October 2005 Over the last twelve months, Wine & Spirits tasted 274 zinfandels and 261 syrahs. The following wines received the strongest praise from our critics. Click here for a complete list of all zinfandels and syrahs wines tasted, with the recommended wines highlighted.

Zinfandel
95 I Chateau Potelle $53 2002 Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder V.G.S. Zinfandel V.G.S is a claret on acid, a wild zin with delicious mountain-grown berry intensity. And yet it's elegant, with long, earthy flavors of cherry and anise; the fruit character is savory, without a single spike of heat. In complete control and completely out of control. Like the V.G.S. Syrah, also recommended in this issue, this zin is grown on steep hillsides, from loam and shale below to volcanic rock at 1,800 feet. Give this an hour or two in a decanter to get the full impact, or cellar until 2010 to '12. (945 cases) (W&S 10/05) Chateau Potelle, Napa, CA
94 I Roshambo $21 2002 Dry Creek Valley The Reverend Zinfandel Here's how I remember Dry Creek Zin before the fashion for super-ripe wines. It's a claret, rather than a Port; there's nothing raisined in the flavor of these grapes. Right from the moment it's poured, the wine has a fresh wild strawberry scent and a red fruit character that lasts (somewhere between cranberry, raspberry and ripe tomato skin). With a day of air, it's awesome, the beautiful freshness, the delicate, bright red fruits in layers, and a little flash in the finish. For osso buco or anything long-cooked, tomato-sauced and Italian. (W&S 10/05) Roshambo Winery, Healdsburg, CA
93 I Rancho Zabaco $50 2003 Sonoma Valley Toreador Monte Rosso Vineyard Zinfandel This classic zin tastes of fresh berries, the indigo blue of blueberries, the edge of chocolate mint and sassafras. Beautifully formed, it captures the simplicity and freshness of the variety without any pretensions. Winemaker Eric Cinnamon selected this from Rattlesnake Hill, the highest section of the Monte Rosso Vineyard. It's the first release of Rancho Zabaco's most ambitious zinfandel, and it smokes. Drink it now with a roast chicken, or wait until 2012, when it should be fully mature. (W&S 10/05) Zabaco Vintners, Healdsburg, CA
93 I Storybook Mountain $45 2001 Napa Valley Estate Reserve Zinfandel This claret-style zin shows off the variety's elegant side, grown in the eastern slopes of the Mayacamas range at the top of the Napa Valley. It's light and fragrant with layers of black peppercorn and brighter spice. Decant a bottle, leave it on the dining room table, and an hour later the room will be full of that spice, the wine ready to pour with a pan-seared steak. (W&S 12/04) Storybook Mountain Vineyards, Calistoga, CA
92 I St. Francis $18 2002 Sonoma County Old Vines Zinfandel This exuberant zin tastes of ripe raspberries and blueberries fresh off the bush. The fruit flavors last, along with tannins that have a baking spice character. Oak toast adds a smokiness, but doesn't get in the way of the deliciously fresh fruit. Decant a bottle for grilled portobello mushrooms. (W&S 10/05) St. Francis Winery & Vineyard, Kenwood, CA
92 I Rosenblum $38 2002 Napa Valley Lyons Vineyard Zinfandel The tension between this wine's tannin and fruit sparks into spicy aromas of black pepper and floral scents of a rose garden. The textural impression is both zesty and satin soft. The lasting flavors bring freshly turned earth and blackberry fruit leather to mind. Try it with pasta alla puttanesca. (750 cases) (W&S 02/05) Rosenblum Cellars, Alameda, CA
92 I Carol Shelton $32 2002 Dry Creek Valley Rocky Reserve Rockpile Ridge Vineyard Zinfandel Vintage 2002 provided a silky zin from this vineyard, tasting of fruit ripening in the shade. In fact, it's fruit ripened at some of the highest elevations in Dry Creek, the vines for this selection planted in '97 on a steep, rocky hillside. The deep richness builds on plummy flavor with a more exotic edge of mandarin orange; the finish is spicy rather than hot. A firm, compact zin for anything off the grill. (420 cases) (W&S 12/04) Carol Shelton Wines, Windsor, CA
