2017 Joyce Wine Company, Syrah, Gabilan, Monterey County -photo grapelive

2017 Joyce Wine Company, Syrah, Gabilan, Monterey County.
While making a name for himself in recent years for his outstanding Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, Russell Joyce is one of Monterey’s young guns changing the perception and bringing national attention to the region, and his under the radar Syrah bottlings are absolutely brilliant wines, especially his new deeply colored and powerfully packed Gabilan release. This was was first experience with this version after having many of Joyce’s Tondre Grapefield Santa Lucia Highlands Syrahs in recent years, and I love them as you can see by following my reviews, but this Gabilan is something special indeed and its stunning performance, even in its youth is riveting and highlights this unique terroir, those that have had the glorious wines of Bradley Brown of Big Basin, who has sourced fruit from here for years, will recognize it clearly in this wine. The Gabilan Range above the Salinas Valley, across the Valley from the hIghlands, is closer in soils to Chalone and its elevation allows a refreshing of the vines with a dramatic day to night temperature change and cooling breezes from the Pacific Ocean, there is wonderful concentration and ripe tannin, but with tons of energy and balance too, which is from the Diatomaceous earth here. These vines set on crumbly/chalky fossilized rock, with a thin layer of dirt with limestone, sand and granite are well drained, but hold water deep down making the vines go deep and helping them make grapes of intense flavor, all which Joyce captured to near perfection on the 2017 Gabilan Syrah. Joyce’s Syrah(s) are wines to discover, they are not far off those of the mentioned Big Basin, Pax and Drew, along with those of Roar, Morgan and Pisoni some of my absolute favorite wines, plus they are priced right, they are great values.

Russell, and team at Joyce, have been fine tuning their wine and approach in recent years have produced an amazing set of offerings in 2017 and 2018, with this one really standing out, along with his sublime set of dry white wines made from Albarino, Chenin Blanc,Chardonnay and Riesling, and of course his stellar lineup of Pinots. Now using most neutral, well seasoned French barriques and indigenous yeasts, Joyce has found a sweet spot, which Russell freely admits was inspired by his experience with wines he admired from other winemakers, including the wines from Greg Brewer and Chad Melville, to name a few. With this slightly exotic Gabilan Syrah Joyce employed about 40% whole cluster, which really makes this wine pop on the palate with a spicy intensity and tension that gives this wine, made from Alban clone, originally source from Cote-Rotie, a Northern Rhone degree of character, while having pure California density. There’s exceptional definition, dimension of fruit and a firm structure holding things together here, it flows with blackberry coulis, boysenberry, tree picked black plum, blueberry preserves and punchy kirsch/cherry along with a crunchy mineral sense, cracked peppercorns, minty/basil (stems?), crushed violets, light cedary notes, anise and lingering creme de cassis. The tannins melt in the mouth with a warm silkiness and the subtle acidity allows a full bodied textural feel, this Gabilan is totally absorbing and should age well, its opaque purple/black and garnet hue thrills in the glass, making for complete experience, and one that can be enhanced with cuisine. Joyce is getting a lot of attention and it’s well deserved, the wines are very impressive and deliver and awesome quality to cost ratio, in particular the Syrah efforts like this one, don’t miss it!
($40 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive

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