Winemaker Notes
The grapes that go into Reva (97-100% Syrah with the balance Viognier) are from neutral sandy soils and portions of ranch that are chalky and quite alkaline. This combination makes for a wine with dark color, concentrated flavors of black fruits, fennel, and graphite. Perhaps the most distinguishing note of Reva is a unique iodine and oyster shell aromatic that is unlike anything in Alban's other Syrahs.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Reminding me of the 2006, the 2014 Reva comes from multiple sites of darker volcanic soils on the estate. It offers a singular, incredible bouquet of crème de cassis, blackberry, seaweed, iodine, and ground sage. This massive, full-bodied wine packs a remarkable amount of fruit and richness, yet stays elegant, graceful, and beautifully balanced, with silky, silky tannins. It’s slightly more balanced and approachable than the 2006 and will drink brilliantly for 20-25 years. It’s a monumental wine from an incredible winemaker.
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Wine Spectator
Dynamic and polished, with a structured core swaddled in rich black raspberry, river stone, licorice and smoky beef accents that glide toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2026.
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.