Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Although they are difficult to sell, two wines not to be underestimated are Ramey's Syrahs. Even better is the compelling 2007 Syrah Rodger’s Creek Vineyard. Absolutely sensational, it offers notes of bacon fat intermixed with roast beef, spice box, pepper, coffee, blackberry and camphor. Full-bodied, fleshy, dense and well-endowed, this is a beauty to enjoy over the next decade or more
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Wine Spectator
Firm, intense and concentrated, offering a solid, layered core of rich berry and mineral notes, with touches of cherry and rhubarb. Ends with a tar and tobacco aftertaste and tannins that give the flavors traction. Drink now through 2020. 350 cases made.
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Connoisseurs' Guide
This bold, big-bodied wine does an especially fine job at keeping its sights fixed on deep, well-defined Syrah fruit in spite of its ample ripeness, and its insistent mix of sweet berries is liberally seasoned with elements of peppery spice and slightly gamy, roasted meat notes. It is sturdy and structured, and it finishes with plenty of acid-pushed tannin that will need at least a half-dozen years to soften.
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 vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.