Winemaker Notes
Exposition Two comes from clone 877 and was 50% destemmed and cofermented with 8% Viognier.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Syrah Exposition 2 is a perfect wine. This is 50% destemmed and co-fermented with 8% Viognier. Bacon fat, lychee, tapenade, black raspberry and black cherry liqueur soar through the explosive aromatics of this wine. The wine hits the palate with the extraordinary silkiness, fine-grained tannin, massive concentration, but the balance and precision of a ballerina. This is truly prodigious wine that could also be considered the La Mouline of Sonoma, although I suspect these are all supposed to be the equivalents of La Mouline, La Landonne and La Turque. Drink it over the next 10-15 years.
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Wine Spectator
An incredible wine, deeply structured yet rich and polished, with floral blackberry and smoky beef aromas combining with bold but impressively focused flavors of wild berry, dark chocolate, graphite and licorice that linger. Drink now through 2028.
The winery’s objectives are:
To channel the fruit of ancient vines into powerful, elegant, and distinctly Californian wines.
To spread the gospel of Syrah in California by sourcing fruit from great terroirs throughout the North Coast.
To proclaim the greatness of Sonoma Valley Cabernet Sauvignon by sparing no expense on wines of uniqueness and personality.
To reclaim rose’ from the excesses of saignee and focus on precision, delicacy, aromatics, and food friendliness.
To make fascinating and quixotic white wines from unique sites and interesting varietals.
To dream big but keep production low!
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.”
Perhaps the most historically significant appellation in Sonoma County, the Sonoma Valley is home to both Buena Vista winery, California's oldest commercial winery, and Gundlach Bundschu winery, California's oldest family-run winery.
It is also one of the more geologically and climactically diverse districts. The valley includes and overlaps four distinct Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Carneros, Moon Mountain District, Sonoma Mountain and Bennett Valley. With mountains, benchlands, plains, abundant sunshine and the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific, this appellation can successfully produce a wide range of grape varieties. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewürztraminer, and most notably, Zinfandel all thrive here. Ancient Zinfandel vines over 100 years old produce small crops of concentrated, spicy fruit, which in turn make some of the Valley's most unique wines. These can also be made as “field blends” (wines made from a mix of grape varieties grown in the same vineyard) along with Petite Sirah, Carignan and Alicante Bouschet.