2016 Force Majeure Estate Syrah
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Tasting notes
Broad-shouldered, the 2016 Estate Syrah begins with black raspberry, blackberry and a tight dusty minerality with black spice on the nose. Full-bodied in the mouth, the wine is tight with a mineral edge that reveals a bold expression of Syrah with grippy tannins. It ends with spiced, dusty black plum and smoky oak notes on the long, grippy, lingering finish. While this wine is still young, it can be enjoyed with food now but is best left in the cellar for a few more years and will smoothly mature for another decade and a half. Only 500 cases were produced.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
The 2016 Syrah Estate checks in as 100% Syrah that saw a small amount of stems. It spent 18 months in 25% new French oak. Deeply colored, it displays a thrilling bouquet of smoked black fruits, violets, smoked meats, charcoal, and graphite. Deep, rich, incredibly fleshy and flamboyant, with perfect balance, it's a serious, world-class Syrah that will keep for 10-15 years.
(the pH of 3.8 pH is lower than that of the 2015; vinified in concrete and stainless steel with a percentage of whole clusters, then aged in larger-format French barrels, 25% of them new): Saturated bright medium ruby. More savory and herbal on the nose than the 2015 version, showing less gamey funk and more blueberry and menthol. Fruitier in the mid-palate than the '15, conveying good sappy depth to its dark berry and mocha flavors. This very fresh, well-delineated wine delivers noteworthy intensity without weight, and its rising finish features serious but fine-grained tannins that are surprisingly edge-free and approachable in the early going. Still, the wine's purity and its finishing note of iodiney minerality suggest that it will reward mid-term cellaring. In fact, I would not be a bit surprised if this wine shut down in the bottle soon.