2006 Martinelli Syrah Lolita Ranch
Market price
Buying options
Tasting notes
The 2006 Martinelli Syrah Lolita Ranch is a beauty. Aged in 90% new French oak (on lees) for a year, it delivers a beautiful array of ripe raspberry and blackberry styled fruits to go with subtle bacon fat, crème, licorice, roasted herb characteristics. Full-bodied, rich, and supple on the palate, with loads of fruit, yet an overall balanced, drinkable profile, this should continue to age gracefully through 2020.
Critic scores
Average Score
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
Deep ruby. Powerful scents of blueberry, blackcurrant, cracked pepper and gingerbread, with a subtle undertone of violet. Very spicy in the mouth, displaying concentrated dark fruit preserve flavors and velvety texture. The peppery note comes back on the finish, which is tightly focused and very persistent. This seems pretty primary today and would benefit from decanting or a few more years of patience.
The 2006 Syrah Lolita Ranch exhibits smoky, blackberry, and meaty characteristics, high tannins, but fabulously concentrated fruit that offers notes of tapenade, chocolate, and Chinese black tea. A tannic finish suggests another 1-2 years of bottle age will be beneficial. This cuvee should easily last for a decade. Martinelli’s Zinfandel portfolio continues to grow, with as many as five different offerings now available. The 2006 and 2007 Jackass Hill Vineyard cuvees were not tasted at this visit. However, the other four wines I tasted, all from steep hillside vineyard sites with the newer plantings planted from bud wood of both the Jackass Hill and Jackass vineyards, were brilliant. They are among the fullest-bodied, headiest, most distinctive Zinfandels made in California. Tel. (707) 525-0570; Fax (707) 525-9463
About the producer
Martinelli is a Sonoma benchmark for vineyard-designate bottlings—wines built to highlight how strongly a single site can shape Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Syrah, and Zinfandel. Across the range, the focus stays consistent: small-production bottlings that feel distinctly tied to where they’re grown.