Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The inky colored 2016 Syrah Cinematique Larner Vineyard checks in as 100% Syrah that spent 20 months in 60% new barrels. From a site in the Ballard Canyon AVA, its inky purple color is followed by fabulous notes of blackberries, melted licorice, smoked earth, and bacon fat. Deep, full-bodied, multi-dimensional, and layered, it's going to benefit from short-term cellaring and shine for a decade or more. It's certainly the sexier and more hedonistic of the two Syrahs.
Barrel Sample: 89-92
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.”
Accounting for only ten percent of the greater Santa Ynez AVA, Ballard Canyon’s north-south orientation provides an ideal pattern of sunshine and martime fog for producing excellent Syrah. While Syrah is planted to half of the total AVA acreage, an additional third is dedicated to other Rhône varieties, red and white.