Alban Vineyards Lorraine Estate Syrah 2000

After a week of drinking the usual juice I have become accustomed to drinking, it becomes necessary to cleanse the palate, drop into the cellar and find something that may once again give me hope that the world is not all oak, acid, and some kind of generic fruit, combined into a drinkable liquid suitable for the masses, that does nothing more than cause people to say, "I don't drink wine. It gives me headaches." You know what I'm talking about. Don't you? All that $5 stuff is fine after a hard days work, when you find it is all but mandatory that you drink something to forget your boss, coworkers, the ass**les on the freeway, and your life in general.

Last night was that night. Friday night. End of the week. Time to relax, cook some food, and settle into a fine bottle of wine. A bottle of Alban Vineyards Lorraine Edna Valley Syrah. A jewel of a bottle of wine masterfully created by Joh Alban, owner, winemaker, magician. A man who can creat with grapes, a place in the mind and on the tongue that Christians call Heaven, and Moslems call Paradise.

A wine and year for Alban that Wine Spectator says, "Even with all the excitement generated by the 2000s, it was a mind-blowing year for Alban, as this champion of Rhône-style wines, red and white, really put it all together. Alban's 2000 Syrahs -- Lorraine (94, $56), Reva (94, $44) and Seymour's Vineyard (96, $85) -- and his 2000 Grenache (94, $44) are unlike any wines I've tasted in 30 years of drinking California wines. I call them espresso-style because of their dense textures, range of coffee, spice, leather, meat and berry flavors, and plush, rich, mouthcoating finishes."

"...unlike any wines I've tasted in 30 years of drinking California wines." Got it? If not, too bad. This wine was marvelous. Lush, smooth, flavorful, spicy, with a finish that lasted until morning. If you have some, it is time to drink it. Now. I wish I had more. I wish I had more. I wish I ... You get the point.

Alban, Ojai, Copain, Pax, and others are the newest generation of wineries making what is the best of the best in Syrah from California today.
And guess what. It will cost. An arm, or leg, or in the case of Pax, maybe both. You don't really need two of each do you?

I'm in heaven. I wish I had more.....