2009 Cowhorn "Reserve-Estate" Applegate Valley Syrah

SKU #1115290 93 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

Reliance on 100% whole clusters and just over 50% new barrels hasn’t resulted in any stemmy or woody extremes in the Cowhorn 2009 Syrah Reserve; on the contrary, this manages to combine explosive intensity of dark berry fruit and peat-like smokiness with seductively wafting perfume of freesia, buddleia, and violet; palpable extract-richness with near levity (at 13.5% alcohol); and vibrant fruit acids with a silken texture. It will leave your mouth and preconceptions shaken. And I’m betting that new revelations will emerge from bottles rationed over the next 6-8 years if not longer. (8/ 2012)

K&L Notes

"Southern Oregon's extensive viticultural activities receive only a fraction of the attention accorded top wines of this State from the Left Bank of the Columbia Gorge or the southern reaches of Walla Walla - to say nothing of those from the Willamette Valley," writes Wine Advocate's David Schildknecht. "That extraordinary quality and unique personalities can issue from the part of this State is proven definitively by the current releases from Cowhorn, an Applegate Valley vineyard first planted - almost exclusively to Rhone varieties (and relying in part on the latest clonal material from the Perrins at Tablas Creek) - by owners Bill and Barbara Steele in 2005, and from its inception prominently promoting its biodynamic and sustainable bona fides...Collectively, for example, I can't recall experiencing an array of Syrahs so alluringly original from one and the same winery any place other than Edmunds St. John - but Steven Edmunds has historically sourced from a striking array of microclimates, soils, and Californian sub-regions, whereas Cowhorn’s Syrahs all grew in the same vineyard!...Barbara Steele is not afraid to admit how nature and the bank nearly conspired in its first years to put paid to Cowhorn. Savvy and serious wine lovers would do well to give thanks that this didn't happen, and to do themselves the favor while showing their gratitude by buying these wines." (08/12)