Three Coins Syrah 2009

Lots of blueberry fruit greets the nose along with some nuanced notes of grilled meats, toasty oak, a touch of black pepper and some fresh balsamic notes. There's plenty of oak here, with lots of vanilla and toasty, oaky flavors wrapped around the core of blackberry and blueberry fruit. There's a pleasant astringency to the tannins, which helps to balance out some of the light sweetness this shows on the mid-palate. The finish is a bit spicier, with more toasty oak and vanilla than fruit, but decent length. A bit rough around the edges and showing some heat, but offers a lot of wine. 87pts

Smells like roast venison, herbs, cracked pepper, dried juniper, salty/sweet, with a touch of wet dog. There’s a bit of the caramel, chocolate oak that runs through of these wines as well but it’s well in the background. Medium bodied, bright and juicy with super fine tannins give this a silky feel. The fruit has a subtle wild edge to it bridging blackberries and boysenberries. It’s an easy wine to like, well balanced, fruit forward but not vulgar. With a clean, crisp finish that offers a bit of espresso and black pepper on the finale with just a hint of wood tannin that needs to resolve. 88pts

A bit hot and very chocolaty some sweet roasty fruit, a bit of toasty oak and some candied floral tones add a bit of complexity. Light on the palate with some attractive raspberry fruit edged in chocolate and spice tones, really soft tannins give the wine some volume in the mouth and come to the fore on the backend which features some candied fruit with a touch of earth and wood spice on the finale. A nicely balanced, easygoing style of Syrah that is a bit simple but retains nice structure. 86pts