Today’s Bugay Vineyards 2004 Sonoma County Syrah is our winner for Top Library wine of 2018. This is an elegant, aged to perfection wine that still has years of life left in it!

This wine was made by Randall Watkins, who cut his teeth at big-name wineries like Buena Vista Winery and Hartford Family Winery before launching his eponymous label. The wines that he’s made for Bugay are some of his finest work.

The combination of Randall’s considerable skill set with the fruit perfection that hails from the Bugay vineyards is potent.

This wine is dark and full and very fragrant, with bold blackberry jam, licorice, black cherry, black currant, cured meats, dark fig, baker’s chocolate, spice, and black pepper.

It bursts onto the palate with flavors of black cherry, blackberry, dark plum, grilled fig, dried roast beef, violet, rich tobacco, black licorice, grilled mission fig, spice, and black pepper.

Perhaps The Wine Spies need to create a Winemaker Hall of Fame for really gifted winemakers because Randall Watkins now holds a special spot as one of our favorites. Randall is a veteran of winemaking and grape growing. The son of a Sonoma County grape grower, Randall has a special connection to the land where he grows and makes his wines. The wines he makes are a direct expression of the site where the wine is grown.

If you love really great Syrah, please take our advice on this and pick up a case. You will not be disappointed at all.