Generous and intensely spicy in tone with solid blackberry gamy and black pepper credentials to its aromas this full-bodied tightly constructed wine comes with both depth and structure to spare. Its ripeness plays second fiddle to its fruit and its flavors despite their volume have yet to begin their inevitable unwinding into greater layering and accessibility. At every turn this exceptionally balanced effort sets strength upon strength and impresses that its only need is time in the bottle.

A classy Syrah that stands up to the single vineyard releases the 2009 DuMOL Syrah Russian River Valley exhibits copious amounts of pure crunchy black fruits (purity of fruit is a hallmark of this estate) bacon fat pepper and touches of coffee that lead to a medium to full-bodied balanced wine. It's very well balanced has loads of poise and class and should drink well for a decade or longer. - Jeb Dunnuck