Donelan Cuvee Christine Syrah 2015
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The 2015 Cuvee Christine is a beautiful vintage for Syrah. This 100% Syrah blend of 100% Syrah is an intense assemblage of some of our favorite Syrah vineyards in Sonoma County. The Kobler Vineyard provides the backdrop to this wine, with pancetta and quince on the nose and lovely acidity on the palate. The Lawer Vineyard component promotes both earthy components of peat moss and fiddleheads and a dense mid-palate. Lastly, the wine would not be complete without the addition of Steiner Ranch Syrah. Grilled-meats and graphite are classic Steiner Ranch characteristics, on full display in this Cuvée Christine. This is a beautiful Cuvee Christine with great freshness on the palate and well-woven tannin and will continue to show gracefully for many years to come.
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An outstanding varietal wine from various sites, this is meaty in blackberry, fig and dark chocolate flavors. It is substantially layered, soft and rich in style. The fruit is balanced against accents of grilled meat, garrigue and black pepper that linger on the finish.
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At Donelan, they believe that the best wines are not made but discovered and they take pride in the responsibility and privilege of distilling for your pleasure the greatest qualities and natural variations in a vineyard and a variety. They start with great terroir, because site trumps all variables, and then proceed with extreme selectivity, conscientious winemaking, and extensive blending trials.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Home to a diverse array of smaller AVAs with varied microclimates and soil types, Sonoma County has something for every wine lover. Physically twice as large as Napa Valley, the region only produces about half the amount of wine but boasts both tremendous quality and variety. With its laid-back atmosphere and down-to-earth attitude, the wineries of Sonoma are appreciated by wine tourists for their friendliness and approachability. The entire county intends to become a 100% sustainable winegrowing region by 2019.
Sonoma County wines are produced with carefully selected grape varieties to reflect the best attributes of their sites—Dry Creek Valley’s consistent sunshine is ideal for Zinfandel, while the warm Alexander Valley is responsible for rich, voluptuous red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are important throughout the county, most notably in the cooler AVAs of Russian River, Sonoma Coast and Carneros. Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot and Syrah have also found a firm footing here.