Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is very Côte Rotie-like from a lighter vintage with dried strawberry, spice and clove aromas and flavors. Cedar undertones. Medium to light body, fine tannins and a linear and electric acidity backbone. Drink or hold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
They age their Syrah for two years in barrel and then keep the bottles before releasing the wine, so I tasted the current vintage, which is the 2010 Syrah Miramar Vineyard. Even though, the nose is not very expressive and it feels a little closed, with shy aromas of bacon, olives and a slightly herbal twist. The palate reveals sharp acidity -- a cool climate Syrah with no more than 12% alcohol -- a somehow austere wine that should develop nicely in bottle, although it could do with a little more concentration.
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.”
Its rolling, coastal hills encouraged great investment in the 1990s from those in search of a cooler grape growing environment compared to those found in Chile’s Central Valley. All of the vineyards of the San Antonio Valley, which runs north to south and parallel to the coast, experience the cooling effect of the ocean and are made of vine-loving clay and granitic soils. While Sauvignon Blanc put this valley on the Chilean wine map, high quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are emerging and some producers are starting to experiment with sparkling wine.