DuMOL Syrah California Russian River Valley 2005

 Aromas of black fruits, tapenade, ground pepper, and spice box emerge from the 2005 Syrah Russian River. There is some herbaceousness underneath the fruit, but the wine is full-bodied, rich, complex, and comes across like a Crozes-Hermitage on steroids... As I said last year, DuMol is one of my favorite wineries, primarily because of the passion and commitment to quality of owner Kerry Murphy and his winemaker, Andy Smith. (RP)