Wine & Spirits - February 2021 - 37

Year's Best US Syrah & Rhône Varieties
spraying of any kind-the vines are pruned,
the grass is mown and the canopy leafed for
air flow. Since the fruit has no other disease
protection, she harvests early, at 21 to 21.5
Brix. And then she continues to treat the
fruit as it was on the vine-with no additions
(until bottling, when she adds a little sulfur).
The tinkering she does involves the stems: In
2019, she fermented this wine in two separate
bins; one included half the fresh stems,
measured by weight; she dried the other
half of the stems for a week before adding
them to the other bin. A blend of the two lots,
this wine smells like rocks, wild strawberries,
red spice, black olives...and something clean
but sweaty, like a vegan triathlete just off
the cycle. The wine's tannic spice seems to
rivet the flavors directly to the earth. With
apologies to any vegan readers, I want to
drink this with roast baby goat. -J.G. §
520376

92 | Dutton Estate

$55

2016 Russian River Valley Dutton Ranch
Cherry Ridge Vineyard Syrah ^ The Dutton
family farms this syrah on a ridgetop in
Green Valley, just north of the Petaluma
Gap, where the vines date to 1991. The cool,
fog-influenced site produced a classic coastal
syrah, its red fruit touched by Persian spices
and hints of roses. The tension in its structure
suggests a long life ahead. -J.G. (W&S 6/20;
130 cases) §
520351

92 | Joseph Jewell

$45

2016 Sonoma Coast Cherry Camp
Vineyard Syrah ^ This grows at a vineyard
in Occidental, on the south side of the far
Sonoma coast. And it ripened in that cool
climate to light and airy richness at 12
percent alcohol. It has the cracked-greenpeppercorn spice of coastal syrah, filled out
with some zesty blueberry and strawberry
fruit depth. Reticent in its youth, this will
benefit from a few years in the cellar. -J.G.
(W&S 6/20; 75 cases) §
522325

92 | Radio-Coteau

$50

2018 Sonoma Coast Las Colinas Syrah ^
Las Colinas is Eric Sussman's far-coast
blend, combining syrah from John Dierke's
organically farmed vineyard, Dusty Lane, in
the hills west of Sebastopol, with fruit from
Radio-Coteau's biodynamically farmed
estate on a low ridge in Occidental. This
2018 is still youthfully closed, hiding behind
cracked peppercorn spice, scents of broken
rock and meaty game. There's a delicate
rose scent emerging, along with lasting fresh
cherry flavors; the precise tannins leave a
clean feeling in their wake. Cellar this for a
year or more to let the flavors open; or decant

it now, for grilled eggplant and chopped pine
nuts. -J.G. §
522220

92 | Red Car

$55

2018 Fort Ross-Seaview Red Car Estate
Vineyard Syrah ^ Though the Red Car
Estate is only 3.7 miles from the Pacific,
it's protected enough by the coastal ridges
to ripen syrah. This 2018 delivers a spicy
pink peppercorn bite, then lays out its
cool saturation of purple, velvet-textured
fruit and coastal forest scents. Fermented
with ambient yeasts, it delivers layers of
complexity softened by some cocoa-rich
tannins. This should evolve well over the next
several years. -J.G. §
522253

92 | Thirty-Seven

$24

2018 Petaluma Gap Syrah (Best Buy) ^
Bay laurel scents and transparent red berry
flavors follow this wine's crisp structural
line. The tannins have a floral bitterness and
conifer-like spice (the fermentation included
25 percent of the whole clusters), turning
the fruit savory, even if it's that red fruit that
lasts, focused, subtle and breezy. -J.G. §
522327

91 | Radio-Coteau

$68

90 | Red Car

$38

2017 Sonoma Coast Dusty Lane Syrah ^ The
heat of the 2017 vintage shows in the richness
of this wine, a generous vintage from a spot
in the western Sebastopol hills that's usually
cool. This wine is beefy, even as the acidity
holds an electric spice, like Aleppo pepper.
Its pomegranate flavors and clean line of
tannins will take on steak tartare. -J.G. §
522229
2018 Sonoma Coast Red Car Syrah ^ Tense
and gamey, this is a brisk coastal red that
takes time to emerge from the shadows of
its oak aging. At first, the oak and fruit battle,
sending the flavors into a muddle of greenhued coffee beans. But a day later the oak
recedes revealing a wash of mineral tannins
and red fruit. Decant it if you open the bottle
now, to serve with roast squab. -J.G. §
522244

90 | Zo Wines

$45

2019 Dry Creek Valley Morningside
Vineyard Syrah ^ Earthy and weightless, this
wine's sweet red fruit feels brisk, grounded
by a firm structure framed by dusty tannins.
It's simple and warm, graceful in its sense
of moderation. Pour it with grilled maitake
mushrooms, or a salad of duck confit. -J.G. §
522243

88 | Raft

$35

2019 Dry Creek Valley Grist Vineyard
Syrah (Best Buy) ^ This is a ripe 2019 with
high-toned scents of fennel seeds and gentle

flavors of red currants. The structure is
youthfully tight, the fruit's texture soft and
sweet, an easy-going syrah for Moroccan
eggplant with couscous. -J.G. §

SIERRA FOOTHILLS
521485

95 | Terre Rouge

$100

2017 Sierra Foothills Ascent Syrah ^ A
selection of Terre Rouge's best barrels, this
feels iconic, the sort of wine that could only
be made in the Sierras, and only by Bill
Easton. It is wildly rich, with dark fig and
inky blackberry-compote flavors, and yet all
of those are tethered to a tannic structure
that channels the madrone, bay laurel and
red soils of the Sierras. Its churning, dusty
grip suggests that this has a long life ahead.
-P.J.C. (W&S 10/20) §
522273

93 | Holly's Hill

$27

93 | Skinner

$60

92 | Peirano

$16

2018 El Dorado Fenaughty Old Vines
Syrah (Best Buy) ^ While Carrie and Josh
Bendick are focused on their estate vineyards,
planted by Carrie's parents, Tom and Holly
Cooper, they make this one wine from
Fenaughty. In 2018, the site grew a savory
syrah that hums with energy, juicy red cherry
and bright blackberry flavors set in motion
by the equally juicy tannins. Tart, feral and
gamey, this presents the Sierra Foothills with
gentle, comforting power. -J.G. §

2018 El Dorado Syrah ^ A tiny estate
production, this wine fits stylistically with
winemaker Adam Smith's other reds in its
heady fruit expression. It settles down with
air, the acidity providing a frame and contour
for its spicy, dark violet-scented purple fruit.
The texture is sensuous, velvety and supple,
lasting on a long and savory finish. -P.J.C.
(W&S 10/20; 50 cases) §
519348
2016 Lodi The Heritage Collection Syrah
(Best Buy) ^ This sumptuous syrah has an
exotic scent of mocha and smoke, olive and
bacon fat. The flavors are plush and dark,
just a touch sweet, with a mouthwatering
WINE & SPIRITS

FEBRUARY 2021

37
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Wine & Spirits - February 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - February 2021
