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Wine Spectator Scores

JCCellars

Syrah Rockpile Haley Rockpile Vineyard 2009

93 points | $60 | 100 cases made | Red

Tight, firm, intense and concentrated, this is slow to unfold but does so with depth, focus and complexity, targeting mineral, dried berry, wild berry, blackberry, underbrush and cedar flavors, with ripe, chewy tannins. Drink now through 2022.—J.L.

 

Zinfandel Alexander Valley St. Peter’s Church Vineyard 2009

92 points | $45 | 370 cases made | Red

Distinctive and loaded with personality, with wild berry and white pepper aromas and complex, slightly rustic blackberry, smoky licorice and sage flavors that finish with briary tannins. Drink now through 2017.—T.F.

 

Zinfandel Paso Robles Dusi Vineyard 2009

92 points | $35 | 250 cases made | Red

A complete package, this is ripe and briary, but also complex and focused. Aromas of smoky sage and black cherry lead to lively flavors of blackberry and spicy anise that show a hint of caramel. Drink now through 2017.—T.F.

 

Misc. Stuff California 2009

94 points | $45 | 252 cases made | Red

Tight, firm and focused, with a riveting mix of pepper and spice, this offers great depth and complexity while remaining light on its feet, with an impressive finish, where the flavors gain a minerally edge. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2020.

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2007 Ventana Vineyards Syrah

“The Ventana Vineyards are located just south west of Salinas in Monterey County. These vineyards are unique in that the Syrah vines are planted on their own rootstock, not grafted. The sandy soil prevents the development of the phylloxera bug, a root louse that likes to feed on the susceptible roots of vinifera vines. We believe that allowing the Syrah to be on its own rootstock provides a more true expression of the variety and the vineyard.” – Jeff Cohn

Tasting Notes

Rustically earthy, with black cherry, roasted herbs and a rich minerality.  Rich, dark and savory, with lots of racy wild berry, anise, tea and hints of bay leaf and exotic spice.

Varietals: 100% Syrah
Appellation: Arroyo Seco
Alcohol: 15%
Production: 129 cases

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  90 points Connoisseurs' Guide - 2007 Ventana Vineyards Syrah - Arroyo Grande

Very much in the JC Cellars fold insofar as ripeness and richness are concerned, the Ventana bottling is a powerful, full-bodied Syrah whose generous blackberry fruit is infused with plenty of pepper and briary spice.  It sports sufficient substance to buffer its noticeable heat, and, while it is fairly tough and a long way from being refined, it has all of the pieces to grow for five to ten years.

JC CELLARS 2006 Ventana Vineyards Syrah  Arroyo Seco Score: 93 | $30

Firm, grapey wild berry and raspberry join pepper, spice, mineral and cedar in a full-bodied expression of Syrah, with hints of pepper, bay leaf, black licorice and mineral. Firms up nicely on the finish. Drink now through 2014. 321 cases made. –JL

Winemaker Jeff Cohn's various red wines are always appointed with extra measures of ripeness, fruity extract and rich oak, and, while this substantial Syrah bottling is very much a case in point, it exhibits exemplary balance and is never less than keenly varietal in scent and taste. Its temperate tannins lend structural spine without fighting against fruit, and its lengthy finish holds on to the very deep mix of ripe berries and peppery spice that marks this one a solid success.
This wine breaks away from the overripe/oaky model and finds greater amounts of spice, herbs, and smoke in its mix while also delivering an insistent line of fruit that never quits from front to back. Its slight turn to herbs in the nose is echoed in its finishing narrowness and in touches of dried bark and leaves. Far less of a bruiser, this one has interest aplenty on its side and, while some will find quibbles in its "green" notes, others will find refreshing complexity and a lighter hand.
This wine offers a heady mix of stewed beef and tomatoes, basil and bay leaf, along with sage and white peppers, which become the dominant flavor. Drink now through 2008.
From a more northern, cool climate site, this dense ruby/purple-colored wine, harvested on November 1st, emerges from sandy/loamy soils. Floral scents intermixed with aromas of black fruits, pepper, earth, and underbrush are followed by a sleek, medium-bodied, nicely concentrated mouthfeel, sweet tannin, and an attractive, long finish. Enjoy it over the next 5-6 years. 
Dark and plush, filling out the palate with rich plum, blackberry, chocolate and white peper, beef and leather notes that are intense, concentrated and long on the finish. Drink now through 2009.
Sweet oak perfumes overlie a wealth of juicy blackberry fruit in the ripe and lightly peppery nose of this full-scaled young Syrah, and that same fruit is the confident centerpiece of the wine's broad and very well filled flavors. Fairly fat and fleshy with certain palatal plumpness, it is relatively tame in tannins and finishes with a lengthy aftertaste of berries and very sweet oak. So rich as to tempt near term drinking, it will age by dint of balance rather than brawn and should only get better for a half dozen years.