Description
Presqu’ile, Syrah
Today’s wine has so many pros, a bulleted format might be the best way to get my point across, which is ultimately this: If you’ve ever enjoyed a classy, gorgeously perfumed Syrah, from any region or price range, this exclusive $25 deal is an absolute must.
For one, its genius creator is Presqu’ile, one of my personal favorite estates in red-hot Santa Barbara County. The raw material? All sustainably farmed, premium, estate-grown fruit. The process? “Old school” and exceptionally minimal all the way—whole clusters, native-yeast ferments, lengthy aging in neutral French oak, unfined/unfiltered bottling. Can you imagine what that entire package would cost in Côte-Rôtie? I don’t even want to. So for now, I’ll just happily sit back in awe, my arm firmly wrapped around an entire case, and I urge you to do the same. One final thing: This few-hundred-case production is typically cordoned off for restaurant use only but seeing as we’re in cahoots with Presqu’ile’s winemaking consultant, today is a rare chance to have this new Syrah classic delivered directly to your door instead of a white tablecloth. Enjoy.
Although today’s 2019 Syrah is labeled “Santa Barbara County,” every grape comes from the Presqu’ile estate vineyard in the sub-AVA of Santa Maria Valley. First established in 1981, offers a distinct cool-weather microclimate responsible for producing remarkable expressions of Burgundian and Rhône varietals. Santa Maria Valley and the nearby Sta. Rita Hills are the only two appellations on the entire west coast of North and South America that have east-west mountain ranges. The result is a distinct microclimate that creates a natural funnel of cool air off the Pacific and channels it into the vineyards. With a significantly lower temperature, the Santa Maria Valley enjoys one of the longest growing seasons in California. This is ideal for those who aim to craft “old-school” styles of Syrah, like Presqu’ile.
Presqu’ile is the culmination of a century of Louisiana agriculturalists that comprise two generations. Matt Murphy was the first of the family to delve into wine, and his parents and siblings fell in love with the vineyard soon after. After searching the West Coast for the perfect terroir to call home, they finally settled on an advantageously situated 200-acre site, between 700-1000 feet elevation, in the Santa Maria Valley. Derived from unique clones rooted in sandy loam soil just 16 miles from the Pacific Ocean, today’s estate Syrah was farmed sustainably and hand-harvested. Like all of their wines, it was crafted in their gravity-flow winery as naturally as possible. It fermented on native yeasts with most whole clusters intact, and then aged for 18 months in neutral French barrels. It was bottled without fining or filtration.
Although I wanted to track this bottle over two evenings, it narrowly survived two hours after being opened. In the glass, it releases such beautiful, pure, and delicate Syrah aromas—a far cry away from its dense and meaty brethren in Sonoma/Napa and Washington. This is incredibly lithe and perfumed, bursting with brambleberries, cherry, and blue plum alongside olive, herbs, wet stone, leather, and hints of spice. The palate is medium-bodied, supple, and bursting with just-ripe black and red berries loaded with vibrancy thanks to coastal influence. If you’re patient enough, give this Syrah 15-20 minutes in a decanter. Or, at the bare minimum, pull the cork and serve it around 60 degrees in Burgundy stem before watching the bottle disappear in record time. This is one of the most extraordinary deals I’ve come across, and without a doubt the finest $25-and-under Syrahs I’ve tasted in years. Load up and enjoy.
