winegeist

Jaffurs Syrah, particularly the biggest of the single vineyard releases, has been getting well deserved high ratings of late from some guy named Bob, but Craig Jaffurs has been making and bottling nice Rhone varietals since his first professional releases after the ’94 harvest. I came across a parcel of 6 bottles, not long ago, of Jaffurs Santa Barbara County Syrah 1997, believing there to be a chance that the wine inside had not successfully made it with us, here to the future. They came with good provenance and neck levels, but one never knows how a regional blend meant to be consumed in its youth will weather the years. Of the 6 bottles, all were drinkable, but at least two were outstanding and well worth the gamble.

Santa Barbara boutique production.

While certainly past its prime, it’s not by much and the wine is aging gracefully, maintaining a wide flavor profile. It still has its red fruit sweetness, but is clearly into its decline, resulting in a wistful kind of harmony, not unlike a Jayhawks tune. That band has seen many incarnations, but it’s always been a vehicle (particularly since the ’97 departure or Mark Olson) for the songs of Gary Louris, the second greatest songwriter of all time, from Minnesota, next to one Robert Allen Zimmerman. I was just listening to “The Man Who Loved Life” off of the Jayhawks classic album Sound of Lies, also a 1997 vintage. The lyrical imagery is so thick that it’s several stories in one, all punctuated by a foreboding tone that ebbs and flows, and ends, in a cacophony of vocal harmonies and heavy piano chords. It’s as layered and as moving as a profoundly expressed syrah.

Speaking of which, back to Jaffurs Syrah Santa Barbara County 1997. It’s deep ruby, though lightening and growing more translucent. It has surprising weight on the palate for its age and amongst the red fruits, palate smacking tart cherry prevails. With a little more breathing time a portrait of the bottle as a young wine emerges: asphalt, savory herbs, white pepper, anise. What’s left of its tannin is powdery and soft and there’s a slight acidic bite at the beginning of its long finish, letting the palate know that it still has life, but its structure is just beginning to break down.