Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2007 Syrah Sonoma Coast, which is co-fermented with 7% Viognier, boasts huge aromatics of tapenade, bacon fat, pepper, black currants, and hints of lychee nuts and marmalade (no doubt from the Viognier). Inky/purple-colored, dense, full-bodied, and impressive, this is a top-flight Syrah that should drink beautifully for a decade.
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Wine Spectator
Firm and intense, with a mix of smoked meat, dried berry, spice, mineral and sage notes. Full-bodied, complex and layered, ending with a rich berry pie and mineral aftertaste. Drink now through 2017.
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.