Carlisle Winery & Vineyards Santa Lucia Highlands Rosella S Vineyard Syrah 2008

This is very subtly layered on the nose with detailed aromas of flowers, green peppercorn, blueberry and boysenberry fruit, a dash of vanilla and raw beef. Smooth and silky on entry, there's a lot of dry extract here adding power but this remains lively on the palate with a base of firm tannins imparting an earthy aspect to fruit flavors. Still very tight, this will need plenty of time, but the detailed hints of cocoa-dusted blackberries and black cherries that rise through the back end and turn aromatic on the long finish bode well for the future. The finale still shows some chocolatey oak but the lightly jammy fruit stays within to the very end. Keep for another two years then drink over the following six. 92pts

Funky and meaty on the nose, real roasted game note here along with truffles, blackberries and freshly turned earth. This enters the mouth broad yet a little soft, with slightly evolved flavors that show off the meaty side of Syrah. The tannins are a little dry and aggressive in the mouth and they really clamp down on the finish, which does show a nice, austere edge to the fruit. This remains tough and a bit chewy, with plenty of earthy fruit but enough structure to prevent one from seeing all its detail. On the back end, there is a burst of detailed raspberry fruit, then bitter cherries on the start of the finish, but this is tough to get a read on and not very much fun today. Will it improve? Very possibly, but I'm not sure I'd bet on it. 87pts