Whenever I think about Syrah, I think of the Joan Jett song, “I Hate Myself For Loving You.”  I’m a complete pushover for Syrah.  A Stan.  A Simp.  A Puppet.  I won’t pretend Syrah is easy to sell, but will I ever stop making it?  No fuckin’ way!  Syrah is the goddamn greatest and I will keep looking for sick variations on this incredible grape.

2020 brings a much darker personality than our 2018 release from John Sebastiano.  Where that was cool-climate delicacy, silken and Burgundian, this is wooly, burly, chewy and sultry.  This Syrah is sitting out on the porch all night long, listening to the sounds of the French Quarter, and goes to sleep when the sun rises.

Smoked meats and briar patch aromas frame game and red plum.  On the palate, the spiciness of the clusters imparts notes of tobacco, black pepper, rosemary and tea.  The palate is mid-weight, viscous morello-cherry Syrah of the type I treasure from Cornas with tongue-staining extract and plenty of tannin and acidity.  It almost feels like a robust, gravelly young Nebbiolo.  The finish is aerial blackberry and fine tannins on the palate.  There is a lot of promise in this young wine.

Besides the Matt Dees-made Kimsey Estate wines, Kimsey fruit goes to Jaffurs, Andremily, Dragonette, Blair Fox and fellow BD participant Dusty Nabor. It’s farmed by Ruben Solorzano of Stolpman/Coastal Vineyard Care.  The rows come from Block 4B, Alban Powerblock clone.  It’s 50% whole cluster and is aged in used barriques.