Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Connoisseurs' Guide
If we were asked to choose one of the six Ruben’s Block bottlings
to drink tonight, the 2013 edition would be it. It is introduced by
a fragrant and expressive nose of sweet, well-ripened berries
overlain with sweet spice and loam and follows suit on the palate
with rounded, mid-density flavors that, while not the deepest
and most potent of the lot, are rich and still very lively all the
same. It most certainly has the structure to continue to evolve
for a good many more years and is arguably a few from reaching
its peak, yet it is a carefully balanced, terrifically continuous Syrah
that is showing beautifully now.
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.