2016 Carlisle Syrah Rosella's VIneyard
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The 2016 Syrah Rosella's Vineyard, from one of the gem terroirs in the Santa Lucia Highlands, offers a beautiful perfume of black raspberries, crushed flowers, vanilla bean, and spice. Ethereally textured, full-bodied, seamless, and layered, it has ripe, polished tannin and a great finish. It's one of the finest Syrahs to come from this vineyard. Winemakers Mike Officer and Jay Maddox have hit pay dirt with these latest 2016s and across the board, they’re the finest set of releases I’ve tasted from this estate. While Mike’s wines are always deeply colored and powerful, the more elegant, balanced style of the 2016 vintage is front and center and these 2016s just glide over the palate, with perfectly integrated fruit, tannin, and acidity. In addition, most are approachable today given their purity of fruit, yet they’re going to evolve beautifully on their balance. Hats off to the team here and readers should not miss these wines!
Critic scores
Average Score
Jeb Dunnuck
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
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Composed of 100% Syrah, the 2016 Syrah Rosella's Vineyard is very deep purple-black in color with a pronounced nose of crushed black cherries, blackberries and cassis with touches of licorice, bacon fat, tapenade and garrigue. Full-bodied, super concentrated and with a rock-solid frame of grainy tannins, it has a refreshing line and long, pepper-laced finish. 269 cases produced.
One of the many highlights in this range, the 2016 Syrah Rosella's Vineyard is the kind of wine that could be a game changer for the Santa Lucia Highlands. Lavender, black pepper, mint and blueberry flavors are bright and precise in this very pretty, deeply expressive Syrah. The 18% whole clusters add lovely aromatic nuance. In 2016, the Rosella's is dark and powerful, yet also retains striking energy, aromatic lift and detail. A deeply expressive wine, the 2016 is simply killer. That's all there is to it.