Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
From the Los Olivos District and mostly destemmed and aged in 50% new French and Hungarian oak, the 2016 Syrah Williamson-Doré Vineyard sports a saturated purple color to go with notes of blackberries, singed cedarwood, ground pepper, and charred meats. It shows the focused, more firm style of the vintage yet has notable concentration, ripe tannins, and a good finish. It's a powerful yet elegant Syrah that's going to benefit from 2-3 years of bottle age and shine for 7-8 years.
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Wine Enthusiast
Crystallized boysenberry and lilac aromas are boosted by black peppercorn on the clean nose. There is chalky grip and bright acidity on the full-bodied palate, where jasmine and violet flavors lead into a candied grape tone.
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Wine Spectator
Combines elegance and brooding power, offering layered blueberry, spiced cinnamon and smoked meat accents that dance on a long finish, ending with refined tannins. Drink now through 2026.
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.