Winemaker Notes
Aromas come on with many of the usual suspects from Bien Nacido—cured meat, purple flowers, rock dust—but also a concentrated fruity exuberance that tilts toward liqueur. It drinks with that same balance, coming on with an lavish blanket of dark fruits before gaining pitch and lengthening into a smoky savory beauty, closing out late with those cool-climate notes of herby tapenade, wood smoke and peppery meat crust. The forward feel will have many drink this sooner than later, but for peak rapture age this for several years, at least.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2016 Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard offers more minerality, and well as dark, black fruits and pepper to go with a medium to full-bodied, smoky, meaty style on the palate. If the John Sebastiano Vineyard can be thought of as a Cote Rotie, this is much more Hermitage in style. Give bottles a year or two and enjoy over the following decade.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby, the 2016 Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard opens with notes of scorched earth and tar, slowly giving up blackberries, prosciutto, olive, peppery touches and fried herbs. The medium-bodied palate is silky and intense with fresh fruits and loads of savory accents, tucked into a chewy frame and finishing long with great freshness. 312 cases produced.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
There are Syrahs that aim for substance while others draw back a bit and emphasize grace, and this very well-made offering manages to show a good bit of both without an ounce of extra weight. It offers up plenty of concentrated, very keen, long-lasting, berry-like fruit accented with carefully measured notes of dark soil and spice and is as lively as it is rich. Its balanced, moderately full-bodied, nominally tannic stance encourages some cellar time as do its gleanings of increased complexity to come.
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 lesser-known but elite AVA within the larger Santa Barbara district, the Santa Maria Valley AVA runs precisely west to east starting near the coast. The valley funnels cool, Pacific Ocean air to the vineyards more inland, allowing grapes a longer hang time to ripen evenly and achieve their full potential by harvest time. Combined with minimal rainfall, consistent warm sunshine, and well-drained soils, it is an ideal environment for grape growing.
Many of the wineries here are small and highly respected, having established a reputation in the 1970s and 80s for producing excellent Central Coast wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. More recently, Syrah has also proven quite successful in the region. Many vineyards are owned by growers who sell their grapes to other wineries, so it is common to see the same vineyard name on bottlings from different wineries. Bien Nacido Vineyard is perhaps the best-known and most prestigious.