Aerian, precise, another sign that the cooler vintages are often where La Chapelle shines, spiralling out these violet, crushed roses and peony aromatics. It's a little reserved at first, but makes it worth the wait. Red...

The darkest of the reds, the 2020 Dos Dedos de Frente is a ripe and powerful Syrah. It's showy, perfumed and heady, hedonistic and supple, with less oak than in previous years. It comes from grapes from a supplier working...

Dark and earthy in the glass, the 2022 Syrah En Chamberlin Vineyard smolders with a beguiling bouquet of undergrowth, wet stones, and black cherries. It's slightly backward today, with stony mineral tones and soothingly...

The famous McCrea Cuvee Orleans came from this vineyard, and the 2022 Syrah Motor City Kitty continues the site’s reputation for greatness, offering a ripe style and lots of wood, but showing something very special in its...

A blend from vineyards throughout the region, this is classical in its structure, concentrated in the low yields of 2019. The dry season and summer heat may be present in the wine’s potent tannins, serving to complete the...

A texturally beguiling red, with a chewy, creamy stream of dark chocolate, perfumed lavender, plum paste and warm spices framed by alder and camphor. Large in scale yet not heavy, with a supporting beam of iron, plus an...

(91-94 points) Tasting through several parcels/barrels, the 2020 Cote Rotie Terrasses looks to be a solid effort, marked by slightly vegetal notes up front and almost sherbet-like red fruit flavors. Medium to full-bodied...

A very refined and delicate Cote-Rotie with wonderful floral complexity. Graceful palate that feels almost weightless. Lovely mineral freshness carries the medium-bodied palate through to the very long, clean finish...

A well-composed red, tense and precise. Aromas of dark cherries, strawberries and baking spices. Medium-bodied with fine tannins and bright acidity. Vivid and vertical with plenty of energy. Crunchy and pulpy fruit with a...

Smoky and meaty, with intense wild herb character, this is classic Cornas, but with modern purity and precision. Giant concentration and brilliance on the very compact and still tightly wound, medium- to full-bodied...

(93-95 points) From an old-vine parcel south of Chavanay proper, the 2020 Saint Joseph les Grisieres (tasted from barrel) seems to have held onto more red-fruit character than the regular bottling. It's brighter and...

Just a small step back from the Les Bessards, the 2012 Hermitage Domaine des Tourettes is a stunning effort that exhibits blockbuster notes of toasted spice, leather, peppery herbs and sweet black and blue fruit. Seeing...

A supersaturated, deep, almost thick wine that coats the mouth with potent dark fruit flavors and wraps them in a full body and firm, gripping tannins that need time to resolve. It's syrah with a 3% boost of petite sirah...

Pure cassis, blue fruits, new leather, graphite, and hints of bouquet garni define the aromatics of the 2022 Cornas, and it hits the palate with medium to full-bodied richness, an ultra-fine, pure, seamless mouthfeel...

(97+ points) Based on 95% Syrah and 5% Viognier from the Rocks region of the Walla Walla Valley, the 2019 Syrah In The Rocks is another reductive, tight wine that will benefit from bottle age. Ripe blackberries, black...

A blend of 91% Syrah, 7% Mourvèdre, and 2% Viognier from a mix of sites, fermented with 40% whole clusters and aged 22 months in 65% new oak, the 2023 Andremily No.12 has remarkable purity and freshness as well as that...

The 2020 Syrah In The Rocks sees slightly more Viognier and is a co-fermented blend of 94% Syrah and 6% Viognier. Its ruby/plum color is followed by a more mineral-laced, masculine Syrah offering ample red and black...

Stacks of smoked bacon character and very ripe black fruit aromas on the nose. Very powerful and compact on the full-bodied palate. Massive tannin structure, but the tannins are so fine and so beautifully integrated...

Aromas of forest berries with some subtle cloves. Fresh thyme and sage. Full to medium body. Very fine tannins. Crushed stone and herbs. Hints of spicy dark chocolate. Drink or hold.

Remember that old Heinz Ketchup “anticipation” ad from the 1970s? The palate of this 2013 Grange does just that. It makes you wait with so much delicious promise being drip fed into the mouth at first—and then it bursts...

The 2019 Syrah Estate has 2% Viognier co-fermented and underwent 18% whole-cluster fermentation. Dark currants, coffee grounds and violets all fill the nose, along with herbal undertones. The densely concentrated palate...

Generous on the nose, the wine presents juicy aromas of black plum, blackberry and crème de menthe, with a layer of violets and fine granite minerality. The palate is equally luscious and presents a silky texture with...

The 2024 Las Pizarras Syrah is a stunning wine; it is visceral and vivid, with a floral, fruit-driven profile rather than a savory one, capturing the minimalist, stark purity that this vintage, at least at this early...

Based on 96% Syrah and 2% each of Roussanne and Viognier, the 2021 Syrah York Mountain has a juicy, medium to full-bodied, ripe, yet still somehow cool climate-like personality in its red, blue and black fruits as well as...

Lastly, the 2020 Syrah The Contender checks in as an interesting mix of 98% Syrah and 2% Marsanne. This full-bodied, deep, layered rock star of a Syrah has smoky, meaty, game aromatics, a dense, textured mid-palate...

The 2022 Syrah The Initiation is compelling on the nose, lifting with notes of dark wet stones as well as blackberries, pepper oils, lavender, and black olives, all so well intertwined. Medium to full-bodied on the...

Shimmering ruby. Fresh black and blue fruits, candied flowers and baking spices on the expressive nose. Appealingly sweet and seamless in the mouth, offering juicy blueberry, cherry and spicecake flavors that firm up...

Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2013 Amon Ra has youthfully toned-down notes of blackcurrants, blackberry preserves, plums and cracked pepper with nuances of licorice, dark chocolate, cedar and black earth.The palate...