Syrah from Lodi, California.
SRP of $22 and available at that price (Saturday Splurge). 150 cases produced. Sample submitted for review.
From the bottle:
"Our entire Estate Syrah vineyard is under organic farming practices. Only the most select fruit from this vineyard goes into our Family Estate wine. This classic Rhone style wine has an intense blackberry and raspberry fruit aroma and reveals typical Syrah spice characteristics.
14.2% Alcohol"
Today's wine comes from one of our favorite value spots, Lodi, and we were fortunate enough to taste it as part of an online wine and cheese event from Lodi Wine. In addition to being great all on its own, this Syrah matched wonderfully with the Old Amsterdam cheese from Holland that the owner of Cheese Central (Cindy Della Monica) capably selected to pair with it. (The cheese was fantastic in its own right as well -- even my rather picky 6 and 9 year old daughters loved it.)
The 2011 Fields Family Wines Estate Syrah begins with a very nice aroma of plum, violets, blackberry, sweet spice and a little smoke. Tasting reveals loads of spicy plum, some nice herbal notes and a bit of licorice, leather and smoked meat. Rich and a bit chewy, this is a big flavorful wine and I like it a lot. In one of those "you know it when you see it" moments, the first thing that popped into my head when tasting this wine was "Spoicy" a la Sage Kostenburg. It ends fabulously with long lasting spice notes. If you can restrain yourself from finishing off the bottle, it'll be just as good on day 2.
See a listing of local retailers selling this wine here.