Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2020 Syrah Seven comes from fruit in Ballard Canyon and the Sta. Rita Hills. It was made without whole clusters or much new oak and matured for 17 months. It has great purity on the nose but takes significant time to open its blackcurrant, blueberry, violet and tea leaf aromas. The medium-bodied palate sits at a fulcrum between lean and ripe styles, offering concentrated flavors on a slender frame, and plenty of refreshing acidity. Offer it a couple of years in bottle or a long decant.
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Jeb Dunnuck
There are a few Rhône blends from the team as well. Looking at the 2020 Syrah Seven (95% Syrah, 4% Grenache, and a splash of Viognier), it offers a killer nose of candied red and blue fruits as well as lavender, peppery herbs, sage, and some floral nuances. Rich, medium to full-bodied, and seamless, it's a smoking good Syrah to drink over the coming 10-12 years.
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.”
Ranging from cool and foggy in the west to warm and dry in the east, the Santa Ynez Valley is a climatically diverse growing area. The most expansive AVA within the larger Santa Barbara County region, Santa Ynez is also home to a wide variety of soil types and geographical features. The appellation is further divided into four distinct sub-AVAs—Sta. Rita Hills, Ballard Canyon, Los Olivos District and Happy Canyon—each with its own defining characteristics.
A wide selection of grapes is planted here—more than sixty different varieties, and counting. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir dominate in the chilly west, while Zinfandel, Rhône blends, and Bordeaux blends rule the arid east. Syrah is successful at both ends of the valley, with a lean and peppery, Old-World sensibility closer to the coast and lush berry fruit further inland.