2013 Workman Ayer, De Facto Red, Central Coast.
Michel Ayer’s Workman Ayer “de Facto” Red Rhone style blend is a ripe and decedent wine with a deep color and shaded with smoky/sweet French oak that comes across serious, but flirty/sexy on the palate, it is enjoyable and full bodied like the wines of Guigal and Jean-Luc Colombo, very late 90’s early 2000’s. Ayer’s sourced this 80% Syrah, 10% Grenache and 10% Mourvedre from three main sites in the Santa Barbara area, and the breakdown goes like this, 30% Los Alamos Syrah, 25% Ballard Canyon Syrah, 25% Santa Ynez Valley Syrah,10% Los Alamos Grenache and10% Los Alamos Mourvedre, there were a couple of different pick days as well then the wine was blended after fermentations, it was aged in 40% new oak for just under 2 years. Only 100 cases were bottled of the 2013 Workman Ayer, so it’s quite limited and is available through their website and a few wine stores and restaurants, it is very fairly priced considering the small production and quality in the bottle, it’s a sleek and modern artisan wine, rather big at 14.5%, but not over the top with a lot to admire, it’s hedonistic, rich/thick/chewy, spicy and structured. The nose is a mix of cassis liqueur, smoky/sweet wood and liquid violets, but with air the oak tames itself and more earthy/spicy and savory elements appear, the palate is full with black raspberry, boysenberry and blueberry pie filling along with mocha/bitter coco, fig sauce, anise, chalk dust and a hint peppery hot cinnamon, plus dried vanilla. This is a ripe/opulent and forward Syrah led blend with mostly supple tannins, but it does have some impressive muscle and just enough acidity to keeps this lively, this is a fun and easy to enjoy young wine, great with mushroom dishes, grilled meat street tacos, BBQ and or Turkish lamb, drink now.
($38 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive