Winemaker Notes
#1 Wine Enthusiast Top 100 Cellar Selections of 2015
This single vineyard Syrah is from the oldest Syrah vineyard in the Sierra Nevada (est. 1982) and one of the most famous Syrah sites in California. Each year it provides us with intense luscious fruit. The vineyard is at 1,400 feet on a South-facing slope in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, next to our winery. The parcel is planted all on its own roots. The vines originate from the Chapoutier Hermitage property (UCD Clone 1).
The wine is dark in color with a dense, deep-concentrated layered fruit aromas that are incredibly spicy.
In the mouth you’ll find incredibly concentrated framboise flavors, smoky wood tones, and fine tannins.
Meaty. This is always one of our most powerful Syrah’s, as it has great structure, and definite age worthiness.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
Built for aging, this tightly wound, elegant and yet grand wine is sure to develop more nuances and smoothness with time. It smells enticingly like cedar, tobacco and dark chocolate-covered blueberries, yet retains a firmness and reserve that doesn't let those melt into richness on the palate quite yet. Store this confidently in a cool place and enjoy it 2020–2025.
Cellar Selection
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.”
