It’s a tough call – Alexandria Nicole Cellars 2006 Block 17 Syrah or Alexandria Nicole Cellars 2005 Estate Syrah? We opened bottles of each wine recently and it’s hard to pick a favorite. Next time, we’ll do a side-by-side tasting!

I’ve already written about the amazing 2006  Block 17, which recently won a gold medal at The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the largest competition of American wines in the world. More recently, we discovered the limited release (571 cases) of 2005 Estate Syrah, which is rich and velvety.

It might not have received the awards or accolades of the more famouse Block 17, but 2005 Estate Syrah is showing nicely now and is “expected to gain complexity and soften a bit in the next seven to ten years.”

But you see, that’s the “problem” I have with Jarrod Boyle’s ANC wines – they are so good that we never want to wait. We want them now!

Cheers!