Bonny Doon Syrah Le Pousseur 2005

The label of the Syrah "Le Pousseur" suggests a mysterious figure, cloaked in a great coat, in which rare vials and flasks of vaguely illicit elixirs, potions and philtres are cached. The image evokes a Tarot card, and as such, represents an archetypical figure, an icon resonant to the unconscious. Great Syrah is all about perfume and the tension between the wild and the refined.

2005 was a coolish year, one of elegance and restraint, and the '05 is extremely refined; the wine (upon decanting) has an especially seductive perfume. The signifiers of vrai syrah: bacon fat is well in evidence, as is the scent of licorice, anise, wintergreen, violet and spicy elements – white pepper, most notably, juniper, cardamom and sandalwood. There is also a brilliant mineral element herein – mostly in virtue of shy-yielding grapes. The texture is particularly noteworthy, with melted, creamy tannins and a very silky finish.