Winemaker Notes
Blend: 96% Syrah, 4% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2017 Syrah (96% Syrah and 4% Viognier) comes all from the estate vineyard in Ballard Canyon. Black raspberries, cassis, graphite, liquid violets, black pepper, and tapenade notes jump from the glass of this beauty, which is medium to full-bodied, has a boatload of concentration, yet stays pure, balanced, and nicely focused on the palate, very much in the style of the vintage.
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Vinous
The 2017 Syrah is fabulous. Deeply pitched aromatics lead into a core of inky red/purplish fruit in a Syrah that shows off the pedigree of this site to great effect. This sumptuous, full-bodied Syrah shows all the elements that make Ballard Canyon so appealing for Syrah. The 2017 is not the most complex wine I have tasted here, but it is easily among the most delicious.
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.