Beginning with a fresh, ripe and juicy core of black plum, savory holiday ham and blackberry fresh from the bush, the 2016 Syrah Milbrandt Vineyard wafts with healthy fruit tones and a dusty black pepper note. Rich and inviting in the mouth, the wine is both ripe and tannic on the palate. It's a solid wine for the price and is structured to age just beyond its 10th birthday. Only 1,800 cases made for this value and quality-driven wine.

This wine is a blend of fruit from Northridge (54%) and Clifton Hill vineyards. The aromas offer notes of wet gravel, dried and fresh stem, orange rind, blackberry and dark plum. Sweet, somewhat linear raspberry and darker fruit flavors follow that bring a sense of purity and intent, with slightly tacky-seeming tannins backing it all up.