Mulberry, blackberries, violets, and a savory dried pepper, graphite and crushed rock/dried soils characteristic all emerge from the 2013 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock. This wine is co-fermented with 6% Viognier and aged 21 months in 40% new French oak. Medium to full-bodied, nicely textured and balanced, it has notable tannin and a good finish. It will drink well through 2025.

Incorporating 2% Viognier, the 2012 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock is pretty and lively, with a lot of black raspberry, cassis, sappy herbs, cracked pepper, violets and mint. Medium to full-bodied, nicely concentrated and fresh, it has bright acidity, a silky, finesse-driven personality and a decade of longevity. It drops off slightly on the finish, but has lots to love.

Showing lots of cool climate white pepper, mulberry, sappy pine tree and underbrush, the 2011 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock is medium-bodied, vibrant and juicy on the palate. There's a sappy greenness here, but it works and this excels on its purity, prettiness and elegance. Drink it over the coming 7-8 years.

The 2010 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock (11% Grenache) is gorgeous. Spending 27 months in 83% new French oak, it has terrific crème de cassis, cracked pepper, olive and hints of game to go with a medium to full-bodied, concentrated, rich and layered profile on the palate. Its acidity is nicely integrated, it has superb mid-palate depth and solid underlying structure that emerges on the finish. Still youthful, it will evolve nicely through 2025.

Hints of blackberry, blueberry, violets and tar emerge from the glass in the 2009 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock. This is a relatively soft, juicy Syrah built more on fruit than aromatics or structure. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2019. I tasted a bevy of gorgeous wines with proprietor Bradley Brown this year. These new and upcoming releases are impeccable and strongly suggest Brown is one of the up and coming stars of the region. I can hardly wait to see how his wines develop in the future. Most of the 2010 Pinots were harvested during the first week of October, on the late side that year. The wines spent 16 months in French oak, between roughly 40-60% new. The 2009 Syrahs were picked during a broad window that started in early October and lasted much of the month. Brown gave his 2009 Syrahs about 27 months in French oak, from 50-86% new. I also tasted a number of wines from barrel, most of them 2010 Syrahs and Syrah-blends. Today, those wines are very promising, as the cold 2010 vintage seems to have brought out the maximum in varietal definition and nuance. Tel. (831) 621-8028