Winemaker Notes
The wine opens with flavors of black pepper and teriyaki beef jerky, angelica root with charred maple smoke and sweet brandy. This is followed by an incredible intensity of rich tannins with pepper, brown spice, and a long smokey finish.
Professional Ratings
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Tasting Panel
Scents of bittersweet chocolate and candied meats stir up sweetness in the air. On the palate, salty charcuterie, roasted coffee bean, and shadowed black fruit align with plush tannins, demonstrating the opulence of this tamed beast: a balanced brute with a well-mannered nature. Caramel covered dark cherry coats the tongue on the long finish.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Lastly, the 2020 Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard offers a wealth of ripe blackberry and black cherry fruits as well as some classic Syrah chocolate and baking spice nuances. Rich, powerful, full-bodied, and opulent on the palate, it's one heck of a pleasure-bent beauty to enjoy over the coming 4-5 years. It’s probably my favorite in the lineup, yet these are all terrific wines.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a dense, ripe and extracted style of Syrah, and it satisfies on all fronts. Thick aromas of cherry, plum, vanilla and caramel on the nose land with a lush texture on the palate, where blueberry, violet and caramel-candy flavors converge. The tannic tension holds firm into the finish.
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Wine Spectator
A handsome red that's well-framed with expressive black raspberry, black olive and peppered beef flavors, which take on richness and structure toward fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2031.
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.