Samuel Louis Smith - Syrah Coastview Gabilan Mountains Monterey 2023
Jeb Dunnuck: 99 Points
The 2023 Syrah Coastview Vineyard is 100% whole cluster-fermented Syrah from a site deep in decomposed granite at high elevation. With only 600 bottles in existence, this is the best of the best from Coastview every year (and this cool-climate vintage gives it even more to love), with Smith using the rest to go into his Sandstone Terrace Syrah, which is equally tremendous. Structured with just a hint of fruit sweetness from the neutral oak, this is a remarkably memorable, lengthy, complex, and crazy good wine, explosive in feral, wild gamey characteristics in addition to bold complements of floral, savory, and even sanguine notes. Good luck not drinking it in one go, but it shows the aging potential to drink another 10-12 years.<!--more-->Smith calls himself a micro-négociant, working in Santa Cruz with a range of cool-climate sites within the Central Coast, most notably in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Monterey. Having spent eight years working for Morgan in the Santa Lucia Highlands, after stints with Margerum and Villard, he also oversees the farming at Thomasen’s Split Rail Vineyard in Corralitos, always in search of organically farmed mountainous terroir. He employs native yeast, does not fine or filter, and typically forgoes malolactic fermentation. - Virginie Boone
Price: $54.99
In Mixed Case: $46.74
Quantity Available: 1
