California vs Washington State Syrah Showdown

California vs Washington State Syrah Showdown - Episode #461

May 8, 2008

Today in a head to head confrontation Gary Vaynerchuk pits 2 Syrahs against each other, one from Washington State and the other from California.

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Comments on this episode(151) Leave a comment ›

“Thanks for the episode but it was a bit dissapointing (not the episode…” by GR8wine
“Nice Head to Head battle. Thought you were going to taste them blende…” by ScottyWed
View all 151 ›

Wines tasted in this episode:

2005 Rhapsody3 Syrah
2005 Gramercy Cellars Walla Walla Valley Syrah

151 Responses

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about 9 minutes ago

GR8wine
Thanks for the episode but it was a bit dissapointing (not the episode, the outcome of 2 $30 US syrahs from premium US winegrowing regions). This in itself is educational. Can’t say I can recall the most disappointing $30 bottle. I will say I’ve been disappointed by many bottles in that range at restaurants but I don’t count those since restaurants gat away with highway robbery in their wine markups. (maybe you should do a show about that!). So what are the 17-18 bones Syrahs from France that would compare favorably?
about 26 minutes ago

ScottyWed
Nice Head to Head battle. Thought you were going to taste them blended. HA.

QOTD: Any red from Wilson Creek or Ponte (Temecula Valley). I used to love the stuff, now I can’t think of paying that price.
about 4 hours ago

boegemann
QOTD: N.V. Moët & Chandon Champagne White Star; I used to love the sweet/tart aspect of this stuff, but it’s just not doing it anymore.
about 5 hours ago

jeffw
QOTD: 1996 Kalin Cellars pinot noir. I picked this up at The Wine Merchant in St. Louis…$49 bones down the toilet. Terry Leighton totally missed with this one. Umami my ass.
about 6 hours ago

wannaBconnoisseur
Love the showdowns.

Q-??
about 20 hours ago

pawncop
Thanks for a good episode.

QOTD - Quite honestly, I have yet to spend $30.00 for wine just yet. I can see it happening, but not at this point in time.
about a day ago

Stephanie from So CA
QOTD: Soter in Pacific Northwest. Very disappointed lately with Sparkling and Rose. Funky….
about a day ago

Colin
GV - Thanks for the show. QOTD - Early on in my wine drinking days, I got a bottle of Clicquot and thought I was the shizzle. Until I opened it - I was like “What are people raving about”. Luckily I had a bottle of Duval-Leroy and my brain waves about Champ. were spared…
about a day ago

SaraMHCRU
Don’t think I’ve ever spent more than $25 on a bottle of wine, retail.
about a day ago

Jon Martinez
As of late it was the Gramercy Syrah. I bought it a few weeks ago at there shared tasting room. It wasn’t available to taste, but I thought I would check out one of our small producers. I was expecting a lot more. I had very similar tasting notes. Nicely made, but not very exciting. A lot of money for something that could be had all day for half the price. Even then I wouldn’t buy it. I scored it at 87+ pts.
about 2 days ago

JayZee
QOTD: Too numerous to mention. I often drink $30 wines and it is not unusual to be disappointed. And it depends on the type of wine. I mean, if it’s an Amarone, or Nuits-St. George, or a Chateauneuf-du-Pape, it is pretty much a $30 or more wine and certainly some of them disappoint me.
about 2 days ago

Rossodio
QOTD - easy. It’s the N.V. Paul Goerg Champagne Brut Tradition. Despite the fact that so many actual champagne wines are overpriced, this one stands out on its own for being very poor quality, especially for the price point of 30 bones.
about 2 days ago

Jim in Atlanta
QOTD - I have had quite a few mediocre wines over $30. Many wines are over priced these days. Someone recently shared a glass of a $100 Napa Cabernet with me and it was nothing special.
about 3 days ago

tom
Plumpjack Syrah 2005 — too over the top, too much fruit, sugar, alcohol — too new world…..
about 3 days ago

Justin Viger
Yay, a head to head. Oh not that exiting of wines.
about 3 days ago

bob c
Actually, havent bought a 30 dollar wine yet…..
about 3 days ago

Vinacull
Nice EP Gary. Too bad these were both Vaynerpazzz’s. QOTD: Not all of these were recent, but here are some that readly jump to memory. Some of these are more than 30 bones, some less.
Duckhorn Vineyard Paraduxx Cab. I think it was ‘02. Smooth and fruity but unidimensional and definitely not worth the $$ (I think it’s around $42)
2004 Casa Lapostolle Clos Apalta (WL EP 298). I can’t believe WS gave this a score of 93. Again great mouthfeel but this was definitely not memorable in the right way. Gary you were kind with an 89.
2005 Turley Old Vines Zinfandel. Very good zin, but not multidimensional or interesting enough to warrant the $30 price tag. People are quick to jump on the bandwagon and say Turley is overhyped, but I am not in that camp. I have had some that are sublime - especially when they taste like Rhones.
2005 MollyDooker Boxer. Not $30, but in the $20 range this was a MASSIVE disappointment, and shocking when looking at the 95 point WS score. Drank this three weeks ago and I still can’t get over what a gloppy alcoholic mess it was. Also drank the ‘05 Maitre D Cab which was almost as bad. The ‘05 Two Left Feet was somewhat better than both, but still not in the excellent to outstanding range.
2003 Guigal CDP. Have to agree with other commenters here, which hurts because I am an avid Guigal follower. Drink em’ if you got em.
2002 Pegau CDP. We are HUGE fans of Pegau CDP (the ‘89 Reservee is one of the best old school CDP’s I’ve ever had). This one is just so thin, it unfortunately is not worth the price tag, which is about $45.
2004 Delisio Catalyst. This one gets a borderline vote. Huge and like a velvet glove, but definitely not the 96 that RP gave it and questionable regarding 34 price point, IMO.
‘Nuff said. There are so many examples.
about 3 days ago

T. Bone
A lot more than $30, but the last 3 Sea Smokes have been atrocious. Not sure if it’s bottle shock or what, but they are sucking. No fruit, something off - not corked, just a strange funk that kills the bottle. Would love to have that $$$ back.

Head to head is better with the back and forth, I second the second glass idea. Go Mott.
about 3 days ago

Mason
QOTD: Chateau Villefranche Sauternes, half bottle. What a load of crap! It could be that it was corked, judging from the slight mold on the cork….
about 3 days ago

Cuse Wino
QOTD- Chateau Cantelys Wasn’t ready for
all the poop taste
about 3 days ago

keith
Good show, we have had better wine
about 3 days ago

chezjosh
Got nothing to say for this QOTD.

Come to Chicago!
about 3 days ago

dAve
I don’t buy wines over $20. I’d rather have caviar with cheaper wine. smile. haha. I like Syrah’s!
about 3 days ago

agentorange
QOTD: We don’t buy wines at or over 30 bones retail.
about 4 days ago

terroirist
I was unhappy with the E. Guigal Chateauneuf-du-pape 03′..

I paid 30 clams.. It did not represent like the 01′…

In sooth,

aka Mike In Nebraska