TN: 2005 Saxum Bone Rock Syrah

Popped this herculean wine Saturday night to celebrate my Dawgs' Pac-10 Championship. After several bottle of Saxum, one cannot imagine that these wines can get any better or top the previous bottle but that would be wrong. Just plain wrong, my friend. This was a powerhouse from the get go. Resisting my natural urge to pop and pour, I opened this beauty and let it sit for over an hour. Immediate aromas are intoxicating with the likes of black cherry, kirsch, a little gaminess, five spice, tobacco, and a smack of pure blue fruit. Massively dense on the palate but somehow surprisingly seems light on its feet. Gushes of concentrated black raspberries and boysenberries balance out the heat to give you a delectable sweetness without ever losing its laser focused, even scary elegance. Bacon, some smoky oak, and hints of gaminess further harmonize the scale of sweet and savory. A lingering and thought provoking finish leads me to the belief that Saxum is easily one of the top three of four Rhone Rangers in the US. Monumental stuff! 97pts.