Concannon Limited Release Stampmaker's Syrah 2004
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Enjoy with spicy chicken, spiced rubbed pork chops, or your favorite pasta with red sauce.
Blend: 75.5% Syrah, 14.6% Grenache, 3% Petite Sirah, 2.9% Counoise, 2.1% Cinsault, 1.9% Mouvedre
Since 1883, Concannon Vineyard has been a trailblazer in California wine. Their story started when James Concannon immigrated to America over 130 years ago. He was a maverick who challenged the status quo, and was one of the first to craft Bordeaux-style wines in California. Recognizing the striking similarity to the premier terroir of France, James began importing extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignon vines directly from the renowned Château Margaux in Bordeaux to the Livermore Valley. Years later, in 1965, his grandson, Jim, collaborated with UC Davis in selecting cuttings from one of those vines for heat treatment. These dynamic, virus-resistant vines later became known as Concannon Cabernet Clones 7, 8 and 11 and played a key role in helping California Cabernet achieve international recognition. Today, they are proud that an estimated 80% of California’s Cabernet Sauvignon is planted with their Concannon Clones.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.