Reviews

International Wine Review
Syrah Report, September 2006

“Purple garnet in color, this textbook California Syrah is fashioned with a combination of pure lush blackberry fruit with smoky, meaty, and bacon fat highlights and copious high quality oak that persist through to the finish. The wine also reveals fine balance, ripe tannins, and good grip on the finish."

Restaurant Wine
Issue #112 - May / June 2006

“Fleshy, full bodied, and quite toasty in style; this is a moderately rich Syrah, tasting of blackberry, toasted oak, pepper, and cedar, with a lightly tannic finish. 5%CS. 750 cases [Anticipated peak drinkability 2007-2009]"

Connoisseur's Guide
July 2006

“Solidly extracted but not overly flamboyant vis-a-vis ripeness, oak or immediate fruit, this full-sized Syrah is a thick and weighty wine but not in the least soft or viscous. If its rather sturdy stance and obvious muscle commend it to time in the cellar, its persistent sense of finishing fruit and its integral tannins make three to five years of steady improvement an all but certain bet. "

Awards

Best of Class, Double Gold Medal
Sonoma County Harvest Fair
October 2006

At the premiere showcase of Sonoma County wines, Montemaggiore's 2003 Paolo's Vineyard Syrah received a double gold medal and was named Best of Class! For those unfamiliar with wine competition jargon, "Best of Class" translates into Best Syrah, whereas "Double Gold" means that all judges believed that this wine deserved a gold medal. In essense, Montemaggiore's Syrah was named best in Sonoma County!

Gold Medal
San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition
January 2006

The 2003 Syrah performed exceptionally well by winning a Gold Medal in the largest American wine competition, in which more than 3,300 wines were entered from throughout the United States.