South Coast Winery

Get the big saddle out for this one: the one made for a stallion in the 18 hands plus category. From its deep, rich color to its earthy, gamey, barnyardy nose, you know this is going to be enormous. There’s even a hint of iron filings on the nose, as well as plenty of leather and lavender. Yee-haw! This wine practically stampedes across your palate. It’s filled with wonderful plum, cocoa, licorice, dried cherries, fat raisins and even a hint of dates. Combine the fruit component with a healthy dosage of deli meats, including baked ham, Thuringer and Kalmata olives, and throw in a good grind of black pepper. and you have one rich, multi-layered Syrah, just oozing varietal character. For those who like ‘em as big as they come, and for those who prefer a Syrah that’s got game rather than Aussie purple-punch fruitiness, this horse will take you for a ride you’ll enjoy.

This wine comes from the Lone Boulder Ridge area of the Wild Horse Peak Vineyard, reputedly where horse thieves and renegades once sough refuge. This part of the vineyard, filled with red soils and granite outcroppings, is at the highest point of the peak, at 2400 feet in the San Gabriel Mountains above Temecula. It is definitely not getting a lot of water. The terrain is steep, the climate harsh, and the yields insanely low. The flavors in this wine are so concentrated, so intense, that it is like drinking liquid darkness. This is indeed, the soul of a very dark horse.

Reviewed July 18, 2007 by Laura Ness.