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91POINTS
16¾/20
Tantalus Syrah Furthur Afield Series 2021
Similkameen Valley, British Columbia, CanadaThe Further Afield Series has emerged out of a desire for the Tanatalus winemaking team to explore British Columbia’s most revered varieties beyond the vineyard borders of Tanatalus. The new tier comes with a beloved piece by Tahltan-Tlingit artist and dear friend of Tantalus, Dempsey Bob, that is entitled “Wolf Bowl.” The goal is “for each wine to convey the unique characteristics of its growing site and be shaped by the climatic conditions of the vintage.” The syrah hails from the famed Blind Creek Vineyard in the Similkameen Valley. Grown over a gentle slope of broken granite and stony soils, it is considered one of the most magical sites for syrah in BC. Four batches of fruit were vinified, each fermented at slightly different temperatures with different yeasts (including some wild) before it was all pressed and settled to French oak barrels, of which only 15 percent were new. It was aged 11 months and bottled under screwcap in late summer of 2022. It was the heat dome year, so there was no lack of concentration, yet the wine is elegant, and at 14.2 percent alcohol, it sits well within its frame. The flavours are plummy and mineral based, lined with pepper, and concentrated through a long, wild Similkameen finish. The tannins are dense and need dispersion, but they are hardly gritty. Three to five years in the bottle will let everything come together, revealing little intervention and much harmony.Tasted: 05 May 2023Tasted by: Prices:| BC | $34.75 | 750ml | winery online/direct |
Grape: Shiraz/SyrahCSPC: 460372UPC: 626990332121
