2016 JOHN SEBASTIANO 50% SYRAH / 50% GRENACHE

Sta. Rita Hills
add to cart View The Vineyard Aging Recommendations ONESHEET

What an amazing aroma this wine possesses! It’s full of peppery spice and crushed raspberries and it’s alive and exciting. The flavors are as compelling, showing off a concentrated fruitiness balanced by peppery tartness and the most beguiling silky texture. The experiment began in 2011, and again the past couple of years, continues with this offering of 2016 Syrah 50% Grenache 50% from the new John Sebastiano Vineyard located on the eastern edge of the cool Santa Rita Hills appellation of Santa Barbara County. We use sulfites in our wines sparingly. It’s traditionally added to avoid having wine turn into vinegar and in small quantities sulfites seem to preserve perfume and freshness, while larger amounts make wines more brittle, hard and rubbery. We were intrigued by a delicious sulfite free wine that a former employee (Sashi Moorman) made, and thought it would be a fun challenge to try making one ourselves.

The experiment we began in 2011 continues with this offering of 2014 Syrah 50% Grenache 50% from the new John Sebastiano Vineyard located on the eastern edge of the cool Santa Rita Hills appellation of Santa Barbara County. Please see my notes (Click Here)

Blend: 50% Syrah & 50% Grenache | Alc: 13.5% | Vinification: Open top fermentation with 35% whole clusters | Barrel Aging: 10 Months in Neutral French Oak | Total Production: 264 Cases

Press Reviews

Antonio Galloni’s VINOUS

“The 2016 Syrah Grenache John Sebastiano (No SO2) is a rockstar wine from Ojai. The combination of Syrah and Grenache works wonders. Pliant, deep and resonant, the 2016 is full of character. The 2016 offers terrific persistence and impeccable overall balance. It is a wine of unusual class. I loved it.” 2020-2030  94 Points

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate

“The 2016 Syrah Grenache John Sebastiano Vineyard (No So2) offers up a rich, fruity nose of blackberry, plum preserve and Provençal herbs. On the palate, the wine is full-bodied, supple and juicy, with deliciously immediate fruit and a fine-grained, savory finish. Vinified without any added sulfites, this will offer delicious drinking in its youth. 2018-2021”- William Kelley 92 Points