2017 Sur Echalas Vineyard Syrah
Buying options
Tasting notes
Bright dark red. Very pure, varietally accurate aromas of raspberry, smoked meat, black olive tapenade, herbs and minerals. Enters the mouth saline and intense, then strong soil-driven olive tapenade, dark raspberry and smoked meat take over the palate. This concentrated, salty wine boasts impressive thickness but also just enough fresh balancing fruit to leaven its high-pH feel. No shortage of sweetness here. Finishes with a firm dusting of tannins, lingering pepper, meat and smoke notes and no rough edges. (13.6% alcohol)
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
Intensely dark in color with a purple edge, the 2017 Syrah Sur Echalas Vineyard wafts from the glass with aromas of ripe blackberries and plums compounded by elegant tones of smoked strawberry and black cherry, followed by a spicy and mineral edge. Elements of hung meat and black pepper flutter effortlessly with perfumed resinous purple flowers. Like a welterweight champ, the wine is medium-bodied and chock-full of dark berry tones, with a velvety texture and harmoniously generous expression that packs a serious punch with a smaller frame. The mid-palate explodes with power and finesse, revealing layers of complexity, a rich mouthfeel and energetic acidity that frames the supporting tannins. The wine slides into a long-winding finish that continues to evolve for more than a minute after the wine has left the palate. Currently, production stands at 300 cases and is nothing short of impressive. If you can find it, buy it!
There’s no mistaking the Rocks origin of the 2017 Syrah Sur Echalas Vineyard. This beauty is just about overflowing with dark, meaty plum and blackberry fruits intermixed with lots of mulch, bacon fat, violets, and leafy herbs aromas and flavors. Rich, medium to full-bodied and textured, its core of sweet fruit emerges with time in the glass, and it has ripe, polished tannins, no hard edges, and a great finish. It’s one of the more approachable vintages from this label, yet 2-3 years of bottle age are still advised.