Smooth syrah, flavorful figs

Our Wine of the Week, Novy 2006 Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah ($27), is a beautiful example of what the varietal can be in California when it is in the hands of someone who understands it and who isn't trying to play the my-fruit-is-bigger-than-your-fruit game so common in winemaking now.

Those big fruit bombs that garner high ratings from prominent critics may be one of the main reasons syrah has dropped in popularity. Big wines may grab attention initially but they are not particularly pleasant to drink. They tend not to age all that well, either, and when that big fruit fades, there's not much more than high alcohol and harsh tannins left.

And so it is a happy thing that there are producers like Novy honoring the varietal.

The Santa Lucia Highlands, based in the Santa Lucia mountain range above the Salinas River Valley, is a stellar appellation, with a cool climate that produces beautiful fruit with distinct character. Both syrah and pinot noir from the region enjoy wide acclaim.

The fruit in this wine is soft, pretty, restrained and elegant. It does not shout out its attributes; rather, they are there for the taking should you choose to pay attention. Woven between soft berry flavors are lean mineral notes, invoking the sound water makes as it splashes on river rocks. Hints of smoke, a little leather, some dried brambles and toasted spice unfold on the lingering finish.

There is a just bit of roughness to the tannins but it is an easy, earthy roughness that doesn't get in the way. There is no harshness to this wine.

Because I happened to have some leftover rare bison from dinner at Mosaic, I made a simple sandwich and sipped the wine alongside. What a lovely match! I can't get the beautiful combination of flavors out of my mind. Another glorious pairing would be Korean style ribs.

The wine also does well with ripe tomatoes, semi-soft cheeses such as Italian fontina, oil-cured black olives and figs. For today's recipe, I'd adapted one I came across in Fig Heaven (Morrow, 2004) by Marie Simmons, a friend whose work I admire. I use fontina instead of the cheeses she recommends in her recipe because I think it is the best with this particular wine.

Bacon-Wrapped, Wine-Poached

Dried Figs

Makes 4 to 6 servings

12 large dried black Mission or Calimyrna figs (about 8 ounces) stems trimmed

1½ cups red wine

1 bay leaf

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut in half crosswise

4 ounces Italian fontina, cut in 12 pieces

Put the figs, wine and bay leaf into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently until the figs have softened, about 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and continue to simmer until the wine is thick and reduced to just a few tablespoons. Remove from the heat and cool in the plan.

Fill a small saucepan with water, bring to a boil over high head, add the bacon and cook for 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Carefully lift the figs out of the wine. Make a slit in the side of each fig and push a piece of cheese into the soft center. Wrap a strip of bacon around the fig and secure it with a toothpick or small metal skewer. Set the filled and wrapped figs in a small baking dish.

Bake the figs until the bacon is browned, turn them once so that the bacon browns evenly.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and carefully transfer the figs to a warm platter. Drizzle with the reduced wine and serve warm.

Michele Anna Jordan can be contacted via e-mail at michele@micheleannajordan.com.