Dear Friend,
California’s Central Coast has become ground zero for great Syrah. Consider the recent words from Robert Parker’s heir apparent, Antonio Galloni, in a recent newsletter:
“The great French Syrahs are well known and highly sought after—as are the legendary Shirazes of Australia. Until recently, however, California Syrah was somewhere, largely unknown, in the stylistic middle. That has changed! In just the last few vintages, a coterie of extraordinary California winemakers have hit their stride with Syrah, now making phenomenal, complex wines with a personality all their own.”
Lot 341 2010 Santa Maria Syrah is sourced from the Santa Maria vineyard that started the cool-climate Syrah trend in California and is undoubtedly amongst the greatest Syrah vineyards in the country.
What I love about this wine is its purity. The nose is bright, complex, bursting with aromas of white pepper and the cleanest delineation of raspberry and blueberry essence you’ll find in a wine – all backed by sumptuous pipe tobacco aromas and roasted meat notes. The palate accurately reflects the aromatics with woodland berries, smoke and peppercorn flavors, seamlessly interwoven with luxurious tannins in a lip-smacking package. Stylistically, this wine is more Rhone than it is Barossa and it will absolutely come alive with food. Grace, structure and dynamic fruit are the values here. Those with patience will be rewarded with near term cellaring, though that’s not to say the wine is not approachable now – it is. We don't have much of this wine (only 500 cases) – Compare at $40+ for wines of this quality from this vineyard. Booyah!
If you have any questions about this wine or any others, please feel free to email us or call us at 1-800-805-1971.
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