Winemaker Notes
his is the first wine from the stunning hillside estate property overlooking the Santa Ynez Valley. With steep elevations and diverse low nutrient soils, this vineyard is comprised of a combination of clay loam soils and limestone outcroppings on a limestone base. Margerum has planted a complex array of Syrah grapes with a variety of clones (clone 7, Estrella clone, clone 470, Alban clone and clone 877), some own rooted and co-planted with Viognier.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Blackberry, asphalt, peppercorn and subtle lilac aromas decorate the nose of this bottling. The palate is tense, loaded with energy and built to last, with toasted wood, blackberry and uncracked peppercorn flavors.
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Wine Spectator
A red with verve and precision, this offers well-sculpted raspberry and huckleberry flavors that interplay with mocha espresso, licorice and brown baking spices, finishing with fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2031. 393 cases made.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 98% Syrah and 2% Viognier, the 2021 Syrah Estate is a bigger, richer Syrah loaded with smoky red and black fruits, peppery herbs, leather, licorice, and graphite aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied and firm, with a crunchy style in its acidity and tannins. 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.”
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.