Winemaker Notes
The nose shows hints of grilled meats, confectionary notes, tobacco and graphite. On the palate, richness and structure are in beautiful harmony, creating irresistible litheness.
An excellent charcuterie wine. A slice of prosciutto di Parma plus a sip of Cuvée Keltie is guaranteed to bring a smile upon first sip.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2013 Syrah Cuvée Keltie is a wine built around three single-vineyard choices – Walker Vine Hill, Obsidian and Richards. One hundred percent of the stems are used during fermentation. No new oak is employed, and the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered after 20 months. Terrific aromatics of black olive tapenade, sweet blackberry and cassis, licorice, truffle and spice all jump from the glass of this full-bodied, tightly structured, spicy and very layered wine that builds incrementally and finishes with extravagant richness and rather big structure. Forget it for 2-3 years and drink it over the following 15-20.
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.”
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.