ABOUT: Located at 750 feet above Dry Creek Valley towards the end of a curvy, single lane road sits the low yielding, biodynamic vineyards Montemaggiore. In the vineyard is Vince, and in the winery is his wife Lise, making the wine. They have a beautiful, well-drained hillside of vines, and when I say well-drained, I mean like Portugal, where the vines have to dig really deep into schist to get what they need. The results are beautiful, finely-tuned grapes. For them, Syrah is the grape to focus on, and I couldn't agree more; the wines are complex and full of character. TASTE: What's really great here is this is a California Syrah that is priced well and tremendously complex, with it's sights set squarely on Rhone Syrah. Loaded with all the classic black and blue fruit flavors and aromas, smoke, black pepper, etc, but also has herbs, herbs, and herbs...lots of thyme and rosemary. A medium body, higher than average acidity and herbs, and we have a winner. A great wine to drink now as well as hold onto for a few years - guaranteed good development for 20 years. PAIR:Cappelletti stuffed with ricotta and spinach, 3 bean chili with cornbread, grilled zucchini and corn, and nachos with black bean chili.
