The 2004 Syrah Rodney’s Vineyard boasts a dense purple color as well as a sweet perfume of peppery blackberry and cassis fruit intermixed with barbecue smoke and earth. Full-bodied, unctuously-textured, rich, chewy, and long, it should be consumed over the next 7-8 years. Tel. (805) 688-1545

Perhaps it’s Fox’s previous role as Rhone winemaker, but the Syrahs seem more complex and better balanced than the winery’s Pinots, better able to handle the heady alcohol levels. This is a rich, syrupy wine, with concentrated fruit based on blackberries and spice, made more complex by hints of coffee, earth and grilled meat.——W.E.(7/1/2007)—— 91