Tasting Notes from Winemaker Byron Kosuge
2005 Tobiano Syrah
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550 cases
14.0%
September 2005
$18/bottle
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“What is Tobiano?” Here’s the deal: being the new kid on the block—Casablanca, Chile is pretty much unknown in the States for Pinot Noir and Syrah—we felt we needed to set the quality bar very high for ourselves. So we make rigorous selections of the best barrels from the best lots to bottle as the top wines, and we don’t bottle anything that is of questionable quality.
Inevitably there are a lot of barrels that are very good but perhaps not quite intense enough for the top wines. Because there is never enough good, approachable, affordable wine, we realized that it made sense to bottle these wines. We decided to name them all “Tobiano”and label them by varietal, with a different label design to distinguish them from their more exalted kin.
2005 was a late, cool vintage for Casablanca. While we seem always to be farming on the edge, this season was especially edgy. Because of the lateness of the year and a larger than average crop, we dropped a lot of fruit on the ground so that what remained on the vine would fully ripen.
The 2005 Syrahs were a bit of a surprise. In a year where the Pinot Noir was almost two weeks later than average, I was quite nervous about whether the Syrah would ripen at all. At the 11th hour we brought in the Syrah, dodging raindrops and freezes, a larger crop than expected (although still low yielding by new world standards at around 2.75 tons/acre) but in good shape. Once the wines were dry and resting in barrel it was clear that we had some pretty special wines in the cellar. Still, I made rigorous cuts in the blending process and wound up with about equal quantities of Bayo Oscuro and Tobiano Syrah. We’ll release the 2005 Bayo in the Spring of 07 (it needs some time to soften).
The 2005 Tobiano Syrah, however, is perfumed, smoky, intense and a much bigger, chewier wine than its relatively modest price tag would imply. Give this one some air, and enjoy it with something that demands a bold accompaniment.
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