This 2020 Roll Ranch Syrah is a big and lusciously fruity Syrah, a product of the hot and sunny vintage. The terrific thing about this bottling is the way it melds very ripe fruit with layered aromatics and piercing freshness. The nose is heady with fruity scents of berry pie, black cherries and framboise. There’s also that particular woodsy-spicy base note from thoroughly lignified stems, while violet liqueur and mint bring lift out of the glass. The palate is similar—a bombast of dark stone fruits and berries, round for a moment, but too driven to stay there. Halfway through it reveals its mineral spine and more of that warm stemmy spice, then it finishes with trebly raspberry and earthy cocoa.
Blend: 98% Syrah, 2% Viognier