So we opened the Caduceus Primer Paso the other day, after a few weeks of barely controlling ourselves.
This is quite frankly one of the most interesting wines I've ever tasted. It is very obviously a syrah; Maynard has paid very close attention to structure here. There were, however, some very unexpected flavors from beginning to end, and the wine itself behaved rather oddly.
We did a small taste right after popping it open, before we decanted it. There was a warm, spicy flavor with a light initial alcohol burn on the nose. We were immediately aware of the orange flavors. The color was a heavier, earthier red than I expext to see in a syrah. We let it sit in the bottle for an hour or so before we decanted (preparing dinner in the meantime).
Allowing this to open up eliminated the alcohol burn, as well as mellowing some of the spiciness that was present initially. The orange flavor was still there, though it reminded us more of the chocolate oranges one might find at RiteAid. This orange flavor persisted throughout, though the overall character of the wine continued to change from beginning to end.
I don't know that I'd pay $30 for a bottle of this, but it's definitely a delicious and carefully crafted wine. Kudos to Mr. Keenan.
2 comments:
You have some interesting articles.
What do you think of icewines?
I'm not generally a big fan of sweet wines in general. I tend to like earthier, more rugged styles, like cabs, merlots, and chiantis. Syrahs and the like are a fairly recent acquisition for me.
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