Winemaker Notes
Blend: 96% Syrah, 4% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2016 Syrah captures every bit of the potential I saw from barrel last year. Rich, dense and explosive, the 2016 possesses stunning intensity in all of its dimensions. Inky dark fruit, lavender, menthol and spice are boldly sketched. Savory and floral overtones add freshness and a sense of completeness to this arrestingly beautiful Syrah from Kimsey.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Syrah, which includes 4% Viognier, is inkier and more backward, with tons of blackberry and blueberry fruits, bacon fat, olive tapenade, and sappy herbs. It's incredibly youthful, almost primordial, with a full, rich, concentrated style on the palate, yet its tannins are sweet, it has terrific purity, and a great finish.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2016 Syrah Ballard Canyon (containing 4% Viognier) has an opaque purple-black color and scents of cassis, baked black plums, black cherries and blue fruit notions with underlying spices and a strong minerally vein plus faint notes of olive and grilled meats. Full-bodied, it’s got oodles of ripe fruits with firm, grainy tannins and good freshness, finishing long and minerally.
Rating: 92+
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.