Wines

100 Points! I’ve never before smelled a wine like this. The captivating aromas are amazing, with lavender, sage, dried potpourri, blackberries, tar, pepper and black licorice. Full-bodied with super tannins that fan out and caress the palate. It’s ethereal and endless. A pure syrah from the owners of Clos Apalta, from unique mountain vineyards. Just over 6,000 bottles made. Try to give this four or five years of bottle age. Best after 2028. - JamesSuckling.com

92 Points! The 2021 Syrah (California) is outrageous. Rich and explosive, the Syrah packs a serious punch. This wine, from a collection of top notch sites delivers tons of impact. Blue/purplish fruit, lavender, spice, menthol, licorice and black pepper are all dialed up in this heady, dense Syrah. The 2021 is a blend of top sites in Santa Barbara and Sonoma, with a good dose of whole clusters in all the lots. What a wine. - Antonio Galloni, Vinous Media

98 Points! The 2021 Syrah Donna's is all varietal and comes from the Melville Vineyard. Its vivid ruby/plum hue is followed by classic Syrah notes of ripe blackberries, mulberries, pepper, violets, and gamey meats. These carry to a full-bodied Syrah with ultra-fine tannins, a layered, multi-dimensional texture, and a gorgeous finish. This absolutely captivating Syrah is already impossible to resist yet is going to evolve for 15-20 years with ease. It's up with the finest vintages of this cuvée produced. Hats off to Chad Melville for a brilliant, world class Syrah! - Jeb Dunnuck

95 Points! The 2021 Syrah The Initiation is a nearly opaque ruby into purple, with oils of black pepper, black olive, and preserved plum. Full-bodied, it’s lush with freshness and a velvety texture, revealing sweet tannins as well as notes of tea leaf and blackberry. It’s a beautiful and opulent wine to drink 2025-2040. - Jeb Dunnuck

97+ Points! Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2021 The Initiation Syrah prances out with perfumed notes of roses, Indian spices, and kirsch giving way to a core of plum preserves and juicy blueberries plus wafts of tar and pepper. The full-bodied palate is rich and impactful, with fresh, crunchy black fruits and floral accents supported by firm, rounded tannins and bold freshness, finishing long and fragrant. - Lisa Perrotti-Brown, TWI

90 Points! I loved the 2019 Syrah Estate, which includes 5% of Petite Sirah and was brought up mostly in French oak, with a splash in American oak. Ripe black and blue fruits, vanilla, peppery herbs, and some chocolate notes all give way to a plump, round, fruit-forward effort that has supple tannins and a great finish. - Jeb Dunnuck

94 Points! The 2021 Please Fasten Your Seatbelt Syrah is also outstanding, with a darker, peppery, classic California Syrah style. Blackberries, pepper, spring flowers, and chalky mineral notes all give way to a wonderfully pure, medium to full-bodied Syrah with ripe, integrated tannins and outstanding length. All varietal from a mix of vineyards throughout the Central Coast (Caliza, Fulldraw, G2, Larner, Piazza Bella Vista) that was 80% destemmed and aged 18 months in 73% new French oak, it will evolve nicely for 8-10 years. - Jeb Dunnuck

98 Points! The 2005 Syrah The Skull comes from a different section of the Royal Slope. If it is possible, the wine is a bit more structured and powerful. It needs 8-10 years of cellaring and will be at its best from 2017 to 2035.

Charles Smith, the mastermind of K Vintners, bottles his very best wines from the obscure Royal Slope under a separate label. These are stunning Syrahs that must be tasted to be believed. They are technically within the massive Columbia Valley AVA but Smith feels the Royal Slope (or Royal Slut as he refers to it) should be recognized in its own right For a fascinating demonstration of terroir, do a side-by-side tasting of the 2005 K Vintner and Charles Smith Syrahs but bring a lot of ribs and pulled pork barbecue and turn it into a party. - Jay Miller, robertparker.com

99 Points! The 2005 Syrah Old Bones is a blend of The Heart and The Skull but aged in 500-liter barrels. It is more complex, opulent, and totally hedonistic. It will be at its best from 2017 to 2035.

Charles Smith, the mastermind of K Vintners, bottles his very best wines from the obscure Royal Slope under a separate label. These are stunning Syrahs that must be tasted to be believed. They are technically within the massive Columbia Valley AVA but Smith feels the Royal Slope (or Royal Slut as he refers to it) should be recognized in its own right For a fascinating demonstration of terroir, do a side-by-side tasting of the 2005 K Vintner and Charles Smith Syrahs but bring a lot of ribs and pulled pork barbecue and turn it into a party. - Jay Miller, robertparker.com

97 Points! The 2005 Heart Syrah is whole berry fermented with aging for 24 months in seasoned French barrels. All of Smith’s wines are fermented with native yeasts and bottled without fining or filtration. It gives off a room-filling bouquet of cedar, leather, mineral, blueberry, and blackberry liqueur. Opulent, powerful, and layered on the palate, it conceals enough structure to see the wine through another 6-8 years of evolution. It will be at its best from 2015 to 2030. - Jay Miller, robertparker.com

100 Points! The 2010 Hermitage Ex Voto continues to top out on my scale. This extraordinary Hermitage has more minerality and delineation than the 2009, as well as overflowing aromas and flavors of creme de cassis, jammy blackberries, violets, graphite and wood smoke. Massively concentrated, full-bodied, decadent, layered and sexy, it needs short-term cellaring but should be just about immortal in the cellar. - Jeb Dunnuck, robertparker.com

95 Points! The 2021 Syrah Estate has a medium ruby color and smoky, flinty tones that give way to cranberries, blackberries, juniper, resinous herbs and cured meats. The medium-bodied palate is chalky and very fresh with a core of savory fruit, generous meaty and flinty nuances and a long, savory finish. - Erin Brooks, robertparker.com

From Pax: Inspired by the rare southern rhone Syrah, a slight departure from our cool climate Syrahs, this wine shows those roasted flavors that you can only get from Syrah grown in sand in a warm spot. The low fertility sandy soils are derived from Granite and Tufa and form undulating “Hills” from the steady breezes from the west. These fine-grained soils grow fine grained wines.  We fermented this 100% Syrah with 100% Whole-Clusters and aged it in 500L French Oak Puncheons for six months before bottling this wine without any fining or filtration. 

