The UnCorker

Failla Syrah Que

June 21, 2009 | In WINE REVIEWS |

Under cute, festive titles sometimes lurk ambitious wines. Look at the Australians, for chrissakes, who have made a culture out of serious wine people competing for the dorkiest name possible to slap onto a label. The Que Syrah vineyard is in the northerly reaches of the Sonoma coast area - and is one of the cooler climate Syrah vineyards in all of California. Intrigued by top Syrah maker Failla’s success with this vineyard in the past, and noticing that they were no longer releasing wines made from this particular source of fruit, we decided to seek out where it was available now - which turns out to be Boheme Wines, who currently has a 2005 Que Syrah Vineyard Syrah in release.

The winemaker at Failla, Ehrin Jordan, has serious pedigree. He is one of the key forces behind Turley - a cult zin maker. Failla is the family winery, sourcing fruit from a wide variety of sources and is particularly acclaimed for northern Rhone style results achieved from the Syrah varietal. The 2006 Failla Phoenix Ridge Syrah topped the Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 list in 2008(the full list can be downloaded here). Jordan is a master fruit-sourcer. In Jordan’s hands, the Syrah from the Que vineyard is compared to Crozes-Hermitage, Cornas, Cote-Rotie, and Saint Joseph, the four most famous French regions for this varietal. True or not, this is wine-geek-speak for saying the stuff rocks. The fruit flavors trend towards the red side of the spectrum - ripe cherries and rasberries. Expect wild, gamy, herb-like subtleties with flinty minerality and earthy notes such as black olives. The wine is noted for a consistent balance between a fleshy, lush introduction to the palate with a dry, spicy, and slightly acidic grip that makes the finish surprising. In Boheme’s hands - under winemaker Kurt Beitler - the results are similarly wonderful to our great relief. The same flinty, gamey quality, integrated tannins, and balanced acidity. Que Syrah, Syrah indeed.