Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From the Heintz Vineyard, well-known for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, comes this compelling Syrah. A burst of toasted oak and dry tannins upon entry develops slowly into a taste of ripe, black fruit, black olives and tar. Surrounded by a soft palate the wine is also marked by a starkness of black pepper and hint of lavender.
Editors’ Choice -
Wine & Spirits
This Syrah comes from a vineyard planted on a cool and windy ridge near Occidental, at the western edge of the Russian River Valley. There’s a firm undercurrent of structure here, but the fruit feels silky, as if the tannins were polished in a rock tumbler. It’s dark and concentrated, the fruit freshened in the end by cool-climate scents of rose petals and peppercorn. Decant it for a rack of lamb.
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 vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.