My current love affair with Syrah rewarded me again this weekend. More on that in a minute.

Syrah, or Shiraz if you will (and not Petite Sirah!), is the fastest growing (in popularity/planting) grape in our country. Cabernet is still king, but more like a modern day king in his waning years, who has no heir of his own. People are moving on. I attribute this greatly to 2 things; the obvious similarity in taste from one Cab to the next, and the increasingly unaffordability of California (and now Washington) Cabernet. Syrah is being planted EVERYWHERE and can, and does, taste dramatically different from one area to the next, hell even from one slope to the next. The same can be made true of Cabernet, of course, but not for the right price.

Great syrah's are coming from some very inexpensive land areas: Paso Robles, Eastern Washington, Missouri, California's Central Valley (long the home of "bulk wine"), and even San Diego County. Pick a couple up from different areas and taste how amazingly unique they can be. Some of my current favorites are Star Lane (Santa Ynez), its little brother Three Saints (also Santa Ynez) and Foley (Santa Rita Hills).

I broke in my new smoker with some friends this weekend and a batch of mesquite smoked babyback ribs. One friend, who has now acheived "great friend status" brought a bottle of Peter Lehmann Stonewell Shiraz 1998! Everyone knows P-L and they consistently make great shiraz, but Stonewell is kind of rare even in the business. And 1998 is considered the best year for Aussie reds in a generation. He knew neither and just wanted to share a great bottle with friends. Keeper (the friend and the bottle)! After 2 hours in decanter the whole house smelled like plum and raspberry and spice. This wine was still young at 10 years. I have not seen any in years, but if you do, I would love a comment as to where.

I am going to talk a bit about Cabernet with some age on it. Tango just stumbled upon a 10 case lot of a 9 year old Australian Cabernet from Burton Winery, who no longer imports into the US. The distributor needed to move their remaining product and we negociated an awfully nice deal on it (check out the wineries price @ www.burtonpremiumwines.com, we are a "bit" less)!

"Aged" can mean many things. France and Italy generally don't start discussing age until at least 15 years for red. California can be a mere 5. Nine years for a inexpensive Australia red is definitely aged!

Aged reds can often be like the Grandfather that seldomly visits. Usually cranky on the ride home from the airport, he can be abrasive until he gets his bags unpacked and is in a comfortable chair. While he is never going to be as cool and chatty as the uncle that is only a little older than you (we all have one), once he is in his zone, Grandpa is great in his own right and usually has some pretty interesting stories to tell.

Aged reds, in this case Cabernet Sauvignon, need to get into their comfort zone, and pulling the cork and pouring isn't going to do it. Just like that ride from the airport! Frequently they need to breathe. That can mean decanting or letting them sit, in a glass, for a "while". The while is completely dependant on the particular grandpa. Decanting is done differently than with younger wines. You are going for gentle (think old) and slow to prevent any sediment from leaving the bottle. And don't expect exciting Vegas stories from an aged wine. Instead, listen to the long, in-depth epic about the land and how things have changed over the years. We are talking Terms of Endearment and Amadeus, not 300 (not that 300 wasn't great). The other great thing about aged reds, is that with the mellowing, they often become much more accessible for drinking without a big meal, not often I can sip Cabernet on the couch! Personally, I have found the Burton to only need 15-20 minutes in a glass, and as little as 10 in a decanter, which is a small time-price to pay for such great stories.

Until next time, glasses up!