Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 33

YEAR'S BEST US SYRAH & RHONE-VARIETY BLENDS
exuberance, with scents of smoke, bacon,
clove and blackberry, and silky, exotic flavors.
It has a short shelf life-two days stored in
the fridge was probably one day too many-
but it's a joyous flash in the pan for chilling
and pouring alongside a casual meal. (W&S
12/19) -P.J.C. §
519002

90 | Epiphany

$29

2017 Santa Barbara County Gypsy (Best
Buy) ^ Based on counoise, with grenache,
mourvedre, cinsault and syrah rounding it
out, this has a strawberry brightness. It's a
sleek and darkly elegant wine that finishes
with lift and freshness, ideal for a late-afternoon sip. (923 cases) -P.J.C. §
519001

90 | Epiphany

$49

2016 Santa Barbara County Revelation
Rodney's Vineyard ^ About equal parts
grenache and syrah, this is heady and intense,
with scents of black plums and olive skin. It's
deep and brooding, with the power for grilled
sausages. (378 cases) -P.J.C. §

$44

tannins. Those flavors last, with harmony
and a shimmery tension. (250 cases) -P.J.C. §
519251 518834

2017 El Dorado Mr. Burgess ^ This is a quiet,
brambly dark-fruited charmer made of nearly
90 percent syrah, with a bit of mourvedre and
grenache. Its scents of plum and cassis turn
warm and generous with air, while a smoky,
vinous note from the mourvedre fills out the
wine. (188 cases) -P.J.C. §
518963

2016 Chalone Brosseau Syrah ^ The darkest
wine in a flight of dark syrahs, this smells of
blood, iron filings and menthol, its black fig
and black plum flavors caught in the gravitational pull of its tannins. For all of its opacity,
it feels balanced, even charming, ready for a
tomahawk steak. (383 cases) -P.J.C. §

519119

91 | The Withers

90 | Donkey & Goat

$42

2017 El Dorado The Bear ^ A kitchen-sink
blend of red varieties with some roussanne
and viognier to boot, this wine bears the
mark of natty winemaking in its scents of
cured meat and crushed plum, as well as in
the acidity that gives nerve to the sour redberry flavors. It has a cidery grip to pair with
something rich, like eggplant parmesan. (268
cases) -P.J.C. §
516340

90 | Holly's Hill

$25

2017 El Dorado Petit Patriarche (Best
Buy) ^ A blend of carignane, cinsault and
counoise, with a little syrah and grenache,
this captures the brightness of the first three
varieties with its scents of wild strawberries
and raspberries. The flavors are translucent
red, with high acid and light tannins that
make the wine feel playful. Terrific chilled,
for a picnic. (W&S 6/19; 378 cases) -P.J.C. §

CALIFORNIA AVA

518902

90 | Zaca Mesa

SIERRA FOOTHILLS

516414
$35

2017 Santa Ynez Valley Inceptive (Best
Buy) ^ Syrah leads in this dark, meaty blend,
raised in only neutral wood barrels and
concrete. It smells of tobacco and crushed
berries, brooding and intensely flavorful,
with velvety tannins. It would pair beautifully
with a lamb tagine. (1,514 cases) -P.J.C. §

90 | Birichino

$20

NORTH COAST: NAPA VALLEY

2017 California Scylla (Best Buy) ^ About
two-thirds carignane and one-third grenache, with a little mourvedre, this wine is
brisk and lifted, with pine scents and crunchy
spiced red-cherry flavors. It's youthful and
lower in alcohol (13 percent) than a lot of
domestic Rhône blends, the tannins bearing
a fine edge for short ribs. (W&S 6/19; 910
cases) -P.J.C. §

90 | Paraduxx

CA L IFORNIA SYRAH

516475

$58

2015 Napa Valley Candlestick ^ Blending
syrah grown in the Hudson vineyard in
Carneros and grenache grown in the Stout
vineyard on Howell Mountain, Don LaBorde
has created a brisk red with the scent of fresh
cherry tomatoes and a bitter undertone of
lime zest. It's full and generous, but those
edges of acidity and bitterness keep it from
going sweet. Pour it with pasta in a rich
Bolognese sauce. (W&S 6/19) -J.G. §

CENTRAL COAST
519140

93 | Andrew Murray

$55

2017 Edna Valley Slide Hill Vineyard
Syrah ^ This comes from a biodynamically
farmed vineyard planted by Bob Lindquist
and Louisa Sawyer Lindquist about 15 years
ago. Now owned by Brook Williams (who
also owns and manages Duvarita vineyard, in
western Santa Barbara County), the site grew
an attractively dark-fruited syrah in 2017. It's
plummy at the core, with highlights of dried
mint and red raspberry set against chocolate

93 | Copain

$50

92 | Le Mistral

$50

91 | Falcone

$30

90 | Big Basin Vineyards

$48

2018 Monterey Syrah ^ Le Mistral is the vestige of Joseph Phelps Vineyards' historic
Rhône program, sold to the owners of Ventana vineyards in 2008. This one carries off
the legacy well: It's savory and dark, with a
sanguine scent and notes of clove and burnt
sage. The flavors are rich and compact, with
cool-climate intensity. (300 cases) -P.J.C. §
516865
2017 Paso Robles Syrah ^ Dark and concentrated, this smells like a mélange of
crushed black fruit, with flavors of blackberries and tobacco. It's generous, forward and
delicious, if a bit low in acid. For barbecue.
(W&S 8/19; 860 cases) -P.J.C.
519070
2016 Monterey County Coastview
Vineyard Syrah ^ Scents of squid ink and
seaweed suggest this wine is coming from an
aptly named vineyard. It's lean and angular,
with a core of dried dark plums that needs
a decant and some food to draw it out of its
shell. Try it with stir-fried five-spice beef. (150
cases) -P.J.C. §

S A N TA B A R B A R A C O U N T Y
519020

94 | Barden

$60

93 | Cambria

$32

2017 Sta. Rita Hills Syrah ^ Doug Margerum uses his middle name for this label,
devoted to wines from the Santa Rita Hills.
This one comes from Donnachadh, a vineyard in the eastern reaches of the appellation.
It's a cool-climate wine in a generous style,
with thrilling aromas of violet, pink peppercorn, clove and succulent plum. With air the
wine becomes seductively silky, and over the
course of days it becomes even more seamless and elegant, with a buzz of energy running through dark concentrated fruit. Poised
for a pork chop. (115 cases) -P.J.C. §
518845
2016 Santa Maria Valley Tepusquet Vineyard Syrah (Best Buy) ^ From a small block
on the property's eastern edge near a riverWINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2020

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Wine & Spirits - February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - February 2020