Hosts: Jim & Bette Felton
Danville
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It was a beautiful warm summer evening at the Felton’s vineyard. During the blind tasting, Jim Felton came around and said he could not tell which one was his, and neither could anyone else. His ended up being ranked #3, well done Jim. The wines were complex to judge, and Bette’s wonderful handouts and maps provided an excellent perspective on the Northern Rhone appellations.
The tasting of 2018 Syrahs included four from the Northern Rhone region in France, and four from California’s Central wine region. Our selected California wineries make single vineyard Syrahs and are located in the Santa Ynez Valley, near Santa Barbara, the Santa Rita Hills slightly north, the Santa Lucia Highlands and Diablo Valley. From Northern Rhone, “The Land of French Syrah”, we focused on Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Cornas (with some blending) and Saint Joseph and Crozes Hermitage.
Voting Results: The 8 tasting wines and their rank are shown below, followed by the pre-tasting wines. In general the Northern Rhone wines beat the Coastal California wines, however they were over double the price.
| Northern Rhone | Coastal California | |
| Average Points | 56.8 | 69.3 |
| Ranks | 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th | 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th |
| Average Price | $75 | $33 |
| Rank | Points | Wine | AVA/AOC | Price | Btl |
| 1 | 47 | 2018 Bernard Burgaud Cote Rotie Syrah | Côte-Rôtie | $80.99 | 1 |
| 2 | 49 | 2018 Juien Pilon Comas d’Elegance du Caillo Syrah | Cornas | $69.99 | 2 |
| 3 | 56 | 2017 Sky Terrace Vineyards Syrah, Diablo Valley | Diablo Valley | $25.00 | 7 |
| 4 | 64 | 2018 Vincent Paris Saint Joseph Syrah | Saint-Joseph | $39.99 | 8 |
| 5 | 67 | 2018 Jean-Michel Sorrel Heritage Le Vignon Syrah | Hermitage | $99.99 | 6 |
| 6 | 68 | 2019 Morgan Double L Vineyard Syrah, Santa Lucia Highlands | Santa Lucia Highlands | $49.99 | 3 |
| 7 | 70 | 2018 Andrew Murray Tous Les Jours Syrah, Santa Ynez Valley | Santa Ynez Valley | $17.99 | 5 |
| 8 | 83 | 2018 Melville Estates Santa Rita Hills Syrah, Santa Barbara | Santa Rita Hills | $38.99 | 4 |
| 2018 Alain Voge Cornas Les Chailles | Cornas | $59.99 | P1 | ||
| 2018 Emmanuel Darnaud Les Trois Chene | Crozes-Hermitage | $39.99 | P2 | ||
| 2012 Carlisle Sierra Mar Vineyard Syrah | Santa Lucia Highlands | $68.00 | P3 | ||
| 2019 Jaboulet Hermitage La Maison Bleue | Hermitage | $75.00 | P4 |
Individual Votes:
| Rank | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Total Points | 47 | 49 | 68 | 83 | 70 | 67 | 56 | 64 |
| Your Name | Btl 1 | Btl 2 | Btl 3 | Btl 4 | Btl 5 | Btl 6 | Btl 7 | Btl 8 |
| Vince | 6 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| Diane G | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 6 |
| Debby Marti | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 8 |
| Laura | 5 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| Suzi mills | 2 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
| Jim felton | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| David Gandara | 4 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 7 |
| Marie Coppola | 7 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| Betty Hood-Gibson | 3 | 2 | 7 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 6 |
| Richard | 5 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 1 |
| David Gibson | 2 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 6 |
| Steve | 1 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 8 |
| Bette | 2 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 5 |
| Kathy | 2 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
Cellar Society of San Francisco 