In the nineties, the wine world was very different from now. While in 2015 the whole world runs after minerality, freshness and lean wines, you would rather have tried to transform the massive sound of NIRVANA into wine, to impress the audience and critics some 20 years ago: Overripe grapes, massive extraction, 12 to 24 months aging in new oak barrels ... Wine making according to the motto “more is ALWAYS better”!

Ironically, the last year of the millennium did not meet these expectations. People said it was a cold, rainy and rather small year and they were all glad to leave the century right after. But they were wrong, of course. Just as the world of wine is always and continously wrong, when classifying wines like cloth sizes: large, medium, small ... As if all winemakers, vineyards and bottles in the world would bend to this rough classification…

But let’s return to our Syrah from the year 1999. It is a varietal wine, fermented and aged in wood, not only showing dense flavors, but somehow also managing to unite the entire minerality of its terroir in the bottle (believe me, “minerality” already existed in 1999). What does it look like? Slightly cloudy eye, rather orange than red. Fine, perky nose of prunes, cocoa, cinnamon and cherries. Also some pipe tobacco. Velvety mouthfeel, tannins as delicate as lace, remarkable acidity, bringing in zest and strength. An endless finish, in which sweet bourbon vanilla joins the bouquet.

FOOD MATCHES FOR CARNIVORES: Roasted game birds or smoked foie gras. Nothing else!
FOOD MATCHES FOR HERBIVORES: A non-salty black olive tapenade, chocolate with an extremely high cocoa content and low sugar, a fireplace.