Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 36

YEAR'S BEST US SYRAH & RHONE-VARIETY BLENDS
519253
The flavors feel unencumbered, as juicy as
fruit straight from a blackberry patch or, in
this case, organically farmed vines at Lytton
Springs West. Open it when there's braised
pork shoulder for dinner. (W&S 10/19; 1,400
cases) -J.G. §
519165

92 | Thirty-Seven

$24

2017 Sonoma Coast Syrah (Best Buy) ^
Shane Finley makes this wine from the Paradise estate vineyard in the Petaluma Gap. It's
bright and airy, with green peppercorn scents
layered over dark blueberry-skin flavors. The
wine's sunny ripeness feels bold and broad,
even as the smoky, salty, meaty notes keep it
firmly in check. A great buy in a cool-climate
syrah. (110 cases) -J.G. §
518118

91 | Anthill Farms

$32

2017 Sonoma Coast Peters Vineyard Syrah
(Best Buy) ^ This wine's ripe blueberry-skin
flavors are reduced at first, pungent and
black, opening with air toward scents of conifer and pinesap-forest-green notes that tie
it to the coast. It's smoky with notes of bergamot and black tea, needing bottle age to
mellow. (W&S 10/19) -J.G. §

90 | DuMol

$59

2017 Russian River Valley Wild Mountainside Syrah ^ Winemakers Andy Smith
and Julie Cooper blend this wine from three
mountain vineyards-Hoppe-Kelly, Timbervine and Greywacke-producing a meaty
syrah with the salty, savory notes of charcuterie. It's smooth and rich, with cedar and chocolate notes in the tannins, ready to decant for
filet mignon. (595 cases) -J.G.
518980

90 | Dutton-Goldfield

$50

2016 Russian River Valley Dutton Ranch
Cherry Ridge Vineyard Syrah ^ Broad and
lush without being jammy, this is a heady red
with some savory root-and-earth notes. It's a
fresh, cool-climate syrah that tastes fully ripe.
(590 cases) -J.G. § 
519054

89 | Stirm

$29

2018 Sonoma Valley Kuenster-Miers
Vineyard Syrah (Best Buy) ^ Ryan Stirm
harvests this fruit on the upside of ripeness,
fermenting whole clusters in open redwood
vats, starting with foot treading then
continuing with pumpovers. He presses the
still-fermenting juice and lets it settle before
finishing the fermentation in neutral barrels.
The early harvest shows in the brisk and zesty
wash of peppercorn spice, even as the stems
feel ripe enough to carry it. Bottled with only
a small dose of sulfur, the wine feels bright,
the flavors pointed up with some reduction
that carries on with air; if that reduction
diminishes with bottle age, this could grow
into a beautiful syrah. -J.G. §
519256

88 | Balletto

$32

2016 Russian River Valley BCD Vineyard
Syrah (Best Buy) ^ Located in the hills where
the Santa Rosa Plain rises into the coastal
mountains, this vineyard was planted in
2000 in silty, sandy soils. It grew a ripe,
jammy syrah in 2016, though the morning
fog at the site helped sustain freshness in
its blackberry flavors and violet scents. For
brisket. (581 cases) -J.G. §

CALIFORNIA AVA
518999

91 | Epiphany

$65

2016 California Elite Syrah ^ A meaty syrah,
this offers scents of cured pork and mashed
grape skins to go along with the chocolatey
mulberry flavors. For those who like their
syrahs black as night. (74 cases) -P.J.C. §

OREGON BLENDS
519013

91 | Cowhorn

$55

2016 Applegate Valley Deuce ^ Syrah does
much of the work in this blend with 30
percent grenache, showing its scents of
spearmint, lavender, licorice and black plum.
The wine tastes earthy and concentrated,
with smoky tannins that call for lamb off the
grill. (400 cases) -P.J.C. §

OREGON SYRAH
519255

93 | Analemma

$48

93 | Cowhorn

$55

92 | Amalie Robert

$40

92 | Cowhorn

$45

2016 Columbia Gorge Mosier Hills Estate
Syrah ^ Steven Thompson's first release of
syrah from his estate vines on the Oregon
side of the Columbia River is rippling,
electric and tightly wound, needing a day
and a half to come into itself. The aromas
are instantly attractive, smoke and tar and
lavender, while the flavors take their time,
building into a river of dark purple fruit on a
channeled Gorge breeze. (100 cases) -P.J.C. §
519009
2015 Applegate Valley Sentience Syrah ^
Of the three Cowhorn syrahs reviewed in
this issue, this one feels the most complete.
It leads with scents of bacon fat and sage,
olive and five-spice, wafting out of the glass
as if driven by a warm afternoon breeze. The
smoky plum flavors are dark and savory, with
notes that bring to mind desert sage and mesquite. Succulent, compact and energetic, this
will age well. (385 cases) -P.J.C. §
519209
2015 Willamette Valley Satisfaction
Syrah ^ Willamette Valley's syrah acreage
is slowly creeping up as Oregon's autumns
become more consistently dry (thanks to
climate change), and the wines are now more
distinctive in character. This one comes from
an estate-owned parcel less than an acre in
size. It's wildly savory, reflecting the cool
climate in scents of hops and olives, green
peppercorn and tobacco leaf. There's just
enough dark, brambly fruit to ground all
that savor, with elegant tannins and a smoky
aftertaste. (150 cases) -P.J.C. §
519008
2015 Applegate Valley 53 Syrah ^ Fineboned and elegant, with scents of violets and
blackberries, this wine turns savory with air,
picking up notes of olive and mocha. It feels
sleek and energetic, with fine black-pepper
tannins that will take on barbecue. (1,000
cases) -P.J.C. §
518924


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Wine & Spirits - February 2020

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

Contents
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - Cover1
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - Cover2
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 1
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 2
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 3
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - Contents
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 5
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 6
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 7
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 8
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 9
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 10
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 11
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 12
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 13
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 14
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 15
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 16
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 17
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 18
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 19
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 20
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 21
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 22
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 23
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 24
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 25
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 26
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 27
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 28
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 29
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 30
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 31
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 32
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 33
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 34
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 35
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 36
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 37
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 38
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 39
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 40
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 41
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 42
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 43
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 44
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 45
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 46
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 47
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 48
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 49
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 50
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 51
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 52
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 53
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 54
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 55
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 56
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 57
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 58
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 59
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 60
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 61
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 62
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 63
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 64
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 65
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 66
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 67
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 68
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 69
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 70
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 71
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 72
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 73
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 74
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 75
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 76
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 77
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 78
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 79
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - 80
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - Cover3
Wine & Spirits - February 2020 - Cover4
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