Winemaker Notes
Blend: 82% Syrah, 18% Viognier
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
From the Rancho Réal Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, a 436-acre ranch with 211 acres of vines planted. Crafted by Randal Grahm, one of California's most thoughtful, thought-provoking winemakers. A blend of co-fermented 82% Syrah and 18% Viognier with 50% whole cluster fermentation, then ageing for 12 months in used barrique. Bottled, unfined, and unfiltered. Explosive aromas of candied violets, blackberry, plums and hints of toffee and black pepper. Broadening and expansive on the palate with a medium-bodied richness of black cherry, spiced plums, blue fruits and liquorice, and hinting at cola spices atop a bed of firm, taut tannins that resolve with gentle waves of dark berry fruit infused with wild herbs and cocoa.
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James Suckling
Grown at Rancho Real in Santa Maria Valley, the syrah grapes hang long enough on the vine in this cool-climate location to develop the distinctive peppery accents of rotundone, a spicy element coming from the grape skins. It’s light-bodied, well structured, moderately tannic and very fresh-tasting. Fermented with half whole clusters, and 18% viognier is blended in.
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Wine Enthusiast
This bottling by the original Rhône Ranger Randall Grahm, who employs a hefty 18% Viognier in this blend, begins with lovely black raspberry, white peppercorn and struck stone aromas on the nose. The palate is tight and impressively stony in both texture and flavors, as the berry, flower and well-integrated baking spice components sail into a lingering finish.
Cellar Selection -
Wine Spectator
Leanly structured and appealingly gamy, with detailed raspberry, garrigue and smoked pepper flavors that build tension toward refined tannins. Drink now through 2033.
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 lesser-known but elite AVA within the larger Santa Barbara district, the Santa Maria Valley AVA runs precisely west to east starting near the coast. The valley funnels cool, Pacific Ocean air to the vineyards more inland, allowing grapes a longer hang time to ripen evenly and achieve their full potential by harvest time. Combined with minimal rainfall, consistent warm sunshine, and well-drained soils, it is an ideal environment for grape growing.
Many of the wineries here are small and highly respected, having established a reputation in the 1970s and 80s for producing excellent Central Coast wines like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. More recently, Syrah has also proven quite successful in the region. Many vineyards are owned by growers who sell their grapes to other wineries, so it is common to see the same vineyard name on bottlings from different wineries. Bien Nacido Vineyard is perhaps the best-known and most prestigious.