Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Medium ruby-purple, the 2019 So Fresh Syrah So Hot is scented of blackcurrants with notes of tar, earth, blood orange and dried flowers. The medium-bodied palate is bright and fresh with lifted, peppery accents in a friendly, immediately accessible frame. Enjoy it over the next 3-5 years. 490 cases were made.
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Wine Enthusiast
Fresh and snappy aromas of elder-berry are given an earthy kick from wet soil elements on the nose of this sulfur-free bottling. A firm tannic profile wraps around the palate, where elderberry and elderflower flavors coalesce.
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.