1-2 years of cellaring for its tannins to melt away.

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Dense and massive, rich and concentrated, this full-blown red has a mouthcoating core of spicy dried berry, currant, spice, pepper, beef carpaccio and tannins that grip and hold on. Needs plenty of air.

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