2009 Alban Syrah Lorraine Estate

Also totally brilliant, the 2009 Syrah Lorraine’s Vineyard possesses incredible purity and focus with its creme de cassis, black raspberry, vanilla, spice box and licorice-styled bouquet flowing to a full-bodied, seamless wine that has no hard edges, building tannin and an overall perfect blend of richness and elegance. It’s approachable now, but given the overall density, will also age effortlessly for 15+ years. Drink 2015-2024. Located at the very southern end of the Edna Valley and residing in its own little micro climate, Alban Vineyards, under the guidance of John Alban, is a reference point for Rhone varieties in the world today. Looking at the vintages reviewed here, both 2009 and 2010 are strong, with the 2009s possessing plenty of sweet fruit and relatively approachable profiles, and the 2010s showing slightly more structure, with lively acidity and big frames that will fill in once bottled. As is common with John’s Syrahs, these continue to gain in richness and depth as they mature in barrel (they see upwards of 4 years in barrel) and really don’t show all of their material and richness until 4-5 years after the vintage. In addition to his single vineyard Syrahs, I was blown away by his Mourvedre-dominated Forsythe and the Grenache-heavy Pandora (which comes from a single plot of chalky soils). Both are up near the pinnacle of what’s coming out of California today and should not be missed. Tel. (805) 546-0305; www.albanvineyards.com