Foxen Toasted Rope Syrah 2006
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Robert
Parker
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Even more brilliant is the Cote Rotie look-alike, the 2006 Syrah Toasted Rope. A blend of 85% Syrah and a whopping 15% Viognier (an hommage to Guigal’s Cote Rotie La Mouline?), it reveals exotic lychee nut and honeysuckle characteristics interwoven with notions of sweet cassis, kirsch, and licorice. Medium to full-bodied with fabulous concentration, a velvety, voluptuous texture, and superb length, this is an amazing effort from the Santa Ynez Valley.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Ranging from cool and foggy in the west to warm and dry in the east, the Santa Ynez Valley is a climatically diverse growing area. The most expansive AVA within the larger Santa Barbara County region, Santa Ynez is also home to a wide variety of soil types and geographical features. The appellation is further divided into four distinct sub-AVAs—Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos District and Happy Canyon—each with its own defining characteristics.
A wide selection of grapes is planted here—more than sixty different varieties, and counting. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dominate in the chilly west, while Zinfandel, Rhône blends, and Bordeaux blends rule the arid east. Syrah is successful at both ends of the valley, with a lean and peppery, Old-World sensibility closer to the coast and lush berry fruit further inland.