Samuel Louis Smith 'Sandstone Terrace' Syrah Santa Cruz Mountains 2023

TASTING NOTES: Aromatic, lean, and lifted, with crushed wild black raspberry, elderberry, rose petal, tar, and cracked black pepper

DRINK WITH: Chimichurri flank steak, lamb burgers, grilled mushroom and veggie flatbread 

PRODUCER INFO: "Unless you’re super into making mountain wine, it makes zero sense." Or does it? Winemaker Samuel Louis Smith might have spoken those words in an interview last year, but based on the absolutely stunning wines he’s making we’d strongly argue to the contrary! The newly established Santa Cruz Mountain AVA is exciting, challenging terrain - at 2,300 ft, a place of windy ridgelines, granitic mountain vineyards, crisp mountain air, and long, slow growing seasons, and Sam’s wines wholeheartedly embrace the dramatic character of these sites. Native Californian Sam originally went to Bordeaux to study French, but quickly caught the winemaking bug. Upon returning home, he worked with Doug Margerum in Santa Barbara, then spent a seminal season with François Villard in the Northern Rhône, where he cemented his personal winemaking style and focus on freshness, precision, and verve - a style that sets him apart in a state known more for opulent, powerful wines. Sam works out of a shared garage in Salinas, and sources his fruit from a few organically farmed, high-elevation sites along California’s coastal mountains, and ferments with pied de cuve (small batches of native yeast cultures from each vineyard), with no fining and little to no filtration. The 2023 vintage was among the most challenging in decades: record-breaking rainfall and the coldest, slowest growing season in recent memory pushed harvest into November. In spite of all this, the 2023s are proving to be some of Sam’s finest wines to date, bursting with terroir-driven energy, clarity, and nuance!