The 2007 Eagles Nest Estate Syrah will win gold!

I had met Dennis and Julie Grimes of Eagles Nest winery in Ramona, San Diego via the Open Wine Consortium online wine community. Their winemaker Dennis invited me over to sample their wines and he wanted me to become familiar with how good wine is being made right here in San Diego.
Honestly, I was skeptical about whether good wine was being made from San Diego grown fruit and could be considered good wine. But I was pleasantly surprised to find they have made some wonderful wines, including these two wonderful Syrahs from their 2007 vintage. Later others would concur with my thoughts and awarded them a gold medal for each wine. These gold medals were earned at the 2009 Temecula Wine Competition. One was made from the their Estate fruit grown on their Ramona Estate and the other was grapes taken from the South Coast Appellation.

This is the story behind my prediction, I had the opportunity to taste these wines just after they were bottled. I was part of the all-volunteer bottling team and it great fun participating in the bottling process. These wines were bottled in May or June, not quite sure of the exact date. But as I recall it was right before the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference. Since Dennis had encouraged me to join them at the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference and asked if my wife and I would like to carpool with them, we had a great opportunity on the drive to discuss the wines he and his wife Julie had entered into the 2009 Temecula Wine Competition sponsored by Welcome to the Temecula Valley Wine Society. They were both wondering aloud in the car (Excursion) and contemplating how well their wines would do in this competition. That's when I spoke up, I ask Julie and Dennis about the event and found out that only wines produced from "local" fruit would be allowed in the competition. I had just returned from a two day tasting journey in Temecula. I went to what many considered the "better-wineries" in area and tasted through their wines and considering what I had tasted versus the wine I had tasted at Eagles Nest Winery, I proclaimed that their two Syrahs would win gold medals.

But again I believe in quotes like this one,"Wine has lit up for me the pages of literature, and revealed in life romance lurking in the commonplace. Wine has made me bold but not foolish; has induced me to say silly things but not do them. " Duff Cooper, Old Men Forget

My statement, my prognostication if you will was met with silence then a nervous laughter. I then asked if anyone would like to take my proclamation as a bet? Nobody, bothered to answer me. I was resolute in my statement and told both Julie, Dennis and my wife that of the wines they had entered the two Syrahs would win gold medals. So what did I base my conjecture on? I based it on the fact that not only have I recently tasted a majority wines from the Temecula (their competition)Valley, but I also have been tasting wines from some of the best producers in the States and abroad over the last seven years. So was this just a lucky guess? Perhaps, but maybe it was an educated guess based on years of tasting, evaluating and reviewing wine.

We had just gotten back from the 2009 Wine Bloggers Conference in Sonoma on Monday and on Tuesday the awards ceremony was held, where the announcements of the winners would be made and the medals awarded. Julie and Dennis were at the event and were nervous with excitement and perhaps in the back of their mind, wondering whether or not I may have been right. The announcement finally came and the results; their 07 Estate Syrah won a Gold Medal in the 2009 Temecula Wine Competition along with another Gold Medal for our 07 South Coast AVA Syrah. Wow, my tweet-deck buzzed with the excitement that my prognostication had come true. I was very happy for them both and what this had meant for them and the winery, recognition that their investment of work, long hours (blood, sweat and tears) and capital had actually meant something, validation. If you click on this link here you can see the results: San Diego Wineries show well at 2009 Temecula Wine Competition. I wished them well deserved congratulations and never told them, "I told you so" even though I had considered it.

The Wines: The Eagles Nest 2007 South Coast Syrah and the Eagles Nest Estate Syrah

First Swirl: If your a regular reader of my blog, you may be wondering why I consider the first swirl of the wine? This is my first impression of what's to come, I look for color (read that, extraction and structure). I also look for clarity and viscosity. Their wines have wonderful extraction (which in this case is not a bad word), body and suppleness. The core was a dark ruby color and faded away to garnet colored rim.

First Sniff: As this wine finished swirling about in my glass, I put my nose in to find wonderful complex, but inviting aromas of earthy truffles, blackberry and a faint touch of vanilla, all mixed with beautiful and subtle scents of freshly baked dark fruit compote. Even when the glass was empty aromas lingered on and on.

First Sip: I can still remember the taste of this wine. I will admit that I have had the opportunity to sample it on more than one occasion. Each time I do it is a wonderful expression of what Syrah should be. Polished, lavish, elegant, fluent throughout the entire palate, bountiful enough without going over the top, chewable, inky, showing top quality fruit, red and dark berries, plum, spices, all underlined by beautiful tannins followed by a long lingering finish. They are both great wines for pairing, as they mingle nicely with many different types of food.

Varietal Composition: Both these wines are 100% Syrah.

Alcohol and Aging: The alcohol is a mere 12% which should surprise you, why you ask? Because a wine which delivers so much is normally associated with higher octane levels. Both wines were aged at least 20 months in oak barrels and were bottled earlier this summer.

Price and where to buy: These wines sell for $20 each and can be purchased directly by calling the winery at (760) 505-8229. I told them that they should sell the Estate for at least $5 more, but they decided to sell it for the same price as their South Coast Syrah.

My Recommendation: I would give them a call as soon as possible, as I believe they made less than 400 cases of both wines. At these prices you could easily buy a case or two. These wines represent what I call a "every day drinker" meaning this a great wine you afford to drink everyday if you wish and not break the bank. It also represents QPR and qualifies as a winner.

Other Voices: Grace Hoffman of Cellarmistress' Cellar Talk had this say, "I couldn't have asked for a nicer wine to start my "proper" Syrah education! It defied my belief that a wine has to have a higher alcohol level to be more flavorful! Definitely a food wine". The 2009 Temecula Wine Competition gave these wines a gold medal each, I think that speaks for itself.