Carlisle Syrah Dry Creek Valley 2007

Fairly fresh on the nose with plenty of oak and vanilla notes, but they are well matched by the wild blackberry and boysenberry fruit aromas. There's a hint of green citrus peel here along with hints of violets, cranberries and white pepper. This is bright and sleek in the mouth, delivering plenty of detailed, spicy black fruits along with well integrated oak that adds nuanced coffee and cocoa notes. The tannins are super fresh with lively acidity that brightens the fruit on the back end before yielding to a lightly peppery, long finish that shows off lovely purity of fruit and offers up a better look at the soft but ample tannins that underpin this all. This is pretty and should age well over the medium term, say three to six years. 91pts

Dark, oily and quite oaky in a hickory nut sort of way on the nose, though there are lovely peppery nuances that rise to compete with the oak, which turns more chocolatey with air. There are nice floral and meaty accents here as well along with a nice core of plummy fruit. This is rather tight and focused on entry with lots of blue and black fruits emerging on the palate, supported by an underlay of toasty oak. The back end sees some floral notes and a bit of pepper emerging along with some shaved chocolate notes that lead to more chocolate and oak on the moderately long finish. The tannins here are quite ripe and the acidity bright enough to keep this lively, but this seems to be quite matte overall. Time should help here but this is a little four square. 87pts