Winemaker Notes
Blend: 83.6% Syrah, 3% Mourvedre, 5.2% Petite Sirah, 6.2% Grenache, 1.4% Muscat, 0.6% Petit Manseng
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Syrah Distenta I is composed of 83.6% Syrah, 3% Mourvedre, 5.2% Petite Sirah, 6.2% Grenache, 1.4% Muscat and 0.6% Petit Manseng. “I think Muscat is the number-one white grape for me to blend with reds,” Manfred told me last year. “It kinda triples the effect of the wine.” The red winemaking included 33% whole cluster. The vineyard sources for this wine are 35% The Third Twin, 33% Eleven Confessions, 31% Cumulus and 1% Molly Aida—all estate-owned vineyards. Deep garnet-purple colored, it erupts from the glass with a powerfully fragrant nose of red roses, Morello cherries, boysenberries and juicy blueberries, followed by hints of mocha, star anise, cardamom and cassia. The concentrated, full-bodied palate is jam-packed with bright, crunchy black, blue and red fruits. It has a rock-solid structure of firm, finely-grained tannins and seamless freshness lifting the shimmering layers to a long, energetic finish. The complexity and vivacity of this Syrah are simply jaw-dropping!
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2019 Syrah Distenta I is brilliant, and certainly one of the Syrahs of the vintage. Sporting a vivid ruby, almost opaque hue, it offers awesome, textbook Syrah notes of assorted red and blackberry fruits, bacon fat, smoked meat, and an incredible floral character that develops with time in the glass. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, it's a more elegant, restrained Sine Qua Non revealing flawless balance, beautiful freshness and elegance, silky tannins, and one heck of a finish.
Rating: 98+
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.