Winemaker Notes
The 2015 Site Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyards was fermented and aged in a combination of puncheons and hogheads. The wine features a nose of blackberries, blueberries, crushed white peppercorns, cocoa and flowers. The mouth is full-bodied, with ample soft tannin and juicy acidity.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2015 Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard has a chocolate covered cherries and violets-scented nose with suggestions of licorice, garrigue and menthol. The palate is rich and full-bodied, chock full of black fruit and spicy goodness and is well-supported by ripe, rounded tannins, finishing with great length and harmony.
Rating:94(+) -
Jeb Dunnuck
The 100% Syrah 2015 Syrah Bien Nacido Vineyard, from a terrific site outside of Santa Maria, saw just touch of wholes clusters and 18 months in 350-liter oak hogsheads. It sports an inky black color to go with deep, forbidding notes of blackberries, cracked pepper, tapenade and wood smoke. With moderate acidity, it's a primordial, concentrated, unctuous barrel sample that has plenty of promise.
Range: 90-92
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 lesser-known but elite AVA within the larger Santa Barbara district, the Santa Maria Valley AVA runs precisely west to east starting near the coast. The valley funnels cool, Pacific Ocean air to the vineyards more inland, allowing grapes a longer hang time to ripen evenly and achieve their full potential by harvest time. Combined with minimal rainfall, consistent warm sunshine, and well-drained soils, it is an ideal environment for grape growing.
Many of the wineries here are small and highly respected, having established a reputation in the 1970s and 80s for producing excellent Central Coast wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. More recently, Syrah has also proven quite successful in the region. Many vineyards are owned by growers who sell their grapes to other wineries, so it is common to see the same vineyard name on bottlings from different wineries. Bien Nacido Vineyard is perhaps the best-known and most prestigious.