91 I Barefoot $16 2002 Dry Creek Valley Reserve Zinfandel Bright raspberry and strawberry flavors have the Italianate funk and acid of old-school Sonoma County zin. It stays bright while growing more meaty and delicious with air, taking on the scent of burning herbs. Decant a bottle for cured meats, or rigatoni with braised oxtail. (2,096 cases) (W&S 10/05) Barefoot Cellars, Forestville, CA
91 I Bella $30 2002 Dry Creek Valley Lily Hill Estate Zinfandel Decant this young zin and let its restive, raspy fruit mellow over the course of several hours. The fresh, concentrated flavors of blue and purple berries evolve, along with the brisk tannins, creating a rich whole that will meld with roast venison or boar. Put this away, and the power from Lily Hill's 80-year-old vines, perceptible in the structure of ferrous tannins and bright acidity, will preserve the fruit as it ages. (575 cases) (W&S 06/05) Bella Vineyards, Healdsburg, CA
91 I Fife $23 2002 Napa Valley Old Vines Zinfandel A sunbolt of strawberries and velvet-textured red cherries makes this a hedonist's delight. The fruit is summery and sweet, but the wine manages to balance that with a savory spice and chocolate-rich tannin. Heady as it is, this zin is light and frisky enough for barbecued chicken. As for the age of those Old Vines, 40 percent of the blend comes from vineyards at least 75 years old. (2,700 cases) (W&S 10/05) Fife Vineyards, Redwood Valley, CA

Syrah
94 I Beauregard $35 2003 Santa Cruz Mountains Zayante Vineyard Syrah It starts with a beautiful scent, a mix of red, black, green and white peppercorns crushed against the skin of ripe cherries. But it takes two or three days of air for the wine to extend beyond that dramatic scent into what becomes an opulent, lifted play on red fruit and minerals. The wine is still completely fresh on the third day, with a complex flavor of bright cherry and spice that brings young Cornas to mind. In fact, the vines are a Hermitage clone, planted 15 years ago in a canyon that traps the coastal fog. They're dry farmed at 1,600 feet above sea level, in a mix of sandstone, clay and loam. Ryan Beauregard's wine from Zayante is well worth cellaring for eight to ten years. (150 cases) (W&S 10/05) Beauregard Vineyards, San Jose, CA
94 I Renard $35 2002 Sonoma Coast Peay Vineyard Syrah Nick Peay planted this far coast vineyard in 1998, in an old apple orchard above the Pacific and just at the top of the fog line on a ridge north of Jenner. The silty loam soils there have a talent for syrah, if this perfectly formed '02 is any indication; winemaker Bayard Fox says it's one of his favorite sites for syrah. Potent black cherry and black raspberry, five-spice powder and mineral scents all combine in a velvety, mouth-filling coolness. The structure of the wine seems to harness all the flavor elements and focus them in one direction. An indulgence that's habit-forming sipped on its own, or with grilled lamb. (244 cases) (W&S 10/05) Bayard Fox Wines, St. Helena, CA
94 I Cayuse $45 2002 Walla Walla Valley En Cerise Vineyard Syrah En Cerise is the second of Christophe Baron's trio of rock-strewn vineyards near the valley floor of Walla Walla. Baron is French, and this wine is about as French as an American wine can get, with aromas of roasted meat and black tea. Rich and round, with black fig and blackberry fruit, there's a fine acidity keeping the flavors together. A day after opening it, the wine turns more savory, with hints of smoked tomatoes that bring it back to Walla Walla. For skirt steak. (285 cases) (W&S 10/05) Cayuse Vineyards, Walla Walla, WA
