Bright clear ruby with a milky edge. Effusive oak and flabbiness oozes from every pore. Crazy candy and grenadine in the nose with no redeeming edge of terrior or briar, nothing but obese fruit and cloying stillness. Alcohol and dessert, banana, fish-dock and blight and the density of all things woody and… really… nothing… else.

I always key into an esteemed Pinot producer’s Syrah offerings. What can possibly go wrong? Here: everything.

In the mouth, more concentration of touristy fruit play on the fondest tasting-room bridesmaid-party ideals of big wine. Is this Paso Robles? Is this Ballard Canyon? Who knows–who cares. Fat egregiousness and the burn of alcohol overwhelm all. Butter and bullshit bitterness I suppose attempting to be relevant arises mid-palate, never coming to grasp with anything a serious wine-person would associate with a good representation of the variety. Over-wrought and ridiculous, I’m guessing this thing 14-8 and definitely aiming for the lowest-common-denominator. And it succeeds well. Greasy, buttery insistence at all things common is this bottle’s modus operandi, and it fits well alongside other offerings in the area from the ripest, most mainstream versions of Syrah. An abysmal wine, ranking up there with supermarket offerings one/quarter its price-point.

2015 PAUL LATO Syrah ‘Matinee’ Santa Barbara County 14.9

paullatowines.com