Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a deeply ripe, authoritatively structured Syrah of great power and finesse. It’s drinkable now for the velvety texture and massive flavors of grilled blackberries, blueberries, currants, dark unsweetened chocolate, leather, black pepper and lots of sweet, smoky new oak. But it’s also fairly tannic. Very fine now, with a brief decant, and through 2013.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
Here is a deep and well-defined Syrah that proves that substance and style are not necessarily antithetical, for, if it is a big, optimally ripened wine with a broad backbone of firm tannin, it is also slightly supple and fleshy in feel with nary a hint of heaviness. Its very long, fruit-centered flavors smack of black-berries and sweet oak with subtle shadings of spice, and its fine sense of proportion is maintained throughout. It is just tough enough to warrant a few years of patience, and we would see it improving for six to eight years.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.