93 Points! The 2021 Whole Bunch is pure Shiraz and…whole bunch (obvs). The stems are nicely integrated here with black pepper infused black fruit that feels energetic. The palate is medium-bodied with peppery red and black fruit, taut and fresh with a touch of black olive compote on the finish. I love this - surfeit with freshness and vibrancy. Delicious. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

99 Points! Blackberry, fresh flowers such as violets and roses, peaches and oranges. So perfumed. Changes to bark, moss and dark mushroom. Cloves and white pepper. Full-bodied, layered and complex. Opens incredibly on the palate to become a wine of depth and distinction. Layered. So deep and thoughtful. Creamy tannins. Truly great and from vines from 1867. Drink or hold. Screw cap. - JamesSuckling.com

97+ Points! The Old Patch Vineyard was planted in 1867 and is home to the oldest-producing Shiraz vines in New South Wales. The fruit was handpicked a week earlier than the other three vineyard sites, on February 12th, 2021. On the nose, the 2021 Old Patch Shiraz is bloody and dense, with a sweet core of fleshy red fruits and exotic spice. In the mouth, the wine is just the same: persistent, seamless and succulent. This is another incredible Shiraz in this 2021 Sacred Sites release; and thanks to the winemaking being largely the same across all cuvees, the vineyard expression is ushered to the fore. Awesome. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

98 Points! Intense aromas of lanolin and citrus are framed in wet-stone notes. The palate has a silky texture, beneath which is blazing acidity and very concentrated lemon. Smooth-honed and powerful semillon. From grapes planted in 1908. Drink over the next decade. Screw cap. - JamesSuckling.com

96+ Points! The Johnno's Block vineyard was planted in 1908, on sandy alluvial soils. The fruit from this vineyard was picked a week later (February 23rd) than the 4 Acres and the 8 Acres fruit. Darker in color and with more depth on the nose, this 2021 Johnno's Shiraz is laden with cocoa, star anise, cooking spices, Dutch licorice and a whiff of pastrami. In the mouth, this is dark and brooding (not a comment on alcohol, this, like the others, is 13%) and ferruginous, with a snarl of tannin and spice woven through the finish. It's a standout wine and one that will get better in time, as it gains acceleration in the dark spice space. Hold. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com

97 Points! A powerful and spicy syrah with aromas of black olives, nutmeg, peppercorns, black cherries and sea urchins. Bitter chocolate, too. Full-bodied, firm and polished, with a velvety texture carrying the black fruit. Intense and so long. Try in 2025. - JamesSuckling.com

96 Points! A bigger, more powerful, masculine-styled release, the 2020 Syrah Powerline Vineyard (100% Syrah) sports a deeper ruby/plum hue as well as medium to full-bodied aromas and flavors of ripe black and blue fruits, ground pepper, violets, and smoked meats. It brings lots of concentration and power but stays elegant and balanced, with beautiful tannins. - Jeb Dunnuck

97 Points! Wonderfully fresh and expressive, with a touch of black pepper hiding among the menthol and deep, dark berry fruits. Medium- to full-bodied, this has stacks of rich, sweet berry fruit and driving acidity, then ends neat and precise. Very well-integrated oak brings a spicy complexity, but the site is more prominent than the method. Arguably not as deep as 2015, but this is nonetheless a hugely enjoyable wine. A blend of lieux-dits Le Mollard (near Côte-Blonde), La Viallière, La Brosse and La Landonne. Tasted non-blind. - Deacnter Magazine

92 Points! The 2019 Syrah on Shale The Landscape Series has a well-defined bouquet of copious red berry fruit laced with clove, bay leaf and subtle earthy tones (reminding me of Mullineux in many ways). The palate is medium-bodied and lightly spiced, with supple tannins and a touch of gaminess toward the elegant finish. White pepper lingers on the aftertaste. Delicious. - Neal Martin, Vinous Media

97 Points! Next to the 4 Acres Vineyard is the 8 Acres Vineyard, planted in 1892, on deep red clay soils over limestone. The fruit was picked on the same day in February 2021 (18), and this was made in the same manner: handpicked, wild ferment, maturation in a single French oak cask for 14 months. This is truly the best way to see the vineyard for what it is, and looking at both 4 Acres and 8 Acres side by side is a fascinating exercise for that. The 2021 8 Acres Shiraz is sweeter and plumper in the mid-palate, and all things are red—pomegranate, raspberry, cherry, red jelly snakes and red licorice. Wrapped around that core is a skin of tannin, which, like the 4 Acres, feels subliminal to the fruit. The pliability of the wine is a thrill. This is seductive, where the 4 Acres has a little more savory pull. Choose for your heart, as both are sensational. - Erin Larkin, robertparker.com