Happy Halloween all! While the ghosts and ghouls are roaming the neighborhoods, the bowl of candy is going to look awful tempting, but what wine should you drink? Generally speaking, the rule of dessert is that you want the wine to be at least as sweet. This means looking dessert wines, like Port, Late Harvest, Ice Wines, and many others. Why not dry wine? If the wine is dry, it can have a tendency to become bitter, making for a somewhat unpleasant experience.
A few years back, I had Evenus Zinfandel Port 2007, which was delicious, and packed with sweet dried fruits and plenty of spice. Back then, seeing a zinfandel Port wasn’t particularly common, but more and more winemakers are starting to expand out past the traditional varietals and methods, and find new and interesting dessert wines. Evenus Syrah Port is a different varietal from the last go round, but can it recapture the same magic?
Sight: Deep purple, with hot magenta edges
Smell: There’s a seriously concord grape like note present, but it’s not alone, hanging out anise, sage, and blueberry syrup. The blueberry syrup is very powerful and prominent. Some of the fruit notes of berry are cooked and jammy.
Sip: There’s a deeply blueberry syrup, baked black cherries, slightly chocolate syrup like notes, and a hint of spice. There are some complicated flavors layering adding slight almond nuttiness and creme noyeaux. The body is thick and syrupy, but the alcohol is controlled despite the added brandy. The notes are a little peaky, jumping around, and not quite playing together yet.
Savor: The ending pulls in more of the sage, nuts, and blueberry syrup notes. There’s something a little unrefined and punchy about the ending.
2013 Evenus Syrah Port is good, but it’s not ready yet. The bottle suggests you can lay it down 10-20 years, and while you might not need to wait a decade to enjoy it, you might want to wait 3 – 5 years to start. Evenus Syrah Port is a buy and hold at the moment, and something worth revisiting in a few years for a celebration or halloween.
Verdict: Blueberry Syrup, Too Young, Sage, Anise
Price: $11.49
Paso Robles, California