Zaca Mesa
2009 Santa Ynez Valley Black Bear Block Syrah
Syrah •Estate Vineyard
California: Santa Ynez Valley
Mission Briefing
Bear in mind
Today’s Zaca Mesa 2009 Santa Ynez Valley Black Bear Block Syrah is a fantastic, dare we say amazing, Syrah that we can’t recommend highly enough.
When our tasting panel, led by our own Agent Red, tasted this wonder of a wine, it was unanimously decided that we would buy up every remaining case. Unfortunately, the wine will sell out. Please be sure to place your order for this darkly complex, aromatically enticing and exceedingly delicious wonder of a wine - before we sell out!
Tasting Profile
| Look: | At its heart, a nearly perfectly opaque, almost midnight garnet, transitioning into a beautiful red ruby at the very edge of the glass. |
|---|---|
| Smell: | Absolutely beautiful and aromatic on the nose, with smoky, stewed blackberry and cassis mingling with cedarwood, mocha, sage, and black pepper spice. |
| Taste: | Rich and refined, with concentrated notes of reduced blackberry, sweet plum, and black cherry laid overtop licorice, sweet tobacco leaf, espresso bean, dark chocolate, dried sage, and a subtle minerality. |
| Finish: | Soft and silky, with both power and balance, this is fantastic wine with beautiful lingering finish. At the very end, just a hint of a lovely graphite minerality. |
| Pairing: | Greek spiced lamb kebabs, seasoned with rosemary, thyme, and garlic, served alonside grilled vegetables. |
What the Winery Says
Zaca Mesa Winery was the first to plant Syrah in Santa Barbara County in 1978. Today we farm 100 acres of Syrah on our estate comprising 9 different clones. The diversity of vine age and clones provides our Syrah’s with complexity and depth. Even with 30 years of experience with Syrah on our land, we continue to learn and improve our practices to make better wine.
Our 2009 Syrah displays deep blackberry, cassis, smoked meat, pepper and our signature sage spice. The silky finish lingers from the ripe tannins with a touch of smoky oak.
96 Point Review - Wine Enthusiast If the first duty of a wine is to be delicious, this tiny production bottling succeeds beyond all measure. The Black Bear Block is almost always Zaca Mesa’s best Syrah among its many releases, and so it is again in 2009. Take one sip and you’re dazzled by the refined tannins, dryness and complexity of flavors: blackberry, cassis, plum sauce, mocha, bacon, smoky oak, white pepper, chamomile tea and licorice. What’s harder to express is the sheer pleasure of the mouthfeel. This is an exciting Syrah, and may just be at the beginning of a long journey. Drink now and for many years as it slowly changes.
92 Point Review - Wine Spectator Delivers a pure, rich, spicy mix of peppery wild berry, cedar, dried herb and underbrush flavors, firming nicely on the long, full finish. Drink now through 2022.
- Winemaker
- Eric Mohseni
- Accolades
- 96 Points and Top 100 Wines of 2013 - Wine Enthusiast, 92 Points - Wine Spectator
- Appellation
- Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, California
- Vineyard
- Estate grown and bottled
- Fruit Composition
- 99% Syrah, 1% Viognier
- Cooperage
- 16 months in French oak
- ABV
- 14.5%
About the Winery
Our wines are made from sustainably farmed grapes that are 100 percent estate grown, produced and bottled. With over 40 years of grape growing experience in the Santa Ynez Valley, our winemaking and vineyard teams meticulously farm our vineyard to focus on terroir-driven wines. We began growing Rhône varieties in 1978 when we were the first to plant Syrah in Santa Barbara County. Since then, we have learned that grape varieties planted in the Rhône Valley of France are best suited to our estate.