Black Sheep Finds The Joy Fantastic Syrah 2018
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Wine Enthusiast
There's impressive density evident on the nose of this bottling, starting with charcoal, roasted meat and beach tar, as well as savory tones of green olive and black pepper. Charred berry flavors come through on the sip, as do iodine, smoked meat, dried herbs, pepper and a hint of caramel. Drink 2022–2038.
Cellar Selection -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Syrah was mostly destemmed as well (80% destemmed) and also brought up in 20% new French oak. This inky ruby/plum-colored 2018 gives up a great nose of black raspberries, red plums, cracked peppercorns, and bouquet garni. Beautifully textured, medium to full-bodied, with ripe tannins and integrated acidity, I love its overall balance as well as its complexity. This cool-climate Syrah has one foot in California and one foot in the Northern Rhône. Drink it over the coming 5-7 years or more.
Other Vintages
2017-
Wine
Enthusiast -
Jeb
Dunnuck
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Wilfred
Wong
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.