Black Sheep Finds Hocus Pocus Syrah 2016
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Wilfred
Wong
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Winemaker Notes
Hocus Pocus Syrah is always a blend of a few different sites from throughout Santa Barbara County. The 2016 wine is comprised of grapes grown at Presqui'le Vineyard (60%) in the southwestern corner of Santa Maria Valley and Sebastiano Vineyard (40%) in Sta Rita Hills. Heavier clay/rocky soils at Sebastiano add weight to the blend while the very sandy soils at Presqu'ile add spice and aromatics. Both vineyards are certified SIP Sustainable. Our goal each vintage to create a high-quality Syrah that is focused on fruit, texture and the freshness you find in cool-climate Syrah.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The 2016 Black Sheep Finds Holus-Bolus Syrah exhibits beautiful ripe fruit and exemplary structure. TASTING NOTES: This wine shows excellent ripe fruit in its aromas and flavors. Its finish is lively and bright should pair it well with an oven-baked, well-seasoned pork tenderloin. (Tasted: February 5, 2020, San Francisco, CA)
The duo behind Black Sheep Finds are Peter Hunken and Amy Christine.
Peter got his start in winemaking in 2001 at Stolpman Vineyards and was the Assistant Winemaker there until 2006. He is also one of the founding members of Piedrasassi and Holus Bolus wines. During this time he gained experience working with Syrah, Grenache, Sangiovese, Pinot Noir, Cabernet and Roussanne. After meeting Amy spitting wine over the winery drains in Lompoc in 2004, they founded Black Sheep Finds with the arrival of the 2005 vintage.
Amy's foray into the wine world began with a childhood dream to win an Oscar. While she waited for her golden statue, she worked as a sommelier at one of LA’s finest restaurants. This translated into a weekend jaunt to Santa Barbara where she met her future husband and fellow Black Sheep, Peter Hunken. A whirlwind romance involving a terrible, but cheap, apartment in Koreatown, countless hours of Ryan Adams and Damien Rice songs and bottles upon bottles of Muller Catoir Riesling turned serious. On a long hike in Santa Barbara in 2005, the idea of Black Sheep Finds was bantered about and just a few months later the first Syrah grapes for Hocus Pocus were being made into wine. Unlike the Oscar it all happened so fast.
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 superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.