Winemaker Notes
Dark red brick colored, intense spice aromatics of pink peppercorn, clove and sage are immediately noticeable up front. With time, intriguing nuances of cocoa powder, redwood bark and dried flowers come forward as well. Extraordinarily balanced on the palate, this wine shows incredible depth along with a rare combination of both elegance and power.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
For lovers of cool-climate Syrah from California, this bottling by Chad Melville may be the epitome. Aromas of wild peppercorn husks, dewy pepper trees, freshly rinsed ashtray and singed black plum draw in the nose. The palate continues the uniquely elegant ride into bay leaf, green peppercorn, espresso dust and Ruby Red fruit flavors that pop through the cracked pepper.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Always from the same parcel of vines in the estate vineyard, the 2017 Syrah Estate Donna's was not destemmed and was brought up in neutral oak. It offers a wonderful bouquet of blackberries, plums, curing spices, olives, lavender, and violets. It's not the biggest, richest example of this cuvée, but it's still full-bodied and has a terrific sense of purity, a sexy texture, and a great finish. Enjoy this textbook Sta. Rita Hills Syrah over the coming decade or more.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Made with 100% whole cluster, the 2017 Syrah Donna's has a medium ruby color and notes of mint leaves, white pepper and violet with blackcurrant and blueberry fruit. The medium to full-bodied palate is concentrated, ripe and juicy with a grainy structure and long finish.
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Wine & Spirits
From a sandy vineyard named for founder Ron Melville’s wife, Melville’s Donna’s Block has been a benchmark for the region’s syrahs since its first release in 2003. Chad Melville employed a healthy percentage of whole clusters in the 2017 to achieve its perfumed aromas of bergamot, violet and flowering rosemary. The flavors are cool and sleek, carried on kid-leather tannins, the wine on point for rosemary-roasted lamb.
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 superior source of California Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills is the coolest, westernmost sub-region of the larger Santa Ynez Valley appellation within Santa Barbara County. This relatively new AVA is unquestionably one to keep an eye on.
The climate of Sta. Rita Hills is a natural match for Chardonnay and Pinot noir, thanks to the crisp ocean breezes and well-drained, limestone-rich calcareous soil. Here, grapes ripen just enough, while retaining brisk acidity and harmonious balance.