Our blind tasting game—without the tasting! Can you identify a wine just by reading its tasting note? We post real Wine Spectator reviews. You use clues such as color, aromas, flavors and structure to figure out the grape, age and origin. Good luck!
Tasting Note: A dynamic red, rich and bold yet focused and detailed, with plump blackberry, licorice, smoky meat and cracked pepper flavors that finish with plump tannins.
And the answer is...
Variety
Our dynamic mystery red is bold with rich dark fruit, licorice, meat and pepper flavors. Let’s figure out what it is!
We can start by eliminating Cinsault, a grape that makes red-fruited wines with floral details and low levels of tannins.
Nebbiolos have high levels of tannins and rich fruit notes. But these flavors tend toward cherry, not blackberry, and are often joined by floral and earthy accents missing from our wine. Let’s move on!
Blackberry and spice notes are hallmarks of the Austrian grape, St. Laurent. While this sounds right, St. Laurents also have lower levels of tannins. This grape has to go too.
Touriga Franca makes reds with moderate to high levels of tannins that support rich blackberry and pepper notes. This is closer to what we’re looking for, except we’re missing Touriga Franca’s characteristic floral and mineral accents. Maybe another grape works better?
Syrahs can be rich with higher levels of tannins and dark fruit, pepper and meat notes. These are frequently joined by a sweeter accents, such as chocolate or licorice. This sounds like the best match.
This wine is Syrah.
Country or Region of Origin
Syrah is grown around the world, but there aren’t many plantings in Austria. There are some producers growing Syrah in Portugal, but the grape isn’t nearly as significant as the country’s local varieties, like Touriga Nacional. Syrah is an increasingly significant grape in Italy, often featured in the country’s super Tuscan blends; when made on its own, Italian Syrahs often display minerally, earthy accents. Syrah originates in France, and is still widely grown there, especially in the country’s southern reaches. Here, winemakers produce leaner versions that focus on the grape’s olive, rosemary and lavender notes. This contrasts with Syrahs from California, another key region for the grape, which tend to be ripe and rich with plumper tannins. This sounds closer to the mark.
This Syrah is from California.
Appellation
Knowing that our Syrah is from California, we can eliminate France’s Alsace, Italy’s Barbaresco, Portugal’s Douro and Austria’s Wachau. This leaves us with two California appellations: Napa Valley and the Sierra Foothills. Northern California’s Napa Valley is one of the world’s leading wine regions, well-known for its Cabernet Sauvignons and Chardonnays, wines that often fetch high prices. Farther inland, the Sierra Foothills makes rich red wines from a range of grapes, including Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and, most significantly, Syrah. We have a winner!
This Syrah is from the Sierra Foothills.
Age
With high levels of tannins and acidity, Syrahs can age for a significant amount of time. Many producers will wait several years before releasing theirs. With that said, our Syrah’s fruit notes are still fresh, and it isn’t showing any signs of age, such as leather or mushroom notes. Let’s look at California’s most recent vintages to figure out our red’s age.
There was a warm growing season in 2019, which led to rich and plump Syrahs with dark fruit, pepper and savory notes. 2018’s growing season was flawless, leading to Syrahs with mineral, spice and floral notes. From floods to heat waves to wildfires, the weather was dramatic in 2017, and that year’s Syrahs are rich and structured with briar and garrigue flavors. Weather conditions were largely ideal in 2016, resulting in expressive Syrahs with mineral and mocha notes. 2019’s Syrahs are the best match here.
This Syrah is from 2019, making it three years old.
Wine
This is the Pruett Syrah Sierra Foothills CSP 2019, which scored 94 points in the July 31, 2022, issue of Wine Spectator. 140 cases were made, and it retails for $42. For more on California Syrah and other Rhône-style wines, read senior editor Tim Fish’s tasting report, "California Rhônes," in the Oct. 15, 2022, issue.
—Collin Dreizen, associate editor
