Had these 4 over the last few days:
1. Carlisle Syrah PelkanRanch/Knight'sVlly (14.9%; 260 cs) 2007: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; strong blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry/ripe light toasty/pencilly/Fr.oak/smokey some peppery/spicy somewhat complex quite fragrant nose; lightly tart/tangy strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/peppery bit hot/alcoholic some toasty/oak slight metallic/tangy bit complex flavor w/ light bit tangy tannins; very long strong blackberry/Syrah/spicy/peppery some smokey/pencilly/oak bit complex finish w/ light tannins; plenty of Syrah fruit but the slight tangy/metallic character of a wine past its prime; probably as good as it's gonna get.
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2. Carlisle Syrah JamesBerryVnyd/PasoRobles (15.0%; 110 cs) 2007: Very dark color w/ little bricking; very strong blackberry/Syrah/very ripe/boysenberry/chocolaty/jammy very light oak rather simple/one dimensional nose; soft very ripe blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/PR jammy/chocolaty some hot/alcoholic light toasty/oak rather ripe/simple/PR jammy flavor w/ light ripe tannins; very long ripe/boysenberry/blackberry/chocolaty/Syrah/PR jammy finish w/ light ripe tannins; still loads of ripe/PR Syrah fruit but a bit simple and not developing into anything interesting; not about to die or anything but not evolving into anything interesting.
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3. Carlisle Syrah DryCreekVlly (14.5%; 260 cs) 2007: Very dark color w/ some bricking; strong blackberry/Syrah/DCV raspberry/bit blueberry light pencilly/oak slightly tired/oldRed nose; soft rather tangy/metallic some blackberry/Syrah/bit spicy/raspberry light oak bit tired/dried out/oldZin flavor w/ light tangy/metallic tannins; med.long slight blackberry/Syrah/blueberry light pencilly/oak finish w/ light tannins; still offers up a bit of Syrah pleasure and not yet dead but headed down/down/down.
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4. Carlisle Syrah Rosella'sVnyd/SantaLuciaHighlands (14.7%; 190 cs) 2007: Very dark color w/ slight bricking; intense blackberry/Syrah/very spicy slight herbal/SLH Syrah/thyme/rosemary light pencilly/toasty/oak fairly complex quite aromatic nose; fairly tart/tangy/slight metallic strong blackberry/Syrah/very spicy bit c-c/peppery slight Rhonish/roasted very light toasty/Fr.oak rather aromatic fairly complex flavor w/ light tangy tannins; very long/lingering quite tart/tangy strong blackberry/c-c Syrah/peppery spicy/herbal/thyme light pencilly/toasty/oak finish w/ light tannins; a beautiful full-mature Syrah that speaks strongly of SLH Syrah; probably at its peak or slightly beyond.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. Of these 4 Syrahs, the Rosella's was clearly my favorite. It and the JamesBerry were still very much alive, though I doubt they improve much more, if any. The Pelkan & the DCV were clearly showing their age, though not yet dead.
Tom