2016 DuMOL Syrah Estate Vineyards

Even better, and a dead ringer for a top Cornas from the likes of Pierre-Marie Clape or Allemand, the 2016 Syrah Estate Vineyard comes from a tiny 1.5-acre vineyard on the Sonoma Coast. Meaty, peppery, bloody, and incredibly complex, with lots of black olive, cracked peppercorns, smoke, and ripe, dark Syrah fruit, it has building tannin, awesome mid-palate depth, and a remarkable purity, elegance, and balance about it that’s going to keep it drinking beautifully for 10-15 years. I still remember tasting with Andy Smith while I was writing The Rhône Report and I was thrilled to be able to sit down and go through all of his wines on this occasion. Stylistically, Smith makes a fresh, vibrant style of wine, yet I never find them lacking for depth and or texture. Looking at the Chardonnays, these are made in a reductive, age-worthy style and the clear majority have distinctly Burgundian profiles. These are beautiful wines that, at least to my palate, surpass the quality of the Pinot Noirs, which are slightly more variable. Nevertheless, the top Pinot Noirs are certainly up with the crème de la crème of the region. While Andy favors a tight, age-worthy style of Chardonnay, the Pinot Noirs are made in a slightly more forward style. In addition to the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, DuMOL also produces a handful of world-class Syrahs, as well as one of the top examples of Viognier coming out of California. Both the 2015s and 2016s reviewed here are terrific wines, with the 2016s showing slightly more balance and elegance, but you can’t go wrong with either vintage here.

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2016 Syrah Estate Vineyard gives up expressive black cherries, wild blueberries and blackberries with savory wood smoke, tapenade, charcuterie and earth hints. Full-bodied, concentrated and firmly constructed, it has beautifully ripe, rounded tannins texturing the savory layers with spices flavors, finishing on a lingering peppery note.

Inky blue/purplish fruit, spice, lavender, game, licorice and graphite notes all run through the 2016 Syrah Estate Vineyard. The purity of the fruit here is simply mind-blowing. Andy Smith gave the 2016 Estate 21 days on the skins. The 50% whole clusters are pretty much buried by the depth and resonance of the fruit.