Grapelive Wine of the Week
By Kerry Winslow
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2008 Samsara Syrah “Melville” Sta. Rita Hills.
This stunning Syrah is even better than the great reviews it has received already, and is really coming together well, filling out and getting more layered and complex. The nose has it all, perfume of violets, gamey earth and bacon, mineral notes, brown spices and black fruits. The palate is lush, but vibrant with blueberry, cherry, plum and boysenberry fruits leading the way with truffle, pepper, smoke and lingering cassis. Touches of bitter chocolate and fennel add to the whole and I would guess this amazing Syrah will just get better over the next 3 to 5 years, but I would be hard pressed to save any that long! Bravo to Chad Melville, he is really hitting his stride now and making fantastic terroir driven artisan wines in tiny amounts at extremely fair prices.
($40 Est.) 95+ Points, grapelive
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