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Third Place finisher in our 2023 Wine Of The Year blind taste off!

Sustainably farmed Grenache 44%, Syrah 42%, Mourvedre 14% from four vineyard sites in Los Olivos and the greater Santa Ynez Valley - Rolling Vines, Bernat, Coteaux de Clair, and TTT Roblar. The Syrah and Grenache are fermented partly with whole clusters, while the Mourvedre is 100% destemmed. Fermentation is with native yeasts in open-top oak tanks. The wine is matured for 14 months in neutral barrique and bottled without fining or filtration.

Mallea is a collaboration between viticulturist Erik Mallea (director of viticulture at Sanford & Benedict and a co-founder of Willett-Mallea Farming) and winemaker Justin Willett (of Tyler Winery and Lieu-Dit Winery). After working together in various capacities for over a decade, Erik and Justin have started this exciting new project to highlight Santa Barbara County’s potential with Rhône grape varieties. They are farming four small vineyard sites clustered around Los Olivos in the Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara.

Third place was a nice surprise because it is a brand new wine on the scene, Mallea GSM Santa Barbara County 2021. This is a traditional Rhone blend of Grenache, Syrah, and Mouvedre (GSM) but from Santa Barbara County California. The pedigree of the guys behind it is first-rate but what impressed us was the juice in the bottle! If you enjoy Cotes du Rhone or Southern French reds you are going to love Mallea. This is a wine of subtlety and not as flamboyant as our number two wine. Clearly, the wine is masterfully blended as each component adds complexity, and yet the wine is seamless on the palate. Fresh jovial fruit dances on the tongue with its lively acidity while pepper and Mediterranean spices come out in the finish. Mallea GSM provides a ton of pleasure for a very reasonable price.

The labels reference Erik Mallea’s Basque heritage, depicting 19th & 20th-century aspen tree carvings by Basque shepherds in the American West. Erik’s father, Joxe Mallea-Olaetxe, is a respected scholar of this cultural tradition.

93 points James Suckling
Peppery and floral nose with some dark cherries, graphite, peppermint and wild herbs. Juicy and fine-grained on the palate with silky, close-knit tannins. Pretty long and bright.

Organic

The review is on a previous vintage.
92 points Jeb Dunnuck
Moving to the reds, the 2020 Vacqueyras Les Hauts De La Ponche is 50% Grenache and 25% each of Syrah and Mourvèdre. It actually reminds me of a Pomerol with its red and blue fruits as well as bouquet garni, damp earth, and floral nuances. Medium to full-bodied on the palate, I love its balance, and it has silky tannins and remarkable purity of fruit. Drink bottles over the coming 7-8 years.

Winemaker's Notes:
Petite Sirah is known for its concentration and intensity, the 2015 vintage is no exception. Inky purple in the glass, this deeply colored wine resonates with juicy blueberries and hints of freshly turned earth. Succulent and savory notes of dark berries and roasted spices create a supple and mouth-filling texture. Aging in American oak for 12 months captures and concentrates the flavors, leading to a finish with chalky and chewy tannins laced with vanilla, toasted brown sugar and dark cocoa.
Pairs well with smoked lamb shoulder with rosemary, braised short ribs with blackberry barbecue sauce, and smoked Gouda cheese.

Organic / Biodynamic

90 points Jeb Dunnuck
Based on 70% Syrah and 30% Grenache, the 2020 Syrah La Touge has a pretty, juicy, up-front, and medium-bodied style as well as classic Minervois elegance. With complex notes of mulberries, new leather, peppery garrigue, and dried flowers, it's drinking nicely today yet should easily evolve for 4-6 years. It's a hidden little gem of a Syrah from the Languedoc

The 2021 vintage was The Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Best Buys of 2023 First Place Winner!
93 points
This is a very satisfying Syrah for a rather stunning price. Lush and generous aromas of baked berry, hot spice cake and a touch of crushed rock show on the nose. The palate is brooding in cassis, boysenberry pudding and baking spice flavors, framed by impressively deep tannins. Best Buy.

Deeply colored with vibrant purple and magenta hues. Varietal aromas of black cherry and fresh blueberry are accented by black tea, bergamot, and lilac. The juicy and spicy structure of this northern Rhone cultivar is lengthened and lifted by the inclusion of Grenache, Mourvedre, Roussanne, and Viognier. Try with spicy chicken fajitas or oven-baked baby back ribs. (Winery)

Organic

The previous vintage (2022) won our Wine Of The Year 2023 Blind Taste Off!

We had fifty wines as contenders for our Wine of the Year this year, but only one can come out on top. Domaine Vincent Paris wowed us with his Les Cotes Saint Joseph and it was the clear winner. The first thing you will notice is the elegant profile in the glass, this is clearly not Syrah from southern France. This Saint Joseph is a wine of subtlety, layered nuance, and not a fruit bomb you might experience from this varietal in other parts of the world. For example, the alcohol is only 12.5% which is so integrated that you don’t even notice it. As the wine lingered in our glasses the traditional notes of northern Rhone Syrah unveiled themselves, showcasing garrigue and a savory animal fat component. On the palate, the wine builds and builds displaying pretty blackberry and cherry fruit with some white pepper intertwined. The finish is stoney and a bit rustic which adds so much charm to this very drinkable Saint Joseph.

"I like to drink this wine young, with fruit and freshness, but it can also be kept for around 10 years." - Vincent Paris

We absolutely adored this wine and we believe you will too! Domaine Vincent Paris’ wines have adorned our shelves many times over the years and we are proud to promote his 2022 Les Cotes aint Joseph. Enjoy!

Organic. 100% Syrah from 10 and 20 year old vines in Granitic soils at 300m in elevation. Prunes to only four bunches of grapes per vine (the norm is between five and seven) which concentrates the vines' growing power and cuts down on the need for green harvests. Ferments at low temps, vinfied 2/3 in barrel and 1/3 in tank. Aged in oak barrels for up to 12 months. Only 580-650 cases produced annually.

Spending 18-24 glorious months aging in used bourbon barrels from legendary Pappy Van Winkle, old vine fruit shines through with aromas and flavors of blueberry liqueur, blackberry, black cherry and peppery spice. Then there is a graceful segue into wood smoke, brown sugar, vanilla, and sweet spice that frame all of that ripe and savory fruit very nicely. Super full bodied and full flavored, but smooth and silky on the palate, this is probably about as close as most of us will get to Pappy van Winkle. -PJ Wine

This deep and rich Hermitage, from a family run operation, displays smoked cherry and berry plus dark roasted coffee, iron and red meat on the nose.? On the palate the wine is exceptionally chewy, with cassis, orange rind, and chocolate notes backed by bacon, iron and smoke tones. Excellent acidity and density make this is well-structured Hermitage worthy of additional aging to fully reveal itself.? Decant for at least an hour to serve now. - PJ