The medium purple-colored 2006 Syrah Estate Lewis Vineyard offers up an expressive nose of Asian spices, incense, lavender, meat, and blueberry. On the palate it seems subdued; there is ample fruit which lacks depth giving an impression that there is little below the surface. What is there is pleasant, but Dunham has done better than this. www.dunhamcellars.com

Like its companion Cabernet, the Lewis vineyard designate is still quite hard and unyielding when first opened. The dense, complex aromas suggest the power locked up within, and the wine slowly emerges, at first peppery and herbal, yet layered and complex; then showing some silk and satin, with a strong licorice streak.——P.G.(8/1/2010)—— 92