Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
Bold blueberry and smoky meat aromas lead to complex, expressive flavors of dark plum, crushed stone and licorice that linger toward big but ripe tannins. Drink now through 2027. 175 cases made.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Another outstanding wine from this team, the 2012 Syrah Rodgers Creek was fermented with 30% whole clusters and aged in 25% new French oak. It has a Northern Rhone-like feel in its peppery, olive, bacon fat and dark fruit-scented bouquet. This gives way to a medium-bodied, supple, textured red that has solid mid-palate concentration and a great 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.