Spicy brilliance, a peppery affair after soggy hardwood sawdust and a ridiculously deep dark grimy nose of ground-rock stew, blackberry aspic and desert shrubbery. Shoe-leather and too-late tangerine create a magical co-dependence between alcohol, mold, petrichor, briar and fruit.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t an incredibly complicated Syrah–nor is it expensive–it just is ripe and textured and well-made.
I discovered this label at the Duncan’s Mills grocery a few years ago and have been in love ever since. No swashbuckling design-firm label… no hipster Sonoma Coast price-tag… no zip-lining or hot-air-ballooning at the tasting room. Just good shit under the cork. Because that’s ALL THAT MATTERS. Remember that as you are bombarded with wine-lifestyle fantasy all day long every day on social media. WHAT’S UNDER THE CORK IS ALL THAT MATTERS.
Dry dusty goodness on entry, with girl-next-door fruit sweetly and innocently back-grounding all the structure. And you KNOW that’s the sexiest kind. Searing acidity pricks the middle before perfect bikini baby-fat nods to the completely manageable tannins the time is come to close this deal.
Smokey and ripe to the last memory, it strikes an interesting balance between euro tart and California cool. And funk completely takes a distant chair.
I can not recommend these wines enough. It is a label I will ever be a fan of. One of those chances you take in your wine-life you are forever thankful for.
2014 WILD HOG VINEYARDS Syrah Fort Ross-Seaview Sonoma Coast 14.0
Stephen McConnell 