94 I Kynsi $46 2002 Santa Maria Valley ZB Bien Nacido Vineyard Syrah There's a red glow within all the blackness of this wine, something electric and bright behind the substantial, satin-textured extract. It's a young powerhouse, still primary in its pure flavor of fresh syrah grapes, spiced by a meaty, mineral tannin that grows right out of the grape skins. There's pleasure in the wine's intensity for now, and there will likely be tremendous complexity when it starts to mellow with age. (85 cases) (W&S 06/05) Kynsi Winery, Arroyo Grande, CA
93 I Babcock $30 2001 Santa Barbara County Black Label Cuvee Syrah Syrah grown in the cool sandstone and sandy loam soils of Santa Barbara can develop brilliant spice, and it's front and center in this wine. The fruit tastes like grapes basking in the sun, wrapped in aromas of chestnut leaves, cigar tobacco, cedar smoke. And it's pumped up by spice as though black peppercorns were embedded in a seared steak or duck breast. Either would be delicious with it. (1,125 cases) (W&S 02/05) Babcock Vineyards, Lompoc, CA
93 I Beckman $40 2002 Santa Ynez Valley Clone #1 Purisima Mountain Syrah Tom and Steve Beckman planted this syrah in 1998, on a series of steep hillsides made up of rocky soil over limestone. They count that soil, along with the morning fog, ocean breezes and ample sunlight, as the key factors to this wine's success. The bright color and dark spice of the aroma give a California take on syrah as compelling as a fine northern Rh�ne. The brightness runs right through the fruit, balancing its rich texture and fullness of tannin, lifting it like a wind rushing over a deep pile of velvet. (300 cases) (W&S 04/05) Beckmen Vineyards, Los Olivos, CA
93 I Chateau Potelle $75 2002 Napa Valley, Mt. Veeder V.G.S. Syrah Brawny, mountain-grown intensity makes the first impression, and while the wine doesn't back down from its immensity, air does bring more detail to the roasted fruit flavor. The texture is juicy, while the fruit is as savory as French roast coffee and dried thyme. Winemaker Marketta Fourmeaux grows less than one acre of syrah on steep slopes of loam and shale at 1,600 feet and volcanic rock at 1,800 feet. Drink 2008 to '12 with grilled baby lamb chops or cabrito. (166 cases) (W&S 10/05) Chateau Potelle, Napa, CA
93 I McCrea $42 2003 Yakima Valley Amerique Syrah Doug McCrea's 2003 Amerique has a generous dollop of Ciel du Cheval mourvedre in the mix, giving it the kind of sauvage character that's found in his fine mourvedre. The syrah component is from Red Mountain's other storied vineyard, Klipsun, which accounts for the lushness of its fruit. Rich, smoky blueberry scents are backed up with lavishly oaked black fruit flavors. �It's the girl at the bar you want to take home,� said one panelist, and that hardly scratches the surface of this wine's seductive power. (190 cases) (W&S 10/05) McCrea Cellars, Rainier, WA
93 I Melville $36 2003 Santa Rita Hills Small Lot Collection Donna's Syrah Dense with extract, this potent wine has a full complement of oak to smooth the green peppercorn spice. With air, a lot of that oak gets eaten up by the musky, meaty, blueberry and raisin flavors. The fruit and spice last for over a minute, carried by an unusually refined structure for such a huge wine. A dynamic syrah to open and pour for a large group with charcuterie or lingui�a sausage. (367 cases) (W&S 10/05) Melville Winery, Lompoc, CA
93 I Montemaggiore $32 2002 Dry Creek Valley Paolo's Vineyard Syrah This wine shows its refinement when first poured, with a violet perfume, fresh blueberry flavors and tannins as ferrous as an iron skillet�it grows on a steep, south-southeast facing hillside in reddish, rocky soil with lots of iron. That tight bristle of tannin doesn't relent until the wine has been open for at least two days, when the elegance extends past the tannins as they soften into a firm density. A lovely, expressive syrah, this needs several years in the cellar before serving with roast quail stuffed with pancetta. (850 cases) (W&S 10/05) Montemaggiore Wines, Healdsburg, CA