One of my most favourite, expressive grape varieties grown in British Columbia is Syrah. Perennial favourites include the outings from Nichol Vineyard, Le Vieux Pin, Black Hills Estate Winery, and Moon Curser Vineyards.
I'm really digging that Rust Wine Co.'s zooming in on the variety as of late. I recently got to taste through a quartet of Syrahs they'll be releasing in April, each one grown in a different part of B.C. wine country, and solid expressions of their vineyard provenance. Also. Can we talk about how STUNNING their South Okanagan home base is?!? Yeah. Here are my two faves: Rust Wine Co. 2019 Syrah – South Rock Vineyard – Golden Mile Bench is pretty on-point for varietal typicity Syrah fans are hoping for. Violets and dark purple fruit on the nose lead to gobs of fresh-picked, still-sun-warmed blackberries on the palate, with a real good helpin' of bacon fat and white pepper laced throughout. It's well-woven; this is decidedly a Syrah with good tannin integration (particularly considering it's right out of the gates), and hardly a big, jammy, clumsy Shiraz. Rust Wine Co. 2019 Syrah – Lazy River Vineyard – Similkameen Valley is for those wanting that opulent, juicy, stain-your-teeth kinda style but still expect things nice and balanced. More baking spice on the nose with this one (What's up, cinnamon, star anise and cloves?), and plenty of brambly black fruit, On the palate there's suddenly a wave of fresh ginger cresting over it all, then it finishes with a good lashing of sarsaparilla. A cheeky kiss (JUST a kiss) of sweet character on the finish. Also, bonus points for easy-to-read back labels with a the geeky stuff:
Keep an eye out for their April release by following Rust on Instagram and/or signing up for their mailing list at RustWine.com
Comments are closed.
|