Winemaker Notes
Exposition Three saw scant whole-cluster inclusion, 16% Viognier, and is the most rounded and headily scented of the wines.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The last of the three is the 2013 Syrah Exposition 3. Like its sibling, it is a 125-case cuvée of 84% Syrah and 16% cofermented Viognier. There was no inclusion of stems on this particular wine. This is the most La Mouline-like of the trio, no doubt because of the high percentage of Viognier, with extraordinary bacon fat, violets, lychee, black raspberry, sweet cherry, licorice and tapenade. The wine is velvety textured, full-bodied, but wonderfully pure, rich and striking. All three of these wines are incredible achievements in winemaking, and mind-blowing to someone like myself, who visited Guigal every year from 1978 to 2012 and would never have dreamed that someone in California, in addition to Manfred Krankl, could somehow pull off wines so similar to those from the Rhône Valley. Well, here they are.
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Wine Spectator
Plush and boldly flavored, this wine is all about texture and plump fruit. Aromas of smoky black raspberry, herbs and grilled beef open to layered notes of bittersweet chocolate, olive and licorice. Drink now through 2027.
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.