2007 Buoncristiani Artistico Syrah

When Paul and I were out in CA in October we joined a wine club called Vintners Collective which provides us with small lot hand wines.  Wines that there are only a few hundred cases made. 

Back in February on a snowy evening we opened this wine and served it with Kiernan Farms Tuscan Sausage over Penne. 

I am a label person and purple is one of my favorite colors, so I would have picked up this bottle at a wine shop.  The purple label matched it's purple inky color of the wine.

This is a Napa Valley Syrah that was harvested from Stagecoach Vineyards in Vaca Mountains above Oakville and from Larry Hyde's Hyde Las Trancas Vineyard in Oak Knoll.  The wine was aged for 17 months in French oak barrels of which 38% were new oak. 

The nose was one of berry and spice with black pepper.  On the palate I found black cherry, wild berry, dark chocolate rounding out softly to a black pepper finish.

I really enjoyed this wine.  It was a great find.