Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine & Spirits
Drawn from three neighboring vineyards in the wild hills of the Yorkville Highlands—High Rock Ranch, Halcon and Hawks Butte, all planted on schist—this has the tight-fisted structure you’d expect from such hardscrabble soils. It’s stony and brisk at once, its bright chokecherry flavor energized by aromas of bay leaf and fir tree that take you on a virtual hike through the California woods. It needs time, and lamb chops.
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 unique appellation placed in between the warm, Sonoma County Alexander Valley and the cooler Mendocino County's Anderson Valley, the Yorkville Highlands’ gravel soils are ideal for Bordeaux varieties and other full-bodied reds.