Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2023 Syrah Angeli is energetic and expressive, coating the palate with layers of blue fruit, chalk, lavender and toasted spice. The concentration is kicked up a notch here, giving the wine a richer, more fruit-driven profile that feels the most "New World" within the context of this dynamic lineup. Even so, the Angeli retains poise and clarity. It's a style I find wildly attractive.
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Wine Enthusiast
Dense and focused on the nose, this winery's top bottling is built to last, starting with aromas of elderberry, cola, wisteria and jasmine. Those flower elements extend to the palate, where crushed boysenberry, candied violets and black-pepper flavors are just starting to coalesce. Patience will reward with more savory elements, all wrapped in purple flowers. Drink 2020–2036.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From ungrafted vines, the just-bottled 2016 Angeli offers up a youthful bouquet of cassis, smoky plums, grilled meat and licorice. On the palate, it's full-bodied, very powerful and concentrated, with lots of firm, chalky tannins which will demand some time in the cellar. Despite its size and scale, this Syrah's acids are juicy and it should evolve nicely for a decade or more.
Rating: 93+
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.”
Accounting for only ten percent of the greater Santa Ynez AVA, Ballard Canyon’s north-south orientation provides an ideal pattern of sunshine and martime fog for producing excellent Syrah. While Syrah is planted to half of the total AVA acreage, an additional third is dedicated to other Rhône varieties, red and white.