Winemaker Notes
Aromatically the wine is intriguingly savory, with notes of salted meat, and fresh cracked pepper alongside the combination of red and blackberry fruits. On the palate, the wine is balanced with good acidity and well-integrated tannins, and a long, silken finish.
Professional Ratings
-
Jeb Dunnuck
A deep red/purple, the 2017 Syrah Rodgers Creek Vineyard includes the classic addition of 12% Viognier and is fresh and spicy with notes of wild lavender, smoked peppercorn, and blackberry coulis. Full-bodied, with good lift, it reveals crunchy plum fruit, ripe tannins, and a gravelly texture. This fantastic red from this hot vintage demonstrates both what these cool sites and what Syrah are capable of. Drink it over the next 10 or so years.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2017 Syrah Rodger's Creek Vineyard was co-fermented with 12% Viognier It has enveloping scents of dried red cherries, olive tapenade, pipe tobacco, beef and bouquet garni. Medium to full-bodied, the palate is silky and seamless with concentrated, savory flavors and a long, elegant finish.
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.