2004 SYRAH THOMPSON
Santa Barbara County

The Thompson syrahs have been some of the most difficult wines to understand because they are so big and blocky in their youth. It's telling that when we serve up a tasting of all the bottled vintages (1997 to 2005) the most compelling and complete wines are the 1997s and 1998s. The others are all terrific, but they also need more time to fully express themselves.

That being said, we have been tweaking the style of this most age-worthy wine to gain some earlier accessibility. In 2002 we started blending a small amount of grenache with the syrah to enhance the brooding aromatics of Thompson, and to give it a little more freshness on the palate. We did the same in 2003, and then in 2004 we blended substantial amounts of both grenache and mourvedre which transformed the Thompson into a more interesting and complex wine. This 2004 was hard as nails in the barrel, but extra barrel aging and an additional racking really softened its substantial tannins. While it's a wine that will continue to evolve for the next ten years, it shows beautifully today if decanted 24 hours in advance of tasting.