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Wine Recommendation
m2 wines
2004 Ridgetop Syrah, Canterbury Vineyard(Calaveras County)
Calaveras County joins El Dorado and Amador as part of the larger Sierra Foothills AVA. This remote, picturesque, and off the beaten path area in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada range is the source of many of the state’s great Zinfandels, Cal-Ital varietals, and more recently, monumental Syrahs.
The soil here is typically red clay and gravelly, and elevations range from 1500 to 2400 feet elevation. m2 owners/winemakers Layne Montgomery and Chris Matheny make this Syrah with fruit sourced from Ian and Elena Renner’s 4-acre Canterbury Vineyard, a sunny peninsula of land above the fog line at 2200 feet elevation.
Brilliant, inky black-purple with magenta highlights, this wine is unctuous with slow moving legs. It has pronounced, assertive aromas of blueberry, cassis, raspberry, and vanilla cream, with straw, hay, and resin indicating time well spent in barrel, and erotic, earthy, sauvage notes bringing to mind osso buco, braised venison, and all things gamey. On the palate it’s smooth, fat, and sweet with ripe fruit and lavish oak. It is silky and slightly grainy at the same time, and the finish is port-like. Enjoy this powerful wine with a cheese plate, or with cigars.
Reviewed January 14, 2007 by Catherine Fallis.
Other reviewed wines from m2 wines
The Wine
Winery: m2 wines |
The Reviewer
Catherine Fallis
Founder and President of Planet Grape LLC, a company committed to bringing the joy of wine, food, and good living into the lives of everyday people, Catherine is creator of the “grape goddess guides to good living,” a series of books, television presentations, seminars, and e-learning programs. The fifth woman in the world to become a Master Sommelier, grape goddess Catherine Fallis is still very much down-to-earth. |