Today’s Daniel 2012 Santa Lucia Highlands Syrah is a delicious follow-up to the smash hit Daniel Pinot Noir that we featured last year. This wine, which is bold and beautiful, was made by Dan Fitzgerald, who perfected his winemaking skills at Williams Selyem Winery and Robert Sinskey Vineyards.

Dark and very fragrant on the nose, with stewed blackberry, plum, black cherry and smoky blueberry out front. These are followed by cured meats, cassis, sweet leather, dark toast, dark spice and pink peppercorn.

Bold, balanced flavors instantly coat the palate, with blackberry, black cherry, cassis, blueberry, wild strawberry, mixed spice, Santa Rosa plum, subtle smoked meat, cracked pepper and subtle baker’s chocolate.

The Daniel label represents a close collaboration between winemaker and grower. Each small production Daniel wine is artfully crafted to capture the nuanced character of the carefully selected vineyard sites. The wines exhibit intricate attention to detail, which shows in every sniff, sip and gulp that you’ll be inspired to take.

Don’t let this great wine pass you by…