Winemaker Notes
Blend: 96% Syrah, 4% Viognier
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Moving to the Syrah, the 2012 Syrah Ballard Canyon has more than a passing resemblance to a young Cornas. Inky/purple in color, with fabulous blackberry, black raspberry, violets, crushed rocks and pepper, this beauty hits the palate with full-bodied richness, awesome purity and a layered, expansive texture that keeps you coming back to the glass.
Rating: 94+ -
Vinous
The 2012 Syrah emerges from parcels interplanted with a number of different clones. Nuanced and expressive, the Syrah captivates all the senses with its extraordinary interplay of intense fruit and supporting minerality. Violets, mint, orange peel and black pepper add attractive savory overtones to a core of expressive dark blue/purplish fruit. This is a distinctly fresh, savory Ballard Canyon Syrah.
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.”
Accounting for only ten percent of the greater Santa Ynez AVA, Ballard Canyon’s north-south orientation provides an ideal pattern of sunshine and martime fog for producing excellent Syrah. While Syrah is planted to half of the total AVA acreage, an additional third is dedicated to other Rhône varieties, red and white.