Robert Parker, Jr.-The Wine Advocate: 

WS83: Intense and spicy, with a dry, leathery roasted herb edge to the dried berry flavors. Full-bodied, ending with a meaty beef carpaccio edge that's very dry. Drink now through 2015. 2,700 cases made. –JL

RP86: The 2007 Syrah Le Pousser from the Central Coast is reasonably priced, but its notes of tapenade intermixed with green olives and black cherries comes across as one-dimensional and monolithic. The wine has superficial concentration but once past the surface, there’s just not a lot of wine present. One can’t complain about the price, though.
It’s good to see the highly commercial Randall Grahm finally get more serious about wine quality. Of course, he long ago laughed his way to the bank, selling hundreds of thousands of cases, promoting “terroir” while making massive quantities of commercial wines that had little evidence of any serious terroir or character. However, he seems to have found religion over the last few years. Graham has decided to offer his Cigare Volant, a California take on France’s Chateauneuf du Pape, in three formats – his regular cuvee, one aged in large, presumably old wood foudres, and one aged in smaller demi-muids (which are still bigger than conventional barrels). All three are worth buying and drinking. Each is a blend of 60% Grenache, 32% Syrah, and the rest Mourvedre and Cinsault.

ST87: Dark purple. Dark berries and smoked meat on the nose, with hints of pungent flowers and licorice. Juicy and focused but slightly tart, offering zesty dark berry and cherry skin flavors and showing no rough edges. Refreshingly brisk but I'd like more flesh. The finish is lively, taut and linear, leaving bright dark fruit notes behind. 87 points


Winery:  "Quite dark with vibrant purple highlights and a perfume evocative of the wild game, black fruit, licorice and white pepper of the Northern Rhône cuvées of Cornas. Muscular tannins yield to rich brambly blackberry, cassis, archetypal roasted meats, black cherry and violets. A big wine, that is remarkably light on its feet. Silky, nuanced and complex, the ’07 pairs especially well with cassoulet, grilled chicken, lamb kabobs, venison and winter wild mushroom risotto."

White pepper, bacon fat, violets, anise and licorice - all signifiers of the real McCoy and all present in the 2007.
Hand harvested, sorted and fermented individually, our 2007 Syrah “Le Pousseur” is an elegant blend of concentrated black fruits, spice, tannins and earthiness. For optimal tasting, we suggest a gentle decanting, allowing the wine to breathe.

There is something very charming in the notion of “Le Pousseur,” part herbalist, part alchemist, part snake oil salesman - the man to see - albeit in a very sketchy back alley if you want to score some very good schist.

Wired For Wine:

Bottle:  750ml, cork
Varietal:  100% Syrah
Alcohol:  13.5%
Region:   Central Coast, California
Limited production: 3,030 dozen made