2024 Holman Ranch, Syrah, Estate Grown, Carmel Valley AVA, Monterey County.
The beautifully crafted Northern Rhône inspired, but all California Syrah is a real gem, with a deep youthful purple/garnet hue in the glass and fine violet laced and spicy aromatics that shows off a full bodied palate of dark blue fruits, blueberry, damson plum and boysenberry, along with raw peppercorns, anise, a touch of smoky camphor and creme de cassis. This pure and opulent Syrah is vinous and generous in the mouth, but still has some rustic edgy elements, good acidity and long grained tannins, making for a seriously delicious example of this grape that will impress your most jaded of French wine lovers, it has enough cool climate character and whole cluster pop to seduce the old school Cornas and Saint-Joseph enthusiasts. Holman Ranch has thrived in the last few vintages, especially raising the game in 2023 and 2024 with the cooler years play a huge role in the jump up in quality, along with the influence of winemakers Greg and Chris Vita, a dynamic father and son team here at this tiny Carmel Valley ranch property. The Syrah, made from clones 470 and 174, was all sustainably grown, hand harvested and fermented with close to 30% whole cluster in open top tanks, where they kept the cap wet and macerated the must at cool temps for an extended period. The wine was then aged exclusively in larger 500L neutral French oak Puncheons, a total of 5 in this vintage, where it matured for close to 11 months. This limited offering joins the estate Pinots as my favorites in the collection here, but I also can tell you I was highly impressed by the Virgin Chardonnay, fermented and aged in concrete eggs, as well as the delicious and transparent Rosé of Pinot Noir, which is wonderfully dry.
The Holman Ranch is a historic old horse ranch in the Carmel Valley, about 13 miles from the cool Pacific Ocean and the Carmel Bay, where the day time heat and sun is contrasted by the cool breezes that race down the valley and cool foggy coastal marine layer that hangs over the vines at night. As noted most recently in my latest reviews of their Pinot Noir, the Holman Ranch Winery makes a very focused a range of wines, mainly Pinot Noirs, though including this very limited Estate Syrah, under the guidance of the Vitas, which demonstrate the unique characteristics of this hillside property in Carmel Valley, including its rocky soils and coastal climate. The root-stock(s) and the mix of California heritage and Dijon clones for the Pinots, and the combination of 470 and 174 clones for the Syrah, are carefully selected to make the most expressive and terroir distinct wines, with the Pinots seeing the full range of seven clones, including Calera, Pommard, 667, 777, 115 and Swan. The Holman Ranch employs organic and sustainable farming practices, avoiding the use of any pesticides or herbicides, to preserve the environment and nature of the site and encourage small yields to enhance richness and depth here. The Syrah is ripe, but still comes in at 14% natural alcohol, which makes it feel fresher and more elegant in style, plus it goes great with a wide range of food choices and cuisine options from grilled steak, BBQ, roast lamb and even famous Syrah dishes like Zuni chicken, to Korean spicy pork or hearty stews. This new lineup at Holman Ranch, was shown to me by my Sardinian winemaker friend Giuseppi Cossu, who does wine education there at the tasting room, and I highly recommend checking these wines out if you are in the area.
($65 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive