3 Syrahs and 1 Hurrah

I didn't realize it had been so long since I wrote up a bottle of syrah--over 3 weeks--but I should have known from the bottles accumulating in my kitchen.

I'm just going to give a quick summary of the 3 syrahs I've drunk lately and not give detailed tasting notes.  One thing I've noticed, being something of a neophyte in the field of syrahs, is that these reds really do need time to adjust once you uncork or unscrew the bottle, and probably even decanting.  If you drink some of them right out of the bottle, they aren't very good at all.  Some were more noticeably mellow the second day after opening, although that's not optimal for drinking wine, of course.

The first is a 2007 Yalumba shiraz (94%)-viognier (6%) blend from South Australia.  When I drank my first glass of this, I didn't like it at all.  It was bitter, and it almost tasted like a straight blend of a red and a white mixed together.  Here's a case where wine was better the next day: mellower, sweeter, subtle, and even the nose was much improved.

Next was a 2003 Glass Mountain syrah from California that ran me in the $9 range on sale.  I guess I didn't make any tasting notes on this, but I don't think I finished the bottle.  In general I wasn't impressed by it (for $9, what could I expect?).

Last is a 2008 Veo Ultimate syrah from Chile.  This one has detailed notes on the back of the bottle on how it was produced, and they note that it will benefit from decanting.  I should know by now to read the instructions first.  

This bottle struck me as very blah on first taste, although it had a more fragrant nose than the other two.  On the second day, this one too had mellowed and was a little sweeter, with a lot more flavor.

I guess if I'm going to appreciate syrahs that I need to buy myself a decanter for Christmas.