“an outrageous set of new releases…off the charts” says Vinous.

It’s Syrah Saturday!

Cause the Robb Report is right. “California’s take on the Northern Rhône’s noble red deserves its own devoted fan base.” Therefore, we’ve locked down some insane Syrah deals and decided to spotlight them on Saturdays until we can’t. There are a lot of good buys out there for Syrah these days, but VERY FEW outstanding ones, as in…

“This is one of the most impressive Rhône Ranger winemaking estates in California.” per Robert Parker.

Right, Bob. This is also most impressively priced as our first-ever 70% OFF offer on a 97 pointer.

I live in Bennett Valley, and drive on Bennett Valley Road daily, so being partial here is challenging.

But without my personal bias, let Vinous be your source of unbiased truth: before you is an “utterly profound expression of Bennett Valley” beyond reasonable doubt. Yeah, it’s criminally good wine.

Bedrock, Carlisle, Carte Blanche, Morlet, Tynan, and TOR are some of the big names that source from the Judge Vineyard.

Jonathan Cristaldi of Decanter upon tasting the 2021 vintage called the Judge “a wine I can’t get out of my mind – it’s one of the most complex Syrahs from California I have ever tasted.”

How about this 2018? It too is profound. With the benefit of sometime in the winery cellar, it drinks like your wildest Syrah dreams. Like red, blue, and black fruits? Check. Care for those telltale black olives and fresh cracked Tellicherry pepper with a little game and earth to complement? Savory nuances all over it, with a finish that wraps it all up jam-packed like a fat carne asada super burrito about to drip through its tortilla. Food-wise, though, it’s ready for the summer truffle games like a triathlon winner. Trippy stuff!

With multiple 100-pointers under their belt, Donelan has long been with the cult CA cognoscenti. Seeing an exclusive library release from them is a shocker, especially at this price.

We say LOAD UP before it’s too late, but we’ll let you, the jury, be the judge of that.

97 Points – Vinous “The Donelan family and winemaker David Milner presented an outrageous set of new releases this year. The 2018 Rhône wines, in particular, are off the charts and among the very finest I have tasted here. Readers will find utterly profound expressions of Bennett Valley in the Cardiac Hill and Judge Syrahs. The house style is centered on picking early for freshness, a good deal of whole clusters for the reds and modest new oak influence. Readers won’t want to miss these wines. The 2018 Syrah Judge Vineyard is packed with blue/purplish fruit, incense, tobacco, crushed rocks, graphite, cured meats and black pepper. Bold and imposing, the Judge is quite virile in bearing, with tremendous presence and exceptional balance. All the elements come together so beautifully. There is so much character here. Drink 2025-2036.”

94 Points – Jeb Dunnuck “I’ve been reviewing the wines from the Donelan family for over a decade now, and they continue to fashion world-class, cool-climate examples of Rhône varieties, particularly Syrah. Joe Donelan came to the wine world from the perspective of a sommelier, where he had worked at Toppers on Nantucket in the 1980s. This year marks his 23rd vintage, with his two sons, Tripp and Cushing, overseeing sales and marketing, respectively. David Milner has been the head winemaker since 2017 after previously working at Groth and Eisele Vineyard. Having worked with the Obsidian Vineyard in Knights Valley since 2001, Donelan was able to purchase the site in 2015. The style of the estate certainly does not shy away from ripeness, though they are wines with finesse and elegance. I am especially a fan of the wines they are producing in the cooler Bennett Valley. Named as a tribute to the farmer Joe Judge, the 2018 Syrah Judge Vineyard moves into black and blue fruit, with blackberry liqueur, candied lavender, and black pepper. The palate is full and long, with ripe plum, turned soil, and tea leaf. It has a lot of elegance and youthful appeal now, but it will improve with a year or two in bottle and drink well 2024-2032.”