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Wine Recommendation
Lucchesi Vineyards & Winery
2004 Syrah(Sierra Foothills)
When I moved to the Sierra Foothills a few years ago from the Sonoma Valley wine region, I had a fairly well developed 11-year regional wine snobbism. The first Nevada County wine I tried was the 2003 Lucchesi Syrah and I was blown away! To this day, Lucchesi Syrah remains my first choice on a restaurant wine list.
That 2003 Syrah won endless awards and the 2004 Lucchesi Syrah does justice to this fine tradition. It has beautiful fruit, a richness to the taste, a medium to full bodied mouth feel, adequate but soft tannins and a satisfying finish. Notes of blackberry, plum and currants get complexity with layers of tobacco, cayenne pepper and spiced cherries. Cellar this wine and enjoy its depth and richness of flavors in five to ten years hence. The wine was aged 20 months in Hungarian and French oak.
The Syrah grows at 2,500 feet elevation at Lucchesi’s estate in Grass Valley. The southwest slope gets intense direct sunlight and the Syrah gets ripe really fast, says Lucchesi owner Mario Clough. “We reduce the yields, eliminating up to a half of the production, in order to promote better wine quality,” says Clough.
Clough likes to pair the wine with lamb, venison or Cornish game hen but it is a knockout with hearty Italian sausage.
Reviewed July 18, 2007 by Jean Deitz Sexton.
Other reviewed wines from Lucchesi Vineyards & Winery
The Wine
Winery: Lucchesi Vineyards & Winery |
The Reviewer
Jean Deitz Sexton
Jean Deitz Sexton’s first experiences with wine were drinking Italian wine as an NYU college student in New York City. She continues to have a love of red wines with a reasonable alcohol level, that have rich flavor, good fruit yet softness. Deitz Sexton has a great fondness for Rhone varietals, anything with bubbles and of late, is obsessed with blends. Her approach to wine reviewing is pretty straightforward: does it have a pleasant nose, clarity of flavor, interesting notes, good mouth feel, and a satisfying finish? |