05 Grochau Cellars, Rogue Valley Syrah

If you slapped a Cotes du Rhone label on this wine, I'd buy it by the case. It hurts to be so shallow. But the truth is, there's just too much good syrah being produced right now in the Pacific Northwest. And sometimes, there's no fooling the soil, which here seems destined for pinot noir. Grochau's syrah is elegant--too elegant--sweet and floral on the nose. There's a real bouquet here--violets and roses--that carry on to the tongue, first sweet, then savory like bone marrow and Maldon salt. It's the romance of syrah. Love seasoned with salt and fresh black pepper. But love doesn't always call in the morning. The Grochau leaves me there, at the door to midnight, wanting more than its slim body and sharp tongue--the tart cherries and wild raspberries I taste as she walks off into the ether. That doesn't mean I won't call her. That doesn't mean I won't try to see her again.