2013 Richards Family Vineyard Syrah
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Tasting notes
Like the 2012, the 2013 Syrah Richards Family Vineyard saw plenty of stems and mostly neutral barrels. It’s an incredibly complete Syrah that offers killer notes of blackcurrants, smoked meats (maybe even a hint of bacon fat), roasted herbs and lavender. It’s a big, concentrated beauty that, like all the wines from this estate, has impeccable balance, an elegant, seamless style and a great finish. Surprisingly, it’s more open and plush than the 2012, yet is still going to benefit from short term cellaring and keep for 15+ years.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2013 Syrah Richards Family Vineyard is the wine where all the elements of the Donelan house style come together. Rich, unctuous and exquisitely layered, the 2013 possesses stunning depth and richness. Layers of dark red and purplish fruit are pushed front and center. There's not much else to say, because all the elements are simply in the right place. This is a positively stunning wine from Donelan.
Produced using 80% whole cluster and aged for 28 months in French oak, 33% new, the 2013 Syrah Richard's Vineyard has a deep garnet-purple color and a wonderfully meaty/earthy nose of prosciutto, underbrush and tapenade with a core of crushed black currants, black cherries and tar, plus hints of Provence herbs and garrigue. Full-bodied, rich and concentrated, this wine manages to have beautiful finesse with a gorgeous multi-layered palate and fine frame of rounded tannins intermingled with the chewier stem tannins to give great support, finishing long and spicy. 466 cases were made.