The Data

Country   USA

Appellation   Adelaida District

Varietal   Syrah

Retail Price   $55

ABV   13.5%

Score   4.5 Stars/96 points

In the Glass

Brilliant, medium ruby color.

The aromatics are intense, offering scents of blackberry, graphite, and dried herbs with supporting notes of forest floor, black pepper, and black tea.

The palate confirms the nose delivering a red and black fruits-driven core with flavors of black plum, blueberry, cigar box, peppermint, mineral, and iron. The finish is long and lingering with chewy tannins.

Full-bodied and perfectly balanced with a meaty texture.

Cool Factor

Tablas Creek is a unique winery in California seamlessly marrying Old World and New World winemaking and setting the standard for Rhône varietals in California — among them a lovely varietal, Syrah. What could be cooler?

Value Grade

At $55 a bottle it's not a bargain hunter's Rhône Ranger of choice but this is one of the most delicious varietal Syrah wines that we have experienced. Just 630 cases made.

Analysis

The 2022 Tablas Creek Vineyard Syrah is Tablas Creek’s fifteenth varietal bottling of the famous Rhone varietal, but it’s our first official review of their Syrah. Tablas Creek uses most of its Syrah in its iconic blends, but luckily, it reserves a bit for this single varietal bottling. The 2022 vintage was their third year of drought, but fortunately, the rain that did fall came early in the season. The cluster counts were down about 15%, and the overall yields for the vintage were quite low, resulting in concentrated and intense fruit that is evident in the glass. The grapes for this wine were grown in Tablas Creek's certified organic and biodynamic estate vineyard. This wine is crafted from various lots of Syrah. Some are developed in new oak, while others are crafted in more neutral oak. The wines are blended together in one 1200-gallon foudre for nearly a year before bottling in April 2024.

How to Enjoy

Serve at cellar temperature, ideally decanted to allow the aromatics and flavors to fully bloom. This is a wine for aging so if you can be patient you will be rewarded. Pair with braised lamb, grilled ribeyes, or Merguez sausage.