Grapelive Daily Pick
By Kerry Winslow

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Tardieu Laurent Saint Joseph Rhone Red2006 Tardieu-Laurent Saint-Joseph Vieilles Vignes Rhone Red.
This cuvee of old vine Syrah is super ripe and full-bodied with sweet fruit and lush textured mouth-feel. This wine is very modern in style and very clean with black and blue berry on the palate with hints of prunes, cherry liqueur, cassis and bitter chocolate. The color is very dark and will stain your teeth and coat your mouth with ripe tannins, but everything is smooth sailing and the finish is very lengthy with hints of coffee bean and caramel. Once the wine gets air it comes to life with violets, mineral, graphite and brighter fruit notes, in other words the wine is wound up, young and backwards still, so you might want to short term cellar this thing for a few more years, though if you like a thick monster Syrah that is more Australian in style, drink it up now! I left it open two days and liked it much better the third day and think it has a bit of a reward for those that put it down for a few years. ($55 Est.) 93 Points, grapelive

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