2021 Haynes Vineyard, Forgeron, Syrah, Coombsville, Napa Valley, California, USA
Critics reviews
The 2021 Syrah Forgeron emerges from a block planted in 2000. Rich, deep and layered in the glass, the 2021 is so inviting. Here, too, the stems (100%) are impeccably balanced within the wine's frame. Readers will find a potent yet delicate Syrah with a good deal of floral and spice notes, but less in the way of savory/peppery impressions.
Drink 2024 - 2033
Antonio Galloni, Vinous.com (December 2023)
A bright and focused red with very fine tannins that give tension and energy. Blackberry, spice and some flint. Floral, too. Medium-bodied. Vivid. Drink or hold.
James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com (February 2023)
A solid, finesse-driven, seamless Syrah offering attractive violet florals, white pepper, bright red berry fruit, and meaty aromatics. Medium-bodied with the tension of a suspension bridge and built like one. Evocative layers of salty crushed stones and blood orange acidity are laced with a carbonic quality. The finish goes on for days, revealing a potpourri of dried red rose petals. It shows a playful side of cool-climate Napa Syrah, with 10 months elevage and 'Zero Percent New Oak', which is written as such on the label. 100% whole cluster. No sulphur until bottling. The Syrah vines in the Haynes Vineyard were planted in 1996 and 2000 and aged in 500-litre neutral oak barrels and 1,500-litre casks. Lawrence Wine Estates CEO Carlton McCoy pegged winemaker Nico Cueva (formerly of Kosta Browne) to run the show at Haynes, giving him a blank canvas to draw upon for this Burgundian-focused programme in the heart of the Coombsville AVA. Without a doubt, one to watch.
Drink 2023 - 2043
Jonathan Cristaldi, Decanter (February 2023)
About this WINE
Haynes Vineyard
The first Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines were planted at Haynes Vineyard in 1967—they are now the oldest vines of these varieties in the Napa Valley. This slice of Coombsville, the coolest of Napa’s subregions, has a plethora of different soil types.
With such varied soils, the Haynes team now produces a range of single-vineyard wines, including three Chardonnays, a Pinot Noir and a Syrah.
Lawrence Wine Estates is only the third owner in Haynes Vineyard's history. The first was Nathan Coombs, after whom Coombsville is named. Winemaker Nico Cueva has been here since 2020, having started his working life as an organic farmer. He considers himself a responsible caretaker of the land he works on and is keen to produce expressive and elegantly distinctive wines.
Napa Valley
North Coast's Napa Valley is California's most famous viticultural area (AVA), claiming some of the most expensive agricultural land in the world and producing wines of ‘cult’ status.
Its 16,000 ha of vines lie over a strip (40 miles long-5 miles wide) of diverse soils (clay, gravely, volcanic), with its northernmost end on the side of Mountain Helena and its foot in San Francisco Bay. The valley is framed by two mountains ranges Vaca (to the north) and Mayacamas (to the south), yet the main climatic influence is the cool wind and fog that is sucked in from San Pablo Bay during the afternoon, allowing grapes to ripen slowly and evenly.
The area enjoys a variety of unique microclimates, as temperatures can vary dramatically as much as 15 degrees, from the north to the south end of the valley. These differences have led to the creation of several sub-AVAs (14 in total) including:
Atlas Peak, Chiles Valley District, Diamond Mountain District, Howell Mountain, Los Carneros, Mt. Veeder, Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, Spring Mountain District, Stags Leap District, Yountville, Wild Horse Valley and Oak Knoll District. The Calistoga AVA is still pending approval.
Both the “Napa Valley” designation and the sub-AVA name must appear on the wine label simultaneously, with the exception of wines from the Carneros AVA, which is shared between the Napa Valley and the Sonoma County.
Cabernet Sauvignon is the undisputed king of Napa grapes, occupying over 45% of the vineyard acreage, followed by (predominantly) Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Riesling, Zinfandel, Merlot, Cab. Franc and to a lesser extent Petite Sirah, Sangiovese, Barbera, Dolcetto.
Recommended Producers
Frog's Leap, Dominus, David Ramey, Viader, Stag's Leap Cellars, Paras Vineyards, Heitz.
Syrah/Shiraz
A noble black grape variety grown particularly in the Northern Rhône where it produces the great red wines of Hermitage, Cote Rôtie and Cornas, and in Australia where it produces wines of startling depth and intensity. Reasonably low yields are a crucial factor for quality as is picking at optimum ripeness. Its heartland, Hermitage and Côte Rôtie, consists of 270 hectares of steeply terraced vineyards producing wines that brim with pepper, spices, tar and black treacle when young. After 5-10 years they become smooth and velvety with pronounced fruit characteristics of damsons, raspberries, blackcurrants and loganberries.
It is now grown extensively in the Southern Rhône where it is blended with Grenache and Mourvèdre to produce the great red wines of Châteauneuf du Pape and Gigondas amongst others. Its spiritual home in Australia is the Barossa Valley, where there are plantings dating as far back as 1860. Australian Shiraz tends to be sweeter than its Northern Rhône counterpart and the best examples are redolent of new leather, dark chocolate, liquorice, and prunes and display a blackcurrant lusciousness.
South African producers such as Eben Sadie are now producing world- class Shiraz wines that represent astonishing value for money.
When is a wine ready to drink?
We provide drinking windows for all our wines. Alongside the drinking windows there is a bottle icon and a maturity stage. Bear in mind that the best time to drink a wine does also depend on your taste.
Not ready
These wines are very young. Whilst they're likely to have lots of intense flavours, their acidity or tannins may make them feel austere. Although it isn't "wrong" to drink these wines now, you are likely to miss out on a lot of complexity by not waiting for them to mature.
Ready - youthful
These wines are likely to have plenty of fruit flavours still and, for red wines, the tannins may well be quite noticeable. For those who prefer younger, fruitier wines, or if serving alongside a robust meal, these will be very enjoyable. If you choose to hold onto these wines, the fruit flavours will evolve into more savoury complexity.
Ready - at best
These wines are likely to have a beautiful balance of fruit, spice and savoury flavours. The acidity and tannins will have softened somewhat, and the wines will show plenty of complexity. For many, this is seen as the ideal time to drink and enjoy these wines. If you choose to hold onto these wines, they will become more savoury but not necessarily more complex.
Ready - mature
These wines are likely to have plenty of complexity, but the fruit flavours will have been almost completely replaced by savoury and spice notes. These wines may have a beautiful texture at this stage of maturity. There is lots to enjoy when drinking wines at this stage. Most of these wines will hold in this window for a few years, though at the very end of this drinking window, wines start to lose complexity and decline.
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Description
When talking to Carlton, we discussed the Forgeron Syrah's great similarity to a Saint Joseph. This wine has great energy, a rich yet delicate floral and spice note, and a delicious, high-quality lengthy finish. It is incredibly expressive and undoubtedly the most exciting Syrah I’ve tasted from the US in years.
Cameron Gates, Account Manager, Berry Bros. & Rudd (September 2024)
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