A bold wine like this can hold up to richly flavored foods like stews and cassoulet or at casual gatherings with BBQ ribs, pizza, or burgers on the grill with family and friends.
Winemaking
Fermentation was conducted in a single open-top fermenter using only native yeast and no adjuncts. Aged for 14 months in French and American oak the wine was then bottled with a lighter filtration pad.
Varietals: 50% Syrah / 50% Zinfandel
Winemaker: David Georges. Ray Merlo
Aging: French/American Oak, 14 months
pH: 3.69
TA: 5.9 g/L
Alcohol Content: 14.2%
94 Points
Opens up with an aromatic burst of black cherry jam, wild huckleberry, and a hint of crushed espresso bean. On the palate, the fruit is lush and primary, but it's the secondary notes—toasted nutmeg, dark chocolate truffle, and the signature 'Dry Creek Dust'—that provide a long, savory finish.
95 Points
Aromas of wild berries, black fig and ripe dark fruits are intertwined with hints of fresh mountain herbs, mineral, leather, savory spices, and cigar box. On the palate, the rich fruit flavors of dark cherry, ripe plum, blackberry, red currants and cassis are layered with notes of wild sage, dark chocolate truffle, cinnamon, clove, and a kiss of oak.
96 Points
Aromas of blackberry, black cherry, huckleberry, floral violet and savory spice. The palate is full and layered, with robust, age-worthy tannins and gorgeous flavors of dark berries, mocha and chocolate-covered cherries mingling with hints of graphite, fig and fine leather. Smooth tannins, firm structure and silky texture coat the palate on route to a long, generous finish.