Sol Rouge Vineyard and Winery

This is a good representative of Santa Barbara Syrah: classic Estrella River plant material, a meticulous farmer in David Thompson, and a good site in the Los Alamos hills above Santa Ynez Valley. The winery happens to be based in Lake County, but winemaker Bryan Kane is a Rhone ranger in good standing so he’s no stranger to Syrah and what it can do in the Central Coast. He and partner Jill Brothers have a sizeable hillside vineyard of their own in Lake County’s Red Hills appellation, so he also knows good fruit when he sees it. There are only 50 cases of this, so if you’re curious don’t hesitate.

The wine is enticing before you get it in your mouth, with aromas of ripe dark fruit, fresh figs and moist garden earth – all in harmony with inviting depth. The aromas reprise as flavors, along with some meaty, smoky accents. In your mouth this wine might make you think of France rather than California, because it’s more elegant and understated than most sun-drenched, robustly ripe domestic Syrahs. The balance of sweetness and acid is another plus, as is what the French call “garrigue” – the mildly spicy scent or taste of drought-resistant brush on hot dry hillsides. (Good Syrahs are supposed to have this in France and many good ones in California do, too.) The wine volatilizes well in the tasting chamber, bringing some sweet, dark baking spice into finish and letting it suffuse the aftertaste.

Reviewed June 11, 2008 by Thom Elkjer.