2003 Deerfield Ranch Winery Ladi’s Vineyard Syrah

Mission Codename: No Syrah in the headlights

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: Infiltrate the Sonoma Valley to find the perfect Syrah – and bring back an exclusive for our Operatives.

Secondary Objective: Complete counter intelligence disinformation campaign in order to foil rival organizations that would see an end to Wine Spies exclisives

Mission Status: Both Objectives Accomplished!

Current Winery: Deerfield Ranch Winery

Wine Subject: 2003 Syrah

Winemaker: Robert Rex (and Michael Brown, Assistant Winemaker)

Backgrounder: Some of the most popular wines we have sleuthed out for you come from the Sonoma Valley, California. Today’s mission takes Agent Red to Deerfield Ranch Winery where he meets winemaker Robert Rex and tastes his exquisite Ladi’s Vineyard Syrah.

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep and inky burgundy in color with light purple edges, a wet and bouncy-looking surface and thick, closely-spaced legs the streak down the glass

Smell – Voluptuous layers of ripe blackberry, and blueberry with dark powered cocoa, smokehouse meats, cedar, almond and saddle leather and a hint of wild mushroom

Feel – Full-bodied and round, this wine starts fine and smooth, then quickly coats the mouth as medium tannins grip the tongue and lips

Taste – Lush blueberry tart with smoky cherry, dark chocolate, blackberry and custard tart with rose petal and soft leather

Finish – A slightly dry forever-finish with flavors that go on and on and on and….

Conclusion – This is another incredible wine! It is perfectly balanced with great aromas, delicious flavors, a super mouth-feel – all of which act in perfect harmony and without being overpowering. I had the best experience with this wine after decanting for several hours. And, after our tasting we placed the half-empty bottle into our wine cave overnight (without gassing the bottle) and re-opened it 15 hours later. It was even better, with more pronounced fruit and softer tannins. We have sampled wines from the Ladi’s Vineyard before, but this wine really stands out as the best Ladi’s we have tried.

Robert Rex, you’re our hero! This is fantastic Syrah!

Mission Report:

EYES ONLY INTERNAL MEMO. CLASSIFIED: LEVEL OMEGA

Rival factions have attempted to infiltrate Wine Spies ranks in order to prevent us from bringing our Operatives the best wines. Particularly irksome to these entities is the fact that we also continuously secure exclusive wines that are available only to our operatives, long before they become available to the general public.

As an Operative, you know that our secret is simple; Our love for great wine, and the care and detail with we sleuth out our wines matter greatly – to both you and to our wineries. As an Operative, this is why you joined us; you value our ability to find you only the best wines.

For our wineries, offering our operatives exclusives assures them that the first people enjoying their wines are dedicated wine lovers that will, in turn, share these wines with other Operatives and assets. While we hesitate to use the word “fad”, we do know that The Wine Spies, along with you, our Operatives, have spurned more than a few wines on to great success. We are proud of that fact and we are proud of you for doing your part – with enjoying incredible wines.

On the subject of incredible wines, today’s wine is the most recent example of our ability to procure exclusive offerings. Today’s wine, from Deerfield Ranch Winery, is available here before it is available anywhere else. And, it is great!

Robert Rex is a master winemaker and his experience shows with each sip you take of his 2003 Ladi’s Syrah. While some winemakers approach their trade as a chemist would, developing wines in a lab, Robert take a more artistic approach. Robert himself, told us that, “Wine making is more like cooking than chemistry”.

When we opened a bottle of this wine with him recently, Robert told us, “Boy, this tastes really good. I haven’t had any in at least six months. Its developed so well. All of our reds get both extended barrel aging and bottling aging. We are still selling the 2002 Syrah, but this one is really ready to drink now!”

We thank you, Robert (and all of the great folks at the winery!), for making this wine available to our Operatives first!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Deerfield Ranch Winery can be seen in this satellite photo.

Exceptional Wine Alert!

Today’s wine is, quite simply, fantastic. Need we say more?