Last week we opened the 2008 version with a slow roasted rack of lamb from the grill, one of the few days it has been possible to grill here in the last month with all the rain. The featured wine of the night was supposed to be a 1999 Chateau Ste. Michelle Meritage from Washington State. Very good wine with rich fruit, some wood, a little bit of earth, and very nice with the lamb. The Kinkead Syrah was opened primarily to check on its progress after I liked the 2005 version so well.
By now I guess I should stop being surprised about the Kinkead wines, but the KR quite simply blew the Ste. Michelle wine out of the water. Lots of dark fruit with some blackberries and blueberries on the nose and a small hint of the raw meat smell that I like so well in northern Rhone wines. The taste was full with those same fruits but there was more acid in this wine to cut through the richness of the lamb. There was some good mouth feel of oak and nice finish to the wine. My only complaint was just a touch of heat at the very end, but that was a minor price to pay for a very good wine.
The best part may be that there are more bottles of this resting in the cellar and I will get to revisit this wine for several more years. If it matures the way the 2005 version did there are some seriously good bottles waiting down the road.
15.2% alcohol, 194 cases produced and $18.99.
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