Sparkling clear garnet with some sediment. Ripe floral and tea rip out of the glass on patina wings, with a slight high-petrol note, burnt rubber and wet firewood. A salty roasted Bak-O-Bits nuance… Soy Sauce or Worcestershire-like in a grainy umami. Late-breathing backs up the mint with cardboard eucalyptus and Luxardo fruit. It takes a second to work its way out, but this wine is NOT tired.  Fading?  Well of course it is.  It’s put in a great haul and has the chops to show for it.  Drinking wonderfully, though.

In the mouth, bright, crisp and clear, sharp mint dancing delicately on fine-pointed shoes barely making a ripple in lazy summer pond-water. More of that rich cherry flows over the middle, smooth and calm, with rusty briar bringing up a finish with sleeping tannins.

2003 JC CELLARS Syrah Fess Parker’s Vineyard Santa Barbara Co. 14.8

http://www.jccellars.com