Winemaker Notes
Atop the most distant peak from the winery and main vineyard there is a dense vein of flint that is mixed with chalk and sandstone. This soil produces the grapes that make Seymour’s: aromatics of Asian spices, and flavors of smoked meats, graphite, and licorice. This Syrah is Alban's most structured and broad.
Like Reva and Lorraine, Seymour’s is aged 3.5 years in a mix of new and used French oak barrels after undergoing open top fermentation by its native yeasts; then bottle unfined and unfiltered.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Always the most backward and structured of John's three Syrahs, the 2010 Syrah Seymour's Vineyard is no exception. Possessing brighter acidity and more tannin than either the Reva or Lorraine, this big, full-bodied, backward bruiser offers lots of currants, blackberries, caramelized meats, olive and chocolate nuances. It's another 2010 that needs to be forgotten for 4-5 years, yet will have two decades or more of longevity.
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.