Wine & Spirits - February 2021 - 34

Year's Best US Syrah & Rhône Varieties
the wine is slow to rouse when first poured,
but on its second day open there's an
undeniable vibration to the granular tannins
and buzzy acids, all in the service of tart red
fruit lined with Christmas spices. Chill and
pour for game, like squab. -P.J.C. §

CA L I FO RN I A MOURV E DRE
522236

93 | Halcón

$38

2018 Yorkville Highlands Mourvedre ^ Paul
and Jackie Gordon found their vineyard
site at the top of a ridge, where a band of
fractured shale, mica-schist and quartz
soils rises to 2,500 feet, with a view to the
Pacific. He works in tech, she works in real
estate, and they both work at farming the
vines organically, including the mourvedre
they planted on a protected, south-facing
slope. Harvested on November 1, fermented
with ambient yeasts and whole clusters (50
percent), the wine is packed with energy at
a brisk 12.8 percent alcohol. While it could
pass as a natural wine with its gaminess and
pickle-brine acidity, overall the wine feels
clean. Distinctly mourvedre, with a lush feel
to the wild-strawberry and dark-raspberry
flavors, this is satisfyingly rich. -J.G. §

91 | Harrington

$35

2018 El Dorado Eros III Cep Sumu Kaw
Vineyard Mourvedre ^ This dry-farmed,
organic vineyard is planted on granite with
volcanic ash, where mourvedre, grenache
and syrah grow at an elevation of 3,000
feet. Bryan Harrington presents the wine
naked, a little stinky and volatile, focused
on mushroom and leather at first, then
ghosting with red fruit and fennel spice until
that earthy fruit complexity takes over and
lasts. The structure of the wine will hold your
attention long after the bottle is gone. -J.G. §
522266

90 | Harrington

$30

2017 El Dorado Sumu Kaw Vineyard
Mourvedre ^ A jazz riff from meat-and-potato
bass notes to soprano strawberry spice, this
is rich and supple in the middle, with a little
olive-pit character to the tannins in the end.
Braised lamb would tame that bitterness and
bring the fruit forward. -J.G. §
522268

90 | The Withers

$40

2018 El Dorado Ruben Mourvedre ^ A
lithe, strawberry-red mourvedre, this starts
out buried under the variety's horse blanket
notes, but it sheds that overt earthiness
as the high-toned cassis and red cherry
flavors develop. Long on fruit and crackedpeppercorn spice, this is made for grilled
lamb. -J.G. §

CA L IFORINA PETITE SIRAH
522215

93 | Ridge

93 | Skinner

$30

92 | Birichino

$26

2018 El Dorado Mourvedre ^ This wine
enjoys full ripeness and a generous pano-
ply of red fruits, a sun-warmed bowl of
strawberries with woodland accents. The
texture is a delight, the wine's spidery light-
ness holding a kind of tensile integrity in its
tannic structure, with lithe energy that led
one taster to think of tango dancers. -P.J.C. §
522323
2019 Contra Costa County Old Vine
Mourvedre ^ From a vineyard planted in the
late 19th century (no one is certain when)
in the sands of Contra Costa County near
Antioch, this youthful mourvedre still bears a
mild varietal funk that frames the fruit. After
a day open, smoke and brown sugar notes
adorn the wine's black-cherry flavors, with
a tense, compact texture, attractive if a bit
gawky in its youth. Cellar. -P.J.C. §
522265
34

WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2021

$40

2018 Dry Creek Valley Lytton Estate Petite
Sirah ^ A few hardy petite sirah vines remain
of the original 1901 planting at Lytton
Springs; this wine comes from more recent
plantings, ranging from 1987 through 2008.
Their fruit takes petite sirah in a luscious
direction, banishing any punishing tannins
in favor of gentler spice-box notes and an
underlying mineral structure. Above ground,
it's all sunny, a cacophony of blue, red and
purple fruit, meaty richness and youthful
energy. Take a bottle to Wacken next August
for some post pandemic Open Air heavy
metal, or cellar it for a decade if you're into
quieter pursuits. -J.G. §

CA L IFORNIA SYRAH
CENTRAL COAST
522136

92 | Scheid Family

$50

2018 Monterey Reserve Syrah ^ Unlike more
powerful syrahs from nearby Paso, this one
is bright, red-fruited and mildly complex: It
resembles a Côtes-du-Rhône in its lift and

charm. It has scents of coastal raspberry
and cherry fruit with a suede-like feel to the
tannins, simple and thoroughly satisfying.
-P.J.C. §
522139

90 | Mansfield-Dunne

$45

90 | Talley

$50

2018 Santa Lucia Highlands Cortada Alta
Vineyard Syrah ^ This is the third vintage of
syrah from the Mansfield-Dunne SLH estate,
a wine that's smoky and spicy, redolent of
whole clusters in the fermentation, with
carob and clove rounding out the aromas.
The flavors have a pleasantly light delivery,
red-fruited and chewy, with a satisfying bitter
chocolate finish. -P.J.C. §
522049
2018 Arroyo Grande Valley Rincon
Vineyard Syrah ^ Rincon Vineyard is known
for pinot noir and chardonnay, but Brian
Talley planted syrah and other varieties there
in 2005. This wine leads with an intriguing
scent of violets and smoke, giving way to a
warm, mulled-wine palate-a compote of
clove and blackberry. The dark-fruit merge
with tannins as fine as clay. -P.J.C. §

PA S O R O B L E S
522053

91 | Eberle

$32

91 | Falcone Family

$30

2018 Paso Robles Steinbeck Vineyard
Syrah ^ Unabashedly warm and inviting in
a Paso Robles mode, this syrah comes from
vines planted in the early eighties. The wine
is built on savory suite of aromas-tar,
creosote, black pepper and carob-with
velvety fine-grained tannins and a stalwart
oak frame. A classic to cellar, then to pour
with a grilled steak. -P.J.C. §
522128
2018 Paso Robles Syrah ^ With straightahead scents of black plum and black olive,
there's not much in the way of complexity
in this estate syrah-then again who needs
complexity when you have a texture this pure,
luxuriant and hedonistic? Its silky tannins are
seductive and enveloping. -P.J.C. §

S A N TA B A R B A R A C O U N T Y
521479

95 | Melville

$50

2018 Sta. Rita Hills Donna's Block Syrah ^
Set on a modest rise of almost pure sand,
Donna's Block tends to produce the purest
expression of syrah among Melville's four
blocks. In 2018, it grew a wine that borders
on the hedonistic in its youthful exuberance,
with wild aromatics of smoke and olive, clove,
mocha, dried beef, lavender and thyme, and
a core of blueberry and blackberry flavors
https://store.skinnervineyards.com/product/2018-Grenache--El-Dorado-Copy
Wine & Spirits - February 2021

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