Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Syrah Williamson-Dore Vineyard is also straight-up terrific, with beautiful, Hermitage-like aromas and flavors of ground pepper, cured meats, new saddle leather, and crushed stone. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it shows the cooler style of the vintage in its purity and ripe, silky tannins, has lots of darker fruit, and a great finish. It’s pure Syrah goodness.
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.