Winemaker Notes
2011 Eisele Vineyard Syrah shows the benefits of a colder vintage for Araujo's best Syrah parcels. With all Syrah blocks harvested before the rains, the complexity and richness are coupled perfectly with this vintage's particularly intense varietal expression. A smoky, molten liquorice note runs through the finish rendering one of the deepest, most exciting Eisele Syrahs to-date.
Blend: 97% Syrah, 3% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This shows a more hermitage blueberry and dark-fruit character, plus slate, minerals and black pepper. Full body with racy tannins and a long, long. Slippery texture, like candle wax. Released fall 2014.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2011 Syrah Eisele Vineyard is redolent of black olives, cracked pepper, savory herbs and licorice. Here, too, varietal notes are especially vivid as a result of the cold vintage. Stem inclusion was a little higher than in the past, and 3% Viognier was added to the blend. There is more than enough intensity here to make me hopeful for the future. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2031.
Range: 92-94 -
Wine Spectator
An exciting, vibrant Syrah, intense and deeply flavored, offering rich dark berry, spice, roasted herb and hot stone sensations that are sharply focused but also quite tannic and chewy. Best from 2016 through 2028.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.