Ghost of 413 Columbia Valley 2006 Syrah

Bottle #12: Ghost of 413 Columbia Valley 2006 Syrah

Price: $15

Running Tab: $157

My uncle has this friend in the wine biz who he's sworn to hook me up with, for questions, future jobs, etc. My uncle has a lot of friends... And that was a year ago...

One of his "good friends" is world-class winemaker and entrepreneur Mark Ryan McNeilly, known for his big, biting and barking red wines.  

I had no idea the Ghost of 413 Columbia Valley 2006 Syrah was one of McNeilly's babies he parented with fellow winemaker Chris Gorman when I grabbed it off the shelf at the pricey PCC Market. Still don't know why I buy wine there.

But the ghastly raised stenciling on the mysterious white label drew my attention with its creativity. I think I was also being rushed on my purchase decision and that bottle stuck out in my head. That's good marketing... And I'm pretty predictable.

And so was this wine!

A simple toasty nose with oak and dark fruits in the backlight over a lovely (yet almost forceful) center stage vanilla and cedar. To give a visual, Vanilla was the mob boss, Cedar was its hitman and the other aromas were the posse of "yes" men... Not a wood fan? Not a Ghost Syrah fan. Thought the aroma was a little faint in general, except for that vanilla and wood. 

What made it a predictable yet still tasty wine was a mouthful of black cherries, raspberries, tobacco, tannins and oak characters. I think it was the amount of wood in the nose that made it so oaky on the mouth as well. And that would had been fabulous if Ghost had any character and complexity... It was so Casper that the flavor was transparent as well. It finished with a bitter little kick in the pants too. Not very nice.

I don't know if I'm getting snobbier (probably) with my wine-ing but this just didn't do it for me. Ghost is such a young wine too, despite its deep purple color that conceals its rawness, it really does show potential to ripen in the bottle and become quite a tasty wine. 

Save it for another year or two and try it again. A little bitter and immature but has good intentions, sweet smells and looks pretty. Similar to most of the guys I've dated...

Score: 6.5.