VinoBargain: Surprising Syrah!
2009 Duck Pond Syrah
“Desert Wind Vineyard”
$9.95 bottle….$99.00 case
Being the jaded wine merchant, nothing much surprises me anymore. This little gem, however, shocked the he** out of me. You may remember me mentioning a few weeks ago that I was on the judging panel for the Seafood and Wine Festival and how most of the local wines we tasted were shockingly mediocre...or worse. But you get enough of anything together (with the exception of Fox News talking heads) and something exceptional is bound to stand out. Such is the case here. In that great Sea of Below Average this delicious syrah jumped out at me. Aromas and flavors of blackberry, plum, black pepper, smoke, and spice rolled from the glass. On the palate it was full, juicy, with enough grip and texture to really make me take notice. If you had asked me what it was I would have sworn someone had slipped in a nice Cotes du Rhone from France into the tasting. It was just a pleasure to drink. When I found out what it was I was amazed. When I found out the price I was all over it! How strongly do I feel about this one? Just let me say that the last time I carried a Duck Pond wine was never. And I am very happy to have this one. I even voted for it to receive a Gold Medal at the wine judging! Great warm weather slurping wine here, especially with something delicious off the grill, plus this is the perfect crowd pleaser!