2007 Booker Alchemist
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Tasting notes
A blend of 79% Syrah, 19% Petit Verdot and 2% Cabernet, the 2007 Booker Vineyard The Alchemist wows with sexy ripe fruit, lush texture, fantastic richness and serious length on the palate. Despite the size of the wine, it’s beautifully balanced and the overall seamless nature makes this a tough one to put down. Delicious, gulpable and down right hedonistic. Drink this beauty over the next 5 to 7 years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
(79% syrah, 19% petit verdot and 2% cabernet sauvignon) Vivid ruby. Highly spicy aromas of red and dark berry skin, cherry compote, violet and licorice. Youthfully taut, with firm tannins adding definition and support to the deep, sweet dark berry and bitter cherry flavors. Finishes long, focused and vaguely peppery. This wine is still a baby.
The 2007 The Alchemist, an intriguing blend of 79% Syrah, 19% Petit Verdot, and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, is fabulous. Inky ruby/purple in color, with an extraordinary nose of scorched earth a la a top Graves wine from Bordeaux intermixed with tar, acacia flower, blackberry, and creme de cassis as well as graphite, its incredibly complex aromatics are followed by a full-bodied wine with considerable opulence, flesh, purity, and depth. Seamless integration of tannin, good, vibrant acidity (no doubt from the limestone soils), and a freshness (despite the wine’s substantial size) make for a compelling red. Drink it over the next 10-15 years. Booker Vineyard, a 40-acre vineyard planted on limestone soils just west of Highway 101, continues to strut its stuff after its impressive debut in 2005. I retasted several of the 2006s I had last year, and the ratings were slightly elevated. Tel. (805) 237-7367; Fax (805) 237-7368