Winemaker Notes
This Sonoma Coast takes a nod from the old world, and drinks like a Northern Rhone Syrah. Using neutral oak and whole cluster, this is a pure terroir expression of the varietal. Notes of blue fruits, with leather and spice undertones are lifted with bright acidity and balanced tanins.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2023 Syrah Que Syrah Vineyard comes from vines planted in 1994 west of the town of Occidental, four miles from the Pacific Ocean. Grapes were harvested on November 1, and it was fermented using mostly whole clusters. Matured for 10 months in used French oak, it has intense aromas of boysenberry, sage, white pepper and botanicals. The light-bodied palate is delicately styled with crunchy flavors and 11% alcohol. It’s framed by chalky tannins and bright acidity and has a long, perfumed finish.
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Vinous
The 2023 Syrah (Sonoma Coast) is outrageously beautiful. Inky blue/purplish fruit, lavender, sage and gravel rush across the palate. Dense, savory and super-expressive it is a superb value. The riper style works quite well here.
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.