Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
A perennial standout, this Syrah is cofermented with 10% Viognier, all fruit sourced from a site on the western edge of Sonoma Mountain in the cool confines of the Petaluma Gap. Beautiful and bold, it imparts a focused line of blackberry and lavender flavors over a lush backdrop of sizzling acidity and smoked meat scents.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Co-fermented with 10% Viognier, the 2013 Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard has a medium garnet color and notes of jasmine and lavender over a black pepper and tar cor, with fruit notes of blackberries and black raspberries. The medium-bodied palate is earthy/savory in character, with a solid frame of chewy tannins and plenty of spice layers on the finish. 92+ points
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Wine Spectator
Enticing aromas of smoky beef, crushed stone and grilled herb lead to complex, well-structured blueberry and blackberry flavors, with accents of bacon, black olive and licorice. Drink now through 2028.
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.