Winemaker Notes
Deep purplish-red in color. The intense nose offers pleasing notes of ripe blackberries, figs, and dried plums. Spicy notes of nutmeg and black pepper complement a backdrop of tobacco, leather, and a subtle hint balsamic and dark chocolate aromas. The palate is well balanced, lush, and structured, with soft tannins that lead to a long and very elegant finish.
Highly recommended with red meats, stir-fried beef and vegetables, pork chops, spaghetti with Bolognese sauce, lamb chops, and mushroom ravioli.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is a consistent syrah that shows a light peppery edge to the blackberries and black cherries. Lots of fruit here, with a subtle touch of graphite. Very fine-grained on the palate with powdery tannins that extend the lengthy finish. Still generous, but restrained. One of the best ever? Syrah co-fermented with 3% viognier and blended with 7% cabernet sauvignon. Drink now or hold.
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Wine Spectator
Shows a nice mix of elegance and muscle, with grilled rosemary and singed orange peel notes up front, plus graphite-laced blackberry at the center. Offers savory olive and meaty undertones on the finish around polished tannins. Drink now through 2036. 21,000 cases made, 800 cases imported.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2022 Alpha Syrah opens with a classic bouquet of black fruits, cracked pepper, cured meat and green olives, revealing a velvety, precise palate. It concludes with a long, nuanced finish framed by fine, drying tannins and a gentle touch of acidity. This is a solid, varietally correct expression of Syrah.
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.”
Well-regarded for intense and exceptionally high quality red wines, the Colchagua Valley is situated in the southern part of Chile’s Rapel Valley, with many of the best vineyards lying in the foothills of the Coastal Range.
Heavy French investment and cutting-edge technology in both the vineyard and the winery has been a boon to the local viticultural industry, which already laid claim to ancient vines and a textbook Mediterranean climate.
The warm, dry growing season in the Colchagua Valley favors robust reds made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère, Malbec and Syrah—in fact, some of Chile’s very best are made here. A small amount of good white wine is produced from Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.