Cracked into a case of Novy's last night:
1. Novy Syrah SonomaCnty (14.5%) 1999: Med.dark bit murky color w/ some bricking; some earthy some toasty/Siduri oak/smokey light blueberry/blackberry/Syrah bit aged nose; soft slight tangy/metallic some smokey/Siduri oak light blackberry/Syrah some earthy flavor w/ light tangy tannins; med. long smokey/Siduri oak light blueberry/Syrah some tangy/metallic finish w/ light tannins; a fairly classic Novy Syrah that still offers up a bit of pleasure but the tangy/metallic character suggests it's going south; speaks strongly of Siduri oak.
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2. Novy Syrah SonomaCnty (14.5%) 2000: Med.color w/ some bricking; very strong smokey/Siduri oak fairly strong blueberry/blackberry/Syrah slight peppery bit complex nose; lightly tart very slight bretty/horsecollar strong Siduri oak/smokey rather blueberry/Syrah/blackberry slight peppery/spicy some complex flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long rather blueberry/Syrah/blackberry some Siduri oak/smokey/pencilly finish w/ light gentle tannins; much better condition than the '99; a classic fully mature Novy Syrah.
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3. Novy Syrah NapaVlly (15.1%) 2000: Med.light murky some browning color; rather tired/metallic light blackberry/Syrah somewhat earthy/oafish light toasty/oak nose; rather tart/tangy/metallic light blackberry/Syrah light toasty/pencilly/oak some earthy rather tired flavor w/ light tangy/astringent/tired tannins; med. tangy/metallic/tired light blueberry/Syrah light pencilly/oak finish w/ light metallic/tired tannins; rather tired and not a whole lot to like about this wine.
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4. Novy Syrah SantaLuciaHighlands (14.5%) 2000: Very dark color w/ little bricking; very strong blackberry/boysenberry/ripe/Syrah slight herbal/garrigue/rosemary/thyme fairly spicy light toasty/smokey/oak quite complex rather attractive nose; lightly tart very spicy/blackberry/Syrah/boysenberry light toasty/smokey/Siduri oak bit herbal/garrigue/thyme complex lovely flavor w/ light smooth tannins; very long lightly tart some herbal/garrigue strong blackberry/boysenberry/Syrah/ripe bit herbal/thyme some smokey/Siduri oak complex finish w/ light gentle tannins; a lovely fully mature Novy Syrah that is quite attractive; drink up.
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A wee BloodyPulpit:
1. I've long been a fan of Novy Syrahs. They usually have a strong Siduri oak signature and loads of up-front Syrah fruit. And very reasonably priced. They don't have the structure for long aging that these so well demonstrate. The Napa Syrahs are my least favorites and typically the SLH the best. These were all the basic Novy appellation Syrahs, so my expectations were not very high. The SLH was clearly the best of the four and the Napa pretty much gone.
Tom