Grapelive Wine of the Day
By Kerry Winslow
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2009 Piedrasassi Syrah “PS” Santa Ynez Valley.
Sashi Moorman’s own project, when he is not making Stolpman, Sandhi with Raj Parr, or Evening Land wines, dedicated to small lots of Syrah, Piedrasassi has been making world class Syrah since 2003. Sashi is a great talent and one of California’s finest winemakers, he has quietly reached this level without lots of fanfare or Hollywood glamour, since his days as an assistant winemaker at Ojai Vineyards, and I’m not sure why, as he has scored big with Robert Parker and others over the years! That said, Sashi Moorman has a huge cult like following, especially within the industry, which is high praise indeed. This “PS” Syrah is trademark Sashi, and if you love Syrah you need to get some, this striking red has charm, depth and class way beyond it’s meager price, I can say it may just be the best wine for the price I’ve had this year! This 2009 PS is darkly fruited with blueberry, boysenberry and dusty olallieberry leading the way with cassis, mineral, pepper, truffle, game and licorice notes all flowing in the background. The palate is round and full, but everything is alive and balanced with fresh acidity and there is only a tiny trance of wood and a hint of smoky char. This wine is pure class and a steal, sadly it is likely to be hard to find as not much of it was made, but it is worth chasing!
($18 Est.) 93+ Points, grapelive
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