Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Deep color and intense, deep fruit flavors along with a good tannic structure mark this full-bodied wine as one to appreciate and age. The texture is fine grained, dry and layered, with concentrated black cherry, smoke, clove and cedar flavors that unfold slowly on the palate and finish. While tempting now, this will be best after 2022. Cellar Selection
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Gibson Block is the heart of the McDowell Valley AVA and is planted with some of the oldest Syrah in California. Deep garnet-purple colored, it has intense blackberry and plum preserves notes on the nose with hints of bacon, black pepper and peach blossoms. The powerful, full-bodied palate delivers generous black fruit coulis flavors with plenty of spice layers and a firm, chewy backbone, finishing long with a refreshing lift.
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.”
A continuous sloping bench land overlooking the Russian River, McDowell Valley reaches about 1,000 feet at its highest elevation. It is cooler than the surrounding, more northwestern areas of Mendocino County.