2013 Forsythe Vineyard (Alban Vineyards) Mourvèdre The Mason

Inky ruby. Smoky, sharply focused scents of cherry and dark berry preserves are complemented by suggestions of candied licorice, sandalwood and violet. Smooth, broad and sweet on the palate, offering intense, deeply concentrated cherry and blackberry flavors along with hints of bitter chocolate and candied flowers. Closes impressively long and broad, delivering velvety tannins and a lingering cherry compote flourish.

Forsythe is Lorraine's mother's maiden name, and Mason is named after her grandfather, who was a brick mason. The 2013 The Mason Forsythe Vineyard is another killer vintage for this wine. Inky colored, it offers a huge nose of smoked meats, currants, salt cured ham, flowers and spice. Just gorgeously layered, rich, ripe and structured, it’s one blockbuster Mourvèdre that needs a few years of bottle age. It should drink nicely for as long as you’re likely to keep bottles. If I had to come up with a list of the greatest wine estates in the world, Alban Vineyards would certainly be in there. Readers need to understand that this estate is an anomaly, lying at the very end of the Edna Valley, and the only estate in 50+ miles making wines of this quality. Vintages here marginally track the larger Central Coast theme, yet not always. These are singular wines. John commented that he thinks 2015 is a step down over 2012, 2013 and 2014, but that it’s better than 2011. I only tasted his whites, but like everyone else in 2015, his yields were decimated, so there’s very little of these to go around. I report on the red from barrel next year. His 2014s are all terrific as well, with full-bodied, ripe, classic Alban Style. Where this estate doesn’t track with the rest of the Central Coast is with his 2013s and 2012s; in general, the 2012s are the sexier, more open-knit, and the 2013s more concentrated and structure. In John’s case, the vintages are reversed, with the 2012s showing more structure and the 2013s just packed with sweet fruit. As I’ve written in the past, for the life of me, I can’t understand why no one else in the Edna Valley tries to make wine anywhere close to this level of quality.

Opaque ruby. A complex array of dark fruit and floral scents hint at woodsmoke and succulent herbs in the background. Rich and expansive on the palate, offering cherry liqueur, cassis, licorice and violet flavors enlivened by a peppery nuance. Youthfully firm tannins add grip to an impressively long, spice-tinged finish that leaves a note of bitter cherry behind.