Testarossa Vineyards Barrel Tasting Event

I just returned from a wonderful tasting event at Testarossa Vineyards in Los Gatos for their club members. The winery is located in the historic Novitiate Winery at the top of a hill, but very close to downtown Los Gatos, so it is a great place to go for a wine tasting any weekend you are in the area. The people there are excellent hosts and it has an atmosphere that is very comfortable for visitors, casual and unpretentious. We were able to spend some time with Rob Jensen (who owns the winery with his wife), Bill Brosseau, winemaker and Adam Comartin, assistant winemaker. I have known Testarossa for their fine Pinots in the past, and now I am more knowledgeable about their Syrah production.

This was an amazing vertical tasting of their Garys' Vineyard Syrah, ranging from the 2000 vintage through the 2005 and 2006 barrel tastings, seven vintages in all. Then we tasted two of their new Syrah offerings from the barrel that will be released when finished. My tasting notes are as follows:

2000 Garys' Vineyard (GV) Syrah, nice laid back wine, very smooth but lacking boldness or complexity compared to some others.

2001 GV Syrah, this was a big, earthy, very drinkable wine, went well with the appetizers such as filet tartar tower.

*2002 GV Syrah, wow, this was my favorite one, big fruit with spice and pepper, a little on the wild side, a really nice wine from my perspective.

2003 GV Syrah, very drinkable for a young wine, fruit forward, overall a nice wine.

2004 GV Syrah, this wine had tight tannins, tasted very young, needs aging but has nice potential but high acidity now.

2005 GV Syrah (barrel tasting), this young wine was already very drinkable, solid fruit, low tannins for its age, a nice wine from the barrel.

2006 GV Syrah, this wine is so young at this stage, it is still developing and I don't feel I can tell what time in the barrel will bring, without tasting other vintages at this early stage.

2005 Thompson Vineyard Syrah, this is a new wine to be released, it has more fruit than spice, many of us liked it even at this early stage, a nice addition to the Testarossa offerings, should be quite popular.

2005 Subasio Syrah, this is a new wine made from fruit from several vineyards, it will be more modestly priced and easier to acquire. I liked the complexity of the wine, it was smooth and drinkable, with nice potential.

We also stopped by the tasting room, and I will cover that separately.