2010 Alfaro Family Vineyards, Syrah “Ryan Spencer Vineyard” Estate, Santa Cruz Mountains.
Richard Alfaro’s cool climate Syrah wines are always a tasty treat with loads of ripe berry, mocha and red pepper spice and the 2010 Ryan Spencer shows those characteristics in a round giving wine, that while still very youthful and a bit shy in certain areas, delivers graceful flavors and has a nice soft framework. Look for this wine develop aromatics and more complexity over the next few years in bottle, but if you enjoy a more robust and chocolate-like textures pop this wine sooner. The toasty sweet/smoky wood needs a bit more time to fold into this pretty Syrah from Alfaro’s estate vines in the Santa Cruz Mountains near the hamlet of Corralitos, but overall things are looking good on this new release with raspberry, kirsch/liqueur, boysenberry and blueberry fruit, light mineral notes, pepper and cayenne spicy/savory notes and dark chocolate. The French wood aging has given super refined tannins and warm comfort and shows from nose to finish, though after air the wine’s inner core gains the edge and the fruit shines through and an earthy/lavender element emerges. This wine will attract a lot of new fans to Syrah, though sadly there is never much of this wine available, drink from 2014-2018.
($35 Est.) 90+ Points, grapelive