2016 Torrin Akasha

The first vintage released under the Central Coast AVA, as it includes fruit from Bien Nacido, Hawks Hill, and Shadow Canyon, the 2016 Syrah Akasha is as always 100% Syrah that spent 22 months in 60% new French oak. This saturated purple-hued beauty boasts a phenomenal bouquet of black and blue fruits, scorched earth, ground pepper, bouquet garni, lavender, and crushed rocks. Rich, full-bodied, incredibly powerful and concentrated on the palate, yet also perfectly balanced, it has plenty of gamey, marine-like nuances as well as classic Syrah peppery meatiness. It's another magical Syrah from Hawley that will probably merit a triple-digit score in 3-4 years and keep for over a decade. The 2016 vintage for Paso Robles was a beauty and Torrin’s Scott Hawley has certainly made the most of it. The 2016s are some of the finest wines in the vintage and you can’t go wrong with any of them. The 2017s also showed beautifully, and while I think they’re a small step back over the 2016s, they’re unquestionably brilliant wines in the making. The Hawleys also recently completed construction on a new winery off Peachy Canyon road, with their 2017s being the first vintage made at the new facility. In addition to the Torrin releases, the Hawleys also release a great lineup of Chardonnay and Pinot Noirs under their Lagom label, which I’ve also included here.