Stephen & Walker, Fountaingrove District, Sonoma County (California) Syrah 2017

 This formidable Syrah offers very concentrated fruit that justifies its price, yet what is most impressive about it is that the concentration wasn’t purchased at the price of purity of fruit or gracefulness in the finished wine.  Neither over-ripe nor over-extracted nor over-oaked, this is a wonderful expression of Syrah that’s full of California sun.  I am confident that it will become much more complex if given time to develop tertiary notes from aging, but it is so delicious now that I’ve got my doubts that many bottles will survive long enough to prove me right.  A Platinum Award winner at the 2021 Critics Challenge International Wine and Spirits Competition.