Rob's "Wine of the Week" Archives
So here is my wine review for the week of December 1st, 2008...
CONCANNON 2005 RESERVE SYRAH, LIVERMORE VALLEY
Description: With rare exception, I find most wineries outside of the Napa/Sonoma corridor to be lame posers incapable of standing with the true greats of California and world winemaking in the Napa Valley. However, over the years I have found a few great values in Monterey, Santa Barbara, Lodi, and this week’s winery, Concannon Vineyards in Livermore, California, the neighboring city to my hometown of Pleasanton. My dad turned me on to Concannon 5 years ago; I was skeptical at first but have found some of their reds to be excellent, and all of them to perfectly priced given the quality they provide.
How and when I drank it: Saturday, November 29 at my house.
How to get it: Concannon sells all of their wines on their website and their winery is only a 90 minute drive from the Sacramento area. Additionally, many East Bay Area stores carry their wines.
How Much: The bottle is $25 from the winery.
My Thoughts: I have found that for my palette, most Napa Syrahs need 5 years or more of aging before they are truly ready to enjoy, a result of the enormity of the wine. Concannon, however, is blessed with great grapes that produce great wines that in my experience don’t necessarily benefit from long term cellaring. This means you can buy it, open it and drink it all in the same day! This bottle presents all of the body, aromas and flavors a Syrah should; deep, dark berries, a little spice and a slight smoke/leather finish that is elegant and smooth, if not just slightly thinner than a Napa Syrah.
Overall Score: This is a good wine that would be enjoyed by anyone who likes red wines on the bigger/fuller side. It is no where near as big as a Napa Cab or Syrah, but a Napa merlot lover will enjoy this greatly. Remember that the scoring system is based on both quality and price, and at $25, this is a fantastic wine. 4 1/2 vines
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