Winemaker Notes
In this vintage, the final bottling of Mourvedre, they are pleased to encounter the variety’s beguiling duality: it is both immediately qua?able and immensely nuanced. As in year’s past, it reminds of the hills from which they source it—lilac and sage comingle with wild berries. It is at once tensile and rich, as crystalline fruit is grounded in warming spice and earthiness.
Professional Ratings
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Mourvèdre Harrison Clarke Vineyard is medium to deep ruby-purple with jammy blueberry, black cherry, cassis, olive and fried bacon notes plus lilac, black raisin, fried herbs and granite tinges. Medium to full-bodied, it fleshes out in the mouth with oodles of ripe fruits and meaty layers, firm, pleasantly chewy tannins and great juicy acidity, finishing long. This has a nice interplay of savory nuances with dense, lush fruits.
-
Wine & Spirits
Wildly dark and intense, this wine stores Ballard Canyon heat like a fuel cell. It’s savory and direct, with muscular crushed-berry flavors filled with coiled energy. Cellar it to tame it a bit, or use it like a right hook on a lamb chop.
With bold fruit flavors and accents of sweet spice, Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre form the base of the classic Rhône Red Blend, while Carignan, Cinsault and Counoise often come in to play. Though they originated from France’s southern Rhône Valley, with some creative interpretation, Rhône blends have also become popular in other countries. Somm Secret—Putting their own local spin on the Rhône Red Blend, those from Priorat often include Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. In California, it is not uncommon to see Petite Sirah make an appearance.
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.