Ask those picky about their wines about California’s class of 2008 and most will respond with a dismissive huff. Some might even go so far as to unfriend you on Facebook.
Wildfires scorched Northern California that summer. Mendocino County alone suffered through 18 named blazes and at one point — July 5 — crews across the state were battling 328 different fires. The haze that lingered over the region cast an acrid stain on wine country grapes.
But Kristi Lawson of Red Lava Vineyards disregards such blanket contempt. “I really enjoy that vintage,” she said.
She has reason. The 2008 Red Lava Syrah she produced with her late husband Bud — along with an assist from winemaker Mark Burch, now at Chacewater — is a stunning wine.
Its aromas treat the space above the glass as a canvas, dabbling and swirling and streaking and blurring as if Van Gogh on a frenzied pre-dawn rush to finish “Starry Night.” The impression on the nose is equally astounding and, well, purple.
Yes, purple — that compelling, regal, almost indefinable hue swaying between twilight and pitch black. Intense dark fruits drying in a shed, hearty blueberry jam, cellared patanegra, soft violet bouquets all contend for your olfactory attention. And the artistry does not end there. Securing this stellar canvas, a frame of sturdy earth and biting licorice brushed by dark chocolate lend a brooding, old world notion.
Yet this is not a sullen, deliberate wine. Like younger Syrahs, the 2008 offers fruit up front — in this case stewed blue and blackberries, thickened and left to cool, along with hints of raisin and other dried fruits wrapped in a rich, meaty fat that draws you into a more savory spell.
Bittersweet chocolate touched by vanilla and a streak of French roast coffee contend with hints of nettle, bark and even a trace of dried herbs — an earthy heft that stirs memories of cassoulet in a rustic French village brasserie.
The finishing touch to this noteworthy wine includes a dusting of white pepper and ground clove.
“Our wines were made to age,” Lawson said, observing that the 2008 Syrah heaved with tannins when first bottled and weighed in at 15 percent alcohol. “It has had time to mellow out.”
The Lawsons worked the vineyards carefully that year, dropping bunches if not on an even pace toward ripeness. Although Red Lava generally rests wine in American wood, Bud Lawson acquired two year old French oak barrels, along with some fresh Hungarian oak barrels that year and rotated the Syrah through each.
The wine spent 24 months in wood before bottling. It was a small batch, just 254 cases.
“There isn’t a lot of it left,” Lawson said.
Too bad, for reminders that many Lake County wines escaped the lash of that summer’s wildfires should be preserved. Of course, when you acquire a wine so involved, so full of color and meaning, it’s almost impossible not to pour.
Dave Faries can be reached at 900-2016
