Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
From the Los Olivos District in Santa Barbara County and based on 97% Syrah and 3% Roussanne, the 2015 Syrah Williamson-Dore Vineyard has an exotic, sexy bouquet of bacon fat, lavender, plums, black olives, and ripe blackberry and blueberry fruit. Deep, rich, and powerful, with a voluptuous style on the palate, it has a broad, expansive texture, sweet (yet present) tannins, and a big finish. This tour de force in Syrah needs 3-4 years of bottle age to integrate its oak élevage and will cruise for a decade in the cellaring.
-
Wine Enthusiast
Quite dark and viscous in the glass, this bottling shows very concentrated, deep and intense aromas of black currant, charred rosemary, roasted meat and a hint of incense. There's a coffee and chai spice component to the sip alongside the persistent dark fruit, charcoal, black pepper and uplifting flavors of violet and lilac. Strong tannins ensure a long lie. Drink now through 2030. Cellar Selection
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Syrah Williamson Dore Vineyard delivers expressive blackberry preserves and blueberry notes with underlying violets, chocolate box and licorice suggestions plus a hint of black pepper. Medium-bodied with a firm frame of chewy tannins and refreshing acidity, it has plenty of crunchy black fruit and spicy layers, finishing with an herbal lift.
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.”
Today it is an integral part of the greater Santa Barbara County wine region, but at one time the village, Los Olivos, was a stop on the Wells Fargo stagecoach line.