2002 Syrah Eisele Vineyard

(includes 4% viognier) Good medium ruby. Black raspberry, roasted meat and gunflint on the nose. Sweet, fat and fine-grained, with smoked meat, mineral and saline notes. Finishes with broad, sweet tannins and mouthcoating fruit. Lacks only the complexity for an even higher score.

Deep ruby. Both exotic and primary on the nose, with complex notes of black cherry, dark chocolate and gunflint. Densely packed and youthfully unevolved, with strong dark berry fruit complicated by pepper and dark chocolate. Conveys a saline impression of extract. Seems higher in acidity and more dominated by its structure than the 2001 was at the same stage. Bart Araujo notes that this very promising wine may be bottled later than usual.