Eliseo Silva 2005 Syrah

I just found this wine locally on sale for $10 and had to share with you.

This is a bottle of Eliseo Silva 2005 Syrah. Eliseo (Lee) Silva is the vineyard manager for Alice and Arete vineyards of Tagaris Winery. Yes, this is a Tagaris wine. And yes, Eliseo is producing some outstanding fruit. That is his picture on the bottle.

The screw cap did not open as intended, you may be able to notice in the picture that the entire cap assembly unscrewed from the bottle, not just the top cap. No matter, the wine was protected as intended and tastes great to me. First impressions are positive, pleasant and smooth. All the wine needs is a little time to open up.

Visual: Great color, dark purple, some sedimentation.
Aroma: Slightly earthy, rich, dark fruit, black pepper, blueberry syrup in background.
Flavor: Leather, tobacco, blackberry, black pepper, plum.
Finish: Dry, medium tannins, not huge, but quite pleasant.

I really like this wine. It has a lot going on for the price. So, I'm thrilled that I found it (one of two bottles in stock). This is a great food wine or after dinner wine. Your friends and family will not be disappointed by this wine. And at this price, you won't feel bad about providing it.

So who else is responsible for this wine? Frank Roth has been Winemaker at Tagaris Winery since 2005. I suspect his hand is largely responsible for the quality of this wine I'm enjoying. Frank worked for legendary winemaker Rob Griffin at Barnard Griffin Winery for many years and I think he learned plenty from Rob. Fortunately for us, Tagaris Winery and Barnard Griffin Winery are next door to each other and worth the time to visit. I'm excited about the wine tasting event I'll attend at Tagaris next month (Frank will be conducting a wine and food pairing). Of course I'll share with you how it goes down.

Eliseo Silva 2005 Syrah (recommended!)
14.4% Alcohol
Produced and bottled by Tagaris Winery, Kennewick, WA 99338
www.tagariswines.com

Cheers!

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