Trader Joe’s Reserve 2009 Syrah Paso Robles

Trader Joes Reserve 2009 Syrah Paso Robles

The Wine: Syrah is a varietal which I’m increasingly enjoying more and more. This is a grape which is off the radar of many people and whose wine takes up barely two shelves at Trader Joe’s; which is more than often mixed in with its (perhaps) distantly related cousin, Petite Sirah. Syrah can be a ‘big’ wine whose flavor profile can often be described with words such as “gamey”, “bloody”, “spicy”, “dark berries” and “earthy”. Syrah is a grape which thrives in both cooler and warmer climates, meaning it can offer the consumer a diverse set of flavor profiles, depending upon where it is grown. Syrah is most famously a backbone grape in wines from Northern Rhone, in France. Last year, I had the 2007 TJ’s Reserve Syrah from Paso Robles and really enjoyed it. This wine stems from Familia Nueva Vineyards, who also produces another TJ’s highly acclaimed wine, Liberté  Cabernet Sauvignon. But how does this Syrah from Paso Robles stack up?

The Experience: 

Color: Very dense violet.

Nose: Sweet dark fruit (currant berries) driven with slight spice/pepper. Similar notes to grape soda in the sweetness.

Palate: Mega fruit forward upon opening. Spine of white peper on the mid-palate. Again, dark currant berries and pretty firm tannin structure. This wine opened up nicely after two days, the fruit and tannins were much more balanced.

Bottom Line: Worth-Buying

I tasted this wine with a friend along with both the 2008 and 2009 Tribunal, this was our favorite of the three wines. The 2009 Tribunal is primarily made of Syrah grapes, but leaps and bounds larger than the TJ’s Reserve Syrah because of all the other grapes used in the blend. If you like Syrah, you will more than likely enjoy this wine and its $10 price tag isn’t too bad. If pressed to find major faults in this wine, I’d say I could get an equally, if not better Syrah currently on the shelf at TJ’s, it’s called Lockwood Vineyards’ 2008 Estate Syrah, $6 bucks.

Wine Info:

• Price: $10
• Alcohol: 14.6%
• Producer: Familia Nueva Vineyards – Creston, CA.

Familia Nueva – 2008 Liberté Cabernet Sauvignon – Paso Robles

Next time you’re at Trader Joe’s, pay extra close attention to the wines which make up the ‘end caps’ or the stacks of wine at the end of the aisles.  Often these are the new wines or are staff favorites which come backed with high recommendations.  In the case of Familia Nueva’s 2008 Liberté Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a favorite of the assistant manager who has guided me well in the past with wine selections; so this was definitely on the list to try.

The Wine: You won’t find this wine anywhere else but Trader Joe’s.  It stems from Creston, California which lays between Paso Robles and San Luis Obispo (here’s a map for a brief geography lesson).  From the research I’ve done, it seems this winery can often have a hand in the private label wines Trader Joe’s carries from this region.  OK, cool.  So how does this wine taste?

The Experience: I had two experiences with this wine: un-decanted and decanted.

Un-decanted – This wine had a jammy red raspberry and dark fruit nose presented nicely with a rich red color with squeezes of blackberry violet to darken the juice.  Sour Bing Cherries would best describe the palate with a light white pepper rounding out a medium-short finish.  In the mid-palate, there was a slight earthy, perhaps green olive component which was making itself somewhat noticed.  It was nice – but I could tell this wine had more to offer…Out came the decanter.

Decanted – As per the back label recommends 15-30 minutes in a decanter really turned this wine around and up a few notches.  Naturally, the rich and attractive color remained the same, but a beautiful bouquet opened up to reveal a very pleasant red rose pedal, green olive, currant, and dark cherry components.  On the palate you will find good representations of currant, cherries, earthiness and just the right amount of tannins and acidity to refresh your mouth.   The finish remains medium-short, but there is the slightest hint of strawberries on last notes of the finish – I like.  All indications point to this wine was oak aged, but there is no overbearing oakiness or vanilla components.   This wine is comprised of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec and 1% Petite Sirah – which explains the simple complexities of the wine.

The Bottom Line: Worth-Buying/Buy-Half-A-Case

This is a solid bottle of Central California Cabernet, especially at the $10 price point.   Liberté is a regular on the shelf at TJ’s which is the only reason this wine has the dual rating – otherwise I would highly suggest picking up a few bottles before it ran out.  This is a Cab for both everyday and nicer occasions.  Here is a good candidate of a wine to compare side by side with the Trader Joe’s Reserve Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon ($10) to taste two different regions and styles of California Cabernets.  Buy this wine.

Question: What components do you like best about Cabernets from Northern California vs. Central California?

Wine Dork Info:

• Price: $10
• Appellation: Paso Robles, CA
• Wine Maker: Mike Sinor
• Grape Varietals: 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Cabernet Franc, 4% Malbec and 1% Petite Sirah
• Alcohol: 14.1%