Times blasts Cali. Syrah

[badthings]

Most of you have already seen this, and the rest will hardly be surprised, but this is apropos of a number of recent threads as well as that inane "next big thing" article in WS:

We found highly likable wines, yes, but too often we came across uninteresting ones of little character, with flavors cobbled from the winemaker's bag of tricks rather than from the syrah grape. During the tasting, I noted that the range of these syrahs was from A to D. I wasn't alone in thinking that these syrahs should have had more guts. 

Mr. Luftig said they "lacked structure and complexity," with either the wood or the fruit dominating, impairing their balance. He said that some had one or more characteristics of a Rhone syrah but that none had the whole package. "I was surprised," he said, "because there has been so much hype involved about these California syrahs." Hype meant  to turn syrah into the next merlot....

To say we expected more from a new generation of Rhone Rangers is an understatement. Maybe there will be better days ahead. In the meantime, I think I'll open a bottle of Côte-Rôtie.

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