2017 PharaohMoans Syrah Westside Paso Robles

JD97 All Syrah brought up in 60% new barrels, the 2017 Syrah Westside offers a thrilling bouquet of black (and some blue) fruits, bay leaf, bacon fat, chocolate, and spring flowers. With a Côte-Rôtie like meatiness and gamey, floral character, medium to full body, no hard edges, and fine tannins, it’s another remarkable effort from this estate. Drink it any time over the coming decade or more.

Limited production Rhone-style Syrah and Grenache from hillside vineyards in Paso Robles, California’s fastest growing wine region. With distinct micro-climates, diverse soils and a long growing season, Paso Robles is a unique wine region blessed with optimal growing conditions for producing ultra premium Syrah wines.

John Schwartz, owner of Amuse Bouche Winery in Napa Valley, and Chef Bryan Ogden, recipient of the James Beard Award for best restaurant 2003, have teamed up with winemaker Guillaume Fabre to produce only 350 cases of our Rhone-style wine, which is aging gracefully in a combination of Tarransaud, Saury and L’Ermite French oak. Their vineyards are located in the West Paso Robles appellation whose sloping hills are broadly exposed to the Pacific ocean climatic influences. The objective was to create the best Syrah in California under the Paso Robles appellation. 

Winemaker is Guillaume Fabre, a French native who moved to Paso Robles in California in 2006 to work at L’Aventure Winery after spending years working on his family’s property back home. Working closely with Michel Rolland Consulting, he developed the skills and knowledge that his constant quest for highest quality demand.

The vineyards and winery are on the westside of Paso Robles near the Templeton Gap, a breach in the coastal mountain range where the cooling ocean breezes temper the hot summer days of northern San Luis Obispo County, and the resultant temperature swing from day to night can be as much as 40 degrees. The soils of this area are also well suited for vineyards, with limestone, clay, and rock-shell creating a lean enviro