Winemaker Notes
Intense violet, hints of lavender, black cherry, fresh leather and spicy flavors (white pepper and clove), rich and concentrated with a lingering spicy finish. Will age gracefully for several decades.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
Morlet doesn’t make much of it, but their Syrah is beautiful and well worth seeking out. The 2018 Syrah Bouquet Garni comes from the cool climate, higher elevation Bennett Valley in Sonoma and offers a big, exotic nose of blackberry and blackcurrant fruits as well sandalwood, dried flowers, new leather, and white pepper. The fruit is ripe and opulent, yet it still holds onto loads of classic cooler-climate Syrah gaminess and peppery notes. Full-bodied on the palate, it’s balanced and has a lively, clean texture, beautiful depth of fruit, and a great finish. Enjoy bottles any time over the coming decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Syrah Bouquet Garni is made from 100% Syrah, from a field selection of three Syrah clones planted to a vineyard in Sonoma’s Bennett Valley. Medium to deep garnet-purple in color, the 2018 Syrah Bouquet Garni opens with tantalizing notes of crushed black cherries, black raspberries and ripe plums with hints of kirsch, lilacs, star anise and garrigue. The medium-bodied palate offers fantastic energy and tension, laden with black and red fruit layers and loads of pepper and spice sparks. Framed by ripe rounded tannins, it finishes long and perfumed.
Rating: 95+
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.”
With boundaries overlapping the Sonoma Coast AVA and Sonoma Mountain AVA, Bennett Valley benefits from the cooling effects of the nearby Pacific Ocean just like its neighbors. Top grapes planted include Barbera, Pinot noir and Chardonnay, as well as Bordeaux and Rhone varieties.