Wine & Spirits - October 2019 - 86

US NEW RELEASES
ing with a honeyed sweetness to the tannins.
Smoky, dense and layered, this should age
toward complexity over the next decade.
(200 cases) -J.G.

SYRAH

91 | Anthill Farms

517322

95 | Drew

$55

2017 Mendocino Ridge Valenti Ranch
Syrah ^ The vines at Valenti face east, topping out at 1,600 feet in altitude on a ridge
that continues to rise above them, protection
from the brunt of the winds that come off
the Pacific, six miles away. An extreme site,
it consistently produces one of the most
energized takes on syrah in California. This
vintage carries that charge, like a bee-sting
buzz, in its sweet black-cherry flavors and
cracked-black-pepper scents. Jason Drew
makes this wine without added yeasts and
with 50 percent whole clusters, cofermenting the fruit with a little viognier. It's densely
concentrated, but the freshness cuts through
the wine's power and tarry intensity, lasting
with red-fruit brightness. -J.G.
518119

94 | Anthill Farms

$32

2017 Sonoma Coast Campbell Ranch
Vineyard Syrah (Best Buy) ^ A green-peppercorn rocket, this wine packs full-on richness
and muscular purple fruit into a powerful
throughline of flavor. It grows at a vineyard
near Annapolis, on the far Sonoma Coast,
where Steve Campbell farms 20-year-old
vines on sandy Goldridge soil. The Anthill
team-Anthony Filiberti, David Low and
Webster Marquez-transforms that fruit
into one of the most dynamic syrahs in California, clean and precise, a lovely coastal red
with staying power. -J.G.
517961

93 | Melville

$48

2017 Sta. Rita Hills Donna's Block Syrah ^
From a sandy vineyard named for founder
Ron Melville's wife, Melville's Donna's Block
has been a benchmark for the region's syrahs
since its first release in 2003. Chad Melville
employed a healthy percentage of whole clusters in the 2017 to achieve its perfumed aromas of bergamot, violet and flowering rosemary. The flavors are cool and sleek, carried
on kid-leather tannins, the wine on point for
rosemary-roasted lamb. (540 cases) -P.J.C.
518047

92 | Ridge

$46

2014 Dry Creek Valley Lytton Estate
Syrah ^ John Olney coferments this syrah with
viognier, building on the blueberry perfume
of the fruit, adding to the tangy blackberry
richness. All the fruit is cut by coriander-like
spice, bringing out a porky umami character.
86

WINE & SPIRITS

The flavors feel unencumbered, as juicy as
fruit straight from a blackberry patch or, in
this case, organically farmed vines at Lytton
Springs West. Open it when there's braised
pork shoulder for dinner. (1,400 cases) -J.G.
518118

OCTOBER 2019

$32

2017 Sonoma Coast Peters Vineyard Syrah
(Best Buy) ^ This wine's ripe blueberry-skin
flavors are reduced at first, pungent and
black, opening with air toward scents of conifer and pinesap-forest-green notes that tie
it to the coast. It's smoky with notes of bergamot and black tea, needing bottle age to
mellow. -J.G.
517848

87 | J. Lohr

$15

2017 Paso Robles South Ridge Syrah (Best
Buy) ^ This is ripe and indugent in its chocolatey blackberry scents and flavor, a heady
red for barbecue. -P.J.C.

Z I N FA N D E L
517933

95 | Ridge

$35

2017 Russian River Valley Ponzo Vineyard Zinfandel (Best Buy)^A roseate red,
this is the pinot noir of zinfandel. The variety
accounts for 98 percent of the blend (there's
only a touch of petite sirah) and the wine
transforms the thin skins of zin into a delicate, transparent structure, displaying clarity
in the tannins with notes of raspberry seeds
and crushed black peppercorns. It has the
kind of tannins that would meld into eggplant tapenade with grilled lamb. The lasting
flavors of raspberry and apple skin glow red,
the wine's energy and stamina pumped up
with luscious grape gentleness. A California
beauty. (1,900 cases) -J.G.
517308

92 | Peachy Canyon

$44

2017 Willow Creek District Willow Zinfandel ^ A classic "old school" zin, this offers
so much bramble-berry flavor it borders on
going over the top, only to rein in that fruit
with its acidity. That warm expression gives it
the force to take on ribs. (375 cases) -P.J.C.
518046

92 | Ridge

$35

2017 Dry Creek Valley Guadagni Zinfandel (Best Buy) ^ A cool, zesty zin, this gets
its deep purple-plum color from 15 percent
petite sirah. Its red fruit lasts with a light
tomato-skin spice that immediately brings
food to mind, whether pasta pomodoro or
anchovy pizza. (1,150 cases) -J.G.

517564

91 | The Lost Chapters

$30

91 | Peachy Canyon

$46

90 | Ridge

$35

89 | Hierogram

$18

86 | Bogle

$12

2014 Napa Valley Zinfandel ^ Fragrant with
blackberry, lavender and mint, this zesty,
high-toned wine raises the question: Why
are many great Napa Valley zinfandels more
delicate than their Sonoma cousins when
the valley's cabernets tend to be more tannic
and vast? This one is fresh and clean, without
lacking intensity. It would make a great partner with duck sugo. (304 cases) -J.G.
517306
2017 Adelaida District Especial Zinfandel ^ Especial is drawn from Peachy Canyon's
Mustard Springs Vineyard, planted in the
1950s. It's a claret-like wine in 2017, very
savory, with scents of licorice and violet petal,
fennel frond and dill. Its flavors have a ginlike spice in support of dark plum fruit, cool
and languorous; for slow-roasted chicken.
(299 cases) -P.J.C.
517931
2017 Dry Creek Valley Rancho Lambert
Zinfandel (Best Buy) ^ This wine's youthful
fruit brings simple flavors of strawberry and
raspberry to the fore, boosted by smoky oak
scents. The tannins paint it black while the
alcohol sweetens the fruit impression and
drives the warm finish. Cellar this for a few
years, then decant it well before you start up
the grill. (590 cases) -J.G.
517543
2016 Lodi Old Vine Vineyard 8 Block N
Zinfandel (Best Buy) ^ This is round and composed, with scents of vanilla and red cherry
and a pleasing leathery accent. Sappy, sleek
oak tannins bring it to a curt finish. -P.J.C.
517496
2016 California Old Vine Zinfandel (Best
Buy) ^ Well priced for old-vine fruit, this is a
light-bodied zin with a plush red-berry sweetness. Pour it for Sloppy Joes. -P.J.C.

https://www.jmcclellandcellars.com/wines/details?id=93

Wine & Spirits - October 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - October 2019