Une Autre Fin Est Possible, Syrah, John Sebastiano, 2018

You a paper chaser, you got your block on fire
Remaining a G until the moment you expire
You know what it is - you make nothin' out of somethin'
You handle your biz and don't be cryin' and sufferin'
-Juvenile, "Ha"

This wine could have been called "I Hate Myself For Loving You," the perpetual mantra of the Syrah-afflicted winemaker. Great wine and endlessly interesting, Syrah's just weird enough to gather dust on the shelf. No one dreams of getting rich making Syrah - but they do know they have a chance at unforgettable wine.

The John Sebastiano Vineyard sits at the eastern edge of the Sta. Rita Hills appellation. Blasted with wind and at the limit of feasibility, the fruit here certainly has the cool-climate personality: red plum, pressed flowers, veins of minerality and delicate accents of game and bacon. Picked on Nov. 6th, it has gathered a ton of depth and structure for a wine so finely-rendered. Transitions are smooth and the texture is Burgundian. The bottle empties quickly.

The name of the wine, when translated, means "Another Ending Is Possible." But our efforts paled in comparison to those of the land itself. The taste of John Sebastiano Syrah is unmistakable across all bottlings: dynamic fruit, suave but concentrated. 5-8 years of improvement are a conservative estimate.

So I write truly fat shit for the core audience
But sometimes I wonder does it really exist?
-Ras Kass, "Reelishymn"