Winemaker Notes
Clary Ranch is a stunning hillside planting in the heart of the Petaluma Gap near Tomales Bay. Soaring aromatics, expressive exotic spice notes, and high natural acidity that are hallmarks of this wind scraped vineyard.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 Syrah Clary Ranch is a wine of total precision and class. In 2022, it is also especially linear, more floral and savory, with fine balance and tons of persistence. Crushed flowers, mint, kirsch and orange peel all race across the palate. I especially admire the precision here.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From vines planted in 2000, the 2022 Syrah Clary Ranch was fermented entirely with whole clusters and matured for 10 months in used French oak. It has arresting scents of blackcurrant fruit and leaves, cracked pepper, pipe tobacco and charcuterie. The medium-bodied palate offers bright, crunchy fruit framed by pleasantly chalky tannins, and it has a long, violet-laced finish.
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.”
A vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.