Nickel & Nickel, Russian River Valley (California) Syrah 2009

 Most consumers who know a little about Nickel & Nickel would think of it as a top producer of Cabernet and Chardonnay, but this outfit also turns out exemplary Merlot as well is this extremely impressive Syrah.  Whereas most California renditions of this variety are all too overt and one-dimensional, this is a big, brooding wine with intense, concentrated black fruit aromas and flavors backed by firm, spicy oak.  I don’t believe it will hit its apogee for a full decade, at which time it may well merit a score notably higher than the already high one that I’ve given it here.