Winemaker Notes
Blend: 95% Syrah, 5% Grenache
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The funky artwork on the bottle emerges from Manfred Krankl's artistic side, but as the label says, "the truth is in the inside." I have already wolfed down two bottles of the 1997 Impostor McCoy with equally voracious friends. A thick, juicy, massive Syrah, it gushes copious quantities of licorice-infused blackberry fruit offering smoke, coffee, and meaty notes. The wine is mouth-filling, teeth-staining, and loaded. Its high alcohol, glycerin level, and low acidity make it easy to drink, but I suspect it will age easily for 10-20+ years.
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Wine Spectator
Lots to admire--ripe, rich currant, meat and smoke flavors, hints of anise and mineral plus coffee and toffee notes. Finishes smooth and polished.
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.