Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
This young and unevolved bottling wins its star for what it will become rather than for what it is now. It is long on ripe blueberry and cherry-like fruit in its sweet aromas and frontal flavors, and shows a smattering of peppery spice. It tightens up on the latter palate after a comparatively fat entry with obvious acids closing things off at the end, yet there is a real sense of depth at work here, and the wine deserves a few years in which to fully unfold.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2005 Syrah Central Coast (20,000 cases produced) is a knock-out bargain for a Rhone Ranger offering. Dark ruby with loads of peppery berry fruit touched by roasted Provencal herbs, it possesses supple tannin, impressive purity and overall harmony, and a surprisingly long, layered finish. This beauty should drink nicely for 4-5 years.
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.”
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.