2012 Lagier Meredith, Syrah, Mount Veeder, Napa Valley.
The husband and wife team of Dr. Carole Meredith, the renown grape varietal researcher, and Steve Lagier are making some of the most impressive wines ever to come from Mount Veeder, high above the Napa Valley in the Mayacamas range. Every vintage seems to get better and better here at Lagier Meredith, and Steve Lagier did a fantastic job crafting the latest 2012 vintage wines from this estate, especially his Syrah, which is one of the best in the state. Along with this fantastic Syrah they also do Tribidrag, the grape as known as Zinfandel, of which Carole was instrumental in discovering it’s origins in Croatia, as well as Mondeuse, a rare Savoie grape that has found a nice home up on Mount Veeder, both are well worth checking out. This 2012 Lagier Meredith Syrah starts with a heady mix of perfume and spice with crushed violets, red pepper flakes, espresso and cassis leading to a gripping palate of medium to full weight that reminds you of Guigal’s Cote-Rotie in many ways with lush texture and deep character, showing racy plum, blueberry, fig paste, boysenberry and kirsch along with camphor, bacon, graphite/mineral, cedar, peppercorns, flinty stone and a touch of vanilla stick. I’m a huge fan of this wine that is most certainly a California wine, but one that shows it’s Northern Rhone heritage in gorgeous fashion with a hint of black olive and stems in the background. Alban, Stolpman, Samsara, Pax, Bedrock, Pisoni, Sandlands and Arnot-Roberts lead the way for top Syrah in California in recent years, and this Lagier Meredith joins these elites as well as the likes of Cayuse and Sine Qua Non with this effort. If you like Syrah at all you’ll love this one, and this vintage should develop further in the next 3 to 5 years, be sure not to miss it, best from 2016 to 2022, though it will be damn hard to resist it’s charms as is! This is awesome Syrah!
($50 Est.) 95+ Points, grapelive
