Region: Russian River Valley, Sonoma, California

Varietal: 100% Syrah

Tasting notes: Deep garnet-purple colored, the 2014 Syrah Eddie's Patch has an earthy/meaty/gamey nose with underlying dark fruits of black currants, black plums and black cherries. The palate reveals an alluring earthy/savory character, complimenting the wonderfully pure black berry characters, with chewy tannins and lovely harmony, finishing long.

Producer: Founded in 1996, DuMOL is a latter-day pioneer in the Russian River Valley. Winemaker, Viticulturist and Partner, Andy Smith, farmed the region for nearly a decade before joining in 1999, and Associate Winemakers Julie Cooper and Jenna Davis, and Cellar Master Jaime Eufracio, have over 40 years combined experience at DuMOL. DuMOL is a “vineyard up” winery with a fully integrated approach to winegrowing and winemaking. DuMOL planted its high-density estate vineyards and has farmed many of California’s most renowned vineyards for more than two decades. 

Vineyard and Winemaking: 100% Greywacke Vineyard. The deep red, iron-rich, highly-eroded mountain soils bring a rarely-matched complexity to this wine, but one that typifies many of the world’s greatest red wine vineyards. We don’t fully understand the reason, but the high iron oxide content allows for very special red grapes, full of complex terroir signatures. The shallow, steep hillside soils, also high in silica/quartz, contribute admirable freshness to the wine, so that while it’s dense, deep and rich, it’s never clumsy or overbearing, and the moderate alcohol level (14.34%) is easily held in check. Aged 16 months in 40% new French oak.