2007 Syrah Eddie’s Patch
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Tasting notes
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."
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
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. It should drink well for 10-12 years. With highly committed proprietor Kerry Murphy and talented winemaker Andy Smith, DuMol continues to be one of the most reliable names in winedom for high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Moreover, consumers should not overlook their top flight Viognier and blockbuster Syrahs. All of the Chardonnays are barrel-fermented and spend 18 months on their lees with monthly stirring. The percentage of new French oak used varies from around 45% to 55%. The Pinot Noirs are kept on their lees for about 15 months, and the percentage of new oak ranges from 40% to 60%. The clonal material comes from old California selections such as Calera, Swan, and Martini as well as newer Dijon clones such as 115 and 777. As I reported in issue #180, the cool growing conditions in 2007 produced some of the finest Chardonnay fruit that winemaker Andy Smith had ever seen. The 2008 Chardonnay crop was average in size, but produced very tiny berries. All the wines had relatively slow malolactics (not unusual at this winery). Tel. (925) 254-8922; Fax (925) 254-8942