Shafer’s annual contribution to the Rhone gene pool is one incredible Syrah. It is inky black in color, due perhaps to some added Petite Sirah, with, yes, relentless aromas of blackberries, cassis, mocha, toast and vanilla. Doesn’t let you down once you sip, when it floods the mouth with dense berry-cherry flavors that, for all their lusciousness, are bone dry. On the finish, you can taste blackberry nectar for a full minute.——S.H.(12/31/2003)—— 94