2018 True Believer Wines Amphitheater North
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Lastly, the 2018 Amphitheater North #3 (100% Syrah) saw a big chunk of stems as well as 16 months in a new 500-liter barrel. It's inky purple and powerful, with full-bodied aromas and flavors of ripe blackberries, blackcurrants, ground pepper, bouquet garni, and spring flowers. More spice, graphite, and minerality emerge as it sits in the glass, and this beauty is full-bodied, with a seamless, elegant texture, plenty of ripe tannins, and that rare mix of richness and weightlessness that's so hard to achieve in wine. This beauty is the most complete, balanced, and thrilling in the lineup, and it would hold up just fine in a lineup of the best Northern Rhône Syrahs out there. Give it a year or two and enjoy over the following 15+.
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Jeb Dunnuck
Jeb Dunnuck
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Coming from Alban clone Syrah fermented with 50% stems, the 2018 Amphitheater North is a rocking, savory, cool-climate beauty that carries loads of black fruits, tapenade, ground pepper, and earth-like aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, pure, and balanced on the palate, with building tannins, it’s another remarkable effort from Chris Hammel that will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and keep for a decade. These True Believer Wines from Chris Hammell were previously under the Hammell Wine Alliance label.