This is not the thick, syrupy Syrah that many wine drinkers out there may be accustomed to.   Nope, we’re talking about the more elegant French version, which usually — but not this time – costs a lot more.   

The Domaine la Bastide Syrah 2005 has a beautifully attractive ruby color, and flavors and aromas of plum, earth, licorice, smoke, and black pepper.  The body is in the medium range — almost reminiscent of the last couple of Bordeauxs we reviewed – and there’s plenty of acidity to make it food friendly. 

As Weekday Wines go, this one ranks up there.  Here are two strong reasons:

1. It’s $9.  That makes it almost competitive with a six-pack of Heineken. 
2. It’s of a high quality in terms of both balance and taste, relative to its cost.  To illustrate, let us refer you back, once more, to the wine tasting that we administered two Sundays ago and wrote about last week.  We weren’t keeping score, but it was pretty clear that this Syrah was a favorite of all wines tasted, judging by peoples’ positive reactions and by the fact that it was the first bottle to go empty.  There was certainly no bias for Syrah in this crowd, either: the Shiraz (a.k.a., Australian Syrah) against which we tasted the Domaine la Bastide, lasted the longest of any wine included in the tasting, and we eventually ended up dumping it due to lack of interest.

The Domaine la Bastide is yet another unusually excellent value in wine — a true jewel in the rough.