2005 Burgess Cellars Napa Valley Syrah

Mission Codename: Return to The Eastern Slopes

Operative: Agent Red

Objective: In 2008, Burgess’ 2004 Syrah became our fastest-selling Syrah of all time. Send Agent Red to rendezvous with Steve Burgess where he is to procure samples of today’s 2005 Burgess Syrah. While meeting with Steve Burgess, bestow upon him his own official Wine Spies Agent Name

Mission Status: Accomplished!

Current Winery: Burgess Vineyard

Wine Subject: 2005 Syrah

Winemaker: Bill Sorenson

Backgrounder: Our Operatives love a great Syrah, and they snap them up in record numbers. Today’s Syrah is a beautiful and delicious interpretation of the noble varietal. The popularity of Syrah is undeniable. Big and bold in flavor and texture, it packs a concentrated punch of flavor that many people love. This Rhone varietal, although many believe that the grape originated in the Persia region, is 100% French in lineage. The Syrah grape is directly descendant from the Monduese Blanche and Dureza varietals and is grown worldwide with great success. Today’s delightful Syrah is a big and bold delight with richly dark flavors, deep aromatics and a plush mouth feel. Read Agent Red’s tasting notes and mission report below

Wine Spies Tasting Profile:

Look – Deep ruby red, with a darker core and concentrated color out to the edge of the glass. On swirling, this wine shows a springy and fast-settling surface. When the wine does settle, it leaves behind tight clusters of skinny legs

Smell – Fruit forward, lush and red, with layers of Bing black cherry, raspberry and red plum leading the way. These are followed by blackberry, plum, earth, oak and spice. All of these sit atop softer hints of cedar and smoked meats

Feel – Medium weight at the tip of the tongue, then the wine settles in all over the palate with a voluptuous feel. After a few moments, fine medium-grained tannins show up, drying the lips and cheeks as mouth is coated with rich flavors

Taste – Delicious and rich, a blend of the fruit from the nose, mingled with darker flavors of dried meats, smoky mixed berry, smoky oak and soft black licorice. These are followed by hints of spice, subtle dark herbs and dark minerals

Finish – Leads off with big red and black fruit flavors which seem to linger for a long time before they begin to fade gradually. The wine begins dark and smoky-fruity, then tails off with more earth and dark minerals

Conclusion – We absolutely adored the 2004 vintage of this wine – but we are in love this vintage of the wine! I love tasting successive vintages of the wines we review; It is one of the blessings of this vocation as a Wine Spy. 2005 was a cooler year than 2004, and this produced some dramatic differences and imbuing this particular wine with a distinctly more Rhone qualities than the previous vintage. Our spy hats are, once again, off to Burgess. Each vintage seems to be better than the last, and that is really saying a lot. Burgess is one of the oldest wineries in St. Helena and their years of experience shines through with this beautiful wine. If you loved the 2004, you’ll adore today’s 2005!

Mission Report:

What follows is Agent Red’s first encounter with Burgess Cellars. Now that we have a mole deep within the Burgess organization, procuring specials like today’s pre-release allotment is a snap. Please enjoy this mission recap:

In which Agent Red has enjoyed a few glasses of today’s 2004 Burgess Cabernet Sauvignon – and finds himself waxing poetic. Or does he?

Ode to Burgess and their fanTAStic Cabernet Sauvignon

Millenial
Generational
Dedication
Preservation

Your wines appeal
they make us feel
a connection
to the Mountain Howell

Maceration
Vinification
Fermentation
Mere words
The true soul of your wine shines
in the tall pours that I desire

Succulent
Juicy
Delicious
Bright fruit
Deep roots
Your Cab is beyond compare

In which Agent Cuvee, sensing that Agent Red is not the Pablo Neruda of wine, steps in and stops Agent Red from writing any more _poetry.

Okay, Red, put down the pen and go get some rest. I got this one.

Greeting Dear Operatives. Agent Red had to, umm, leave. I’m taking over this briefing.

All of us here at Wine Spies Central Command agree: Bill Sorenson is a winemaker of remarkable talent. All of his wines shine with a uniqueness and distinctiveness and all of his wines taste great. The fantastic Howelll Mountain fruit grown on the Burgess estate doesn’t hurt, either.

We recently had the great fortune to taste through all of his current release red wines and it was his Cab that really stood out as our favorite. With bright fruit, a tender mouth feel and a rich finish, this wine is not a massive monster Cab that bullies your senses. This is a refined wine that is real pleasure to spend quality time with.

During our tasting, we found ourselves discussing this wine at length. It was really interesting to pull apart and describe in detail all of the aromas and flavors that the wine conveys. With its bright acidity, we suspect that the wine would pair nicely with most anything. We were hoping to enjoy it with the meal we had planned for later that evening, but Agent Red seemed to have enjoyed most of the remaining bottle, leaving none for our dinner. Alas. At least it led to some poetry that we can tease him about – once he returns from his latest mission!

Wine Spies Vineyard Check:

The location of the Burgess Cellars in Napa Valley can be seen in this satellite photo.