2015 Syrah Rudi Schultz Vineyard

Of course, a wine’s taste is personal perforce. This Syrah is from a South African vineyard, and this wine is bold. Their label’s fighting unicorn advertise something is a bit different. Their horse-silhouette figure is reminiscent of Salvador Dali’s horse in “St. George and the Dragon”, and Dali is a one-of-a-kind doodler. Anyway, are there real unirons? The winemaker describes tasting this Syrah as having plumb and blackberry. And then, a major wine magazine liked it so well by rating it in the 90’s… Remember that “thing”: the winemaker pushed a composition cork into the bottle. My take; there is a difference in what is a vintner advertises, compared to what is perceived and profitable. Being an ordinary, common wine drinker, I found something much different from plum & berries: The color is dark red; there are good legs. The nose is floral, clover. First taste was sort of like hitting your thumb with a hammer- - - It was smoky tobacco. So, I sat this unicorn on the table for another look, but the same horse trotted out. In future tastings there was salty-peanut, shoe-polished leather, along with the usual light pepper in a Syrah. The finish was a charcoal, light tannin. Maybe being on the “Ring of Fire” volcanic plate has an effect on these S.A. grapes. Of note, I do enjoy Dali, especially “St. George and the Dragon”. His horse is awesome. As for this horsey Syrah, I would avoid buying it. T