Winemaker Notes
While the grapes for Patrina are raised with the same detail and attentiveness as the rest of the vineyards, and then fermented open top with indigenous yeast, gentle pump overs and a few punch downs once soft, it is bottled unfined and unfiltered after ‘just’ 22 months in barrel to preserve its youthful exuberance. All the density and concentration folks have come to expect from our reds with black and blue fruits, mineral notes, and flowers.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
As to the 2018's, the 2018 Patrina is all Syrah and has a classic Alban, concentrated, full-bodied style as well as lots of black and blue fruits, notes of ground pepper, iodine and flowers, beautiful tannins, and a great finish. I always like to say this is a good introduction into the wines of John Alban, and while it is, it’s certainly much more than that as well and is a stunningly good, singular Syrah.
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.”
California’s coolest wine growing area, Edna Valley excels in the production of high quality Central Coast wines like Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Rhône Blends and aromatic white wines. It has a cool Mediterranean climate and an incredibly long growing season, giving late-ripening varieties plenty of opportunity to develop great phenolic complexity.
Its northwest to southeast orientation creates a direct path for cool Pacific air and fog to penetrate the valley from the Los Osos and Morro Bay area inwards. Low hillsides of both calcareous and volcanic soils are home to much of the vineyard acreage of the Edna Valley.