Vintage
2011
Vineyard Designation
Paolo’s Vineyard
Syrah
Being our flagship wine, Paolo's Vineyard Syrah best communicates our grape growing and winemaking vision: balanced, rich flavors uniquely reflective of our estate mountainside vineyards. 2011 was a much cooler year than usual, thus the wine reflects more subtlety, lower alcohol and smooth body. The flavors are quintessentially syrah with brambly berries, grilled bacon, and spices.
"Deliciously reflective of a cooler vintage and the nuances the variety can display in the right hands." says Virginie Boone of Wine Enthusiast, as she awarded the wine 93 points and Editor's Choice (which means the wine is a good value at the price, and offers unique qualities that merit special attention).
- Vineyard
- Tasting Notes
- Recipes
- Accolades
- Vintages
Vineyard Profile: Estate Vineyard
Located on a mountainside high above Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma County, the rocky soils of Montemaggiore's estate vineyards produce intensely flavored grapes at naturally low yields. Using biodynamic practices and organic materials, we farm Paolo's Vineyard without chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
2011 Vintage
Although California's north coast has an ideal climate for growing grapes, the weather in 2011 created many challenges. Spring was wet and cold, including rain during the crucial pollination phase, followed by a cool summer with temperatures 10-15°F below normal. With a smaller crop, ripening sped up with warmer temperatures in August and September, but then the rain arrived early in October. At Montemaggiore, we harvested in smaller lots than usual, offering the vines every opportunity for ripeness before significant rain damage set in.
Winemaker's Goal
The Paolo's Vineyard Syrah is Montemaggiore's flagship wine, thus the ultimate expression of our estate mountainside vineyards. Typically 100% Syrah, this wine has rich and intense flavors balancing black fruit with spicy, earthy, savory notes.
Food Pairings
Being medium to full-bodied, Montemaggiore Syrah goes well with foods that are likewise. The earthy flavors in mushrooms, the smokey flavors in grilled meats, the slightly gamey flavors in lamb echo the aromas in the Paolo's Vineyard Syrah.
This wine pairs well with marinated tri-tip, lamb kebabs, pasta bolognese, grilled portobellos, pork tenderloin, bacon rösti, and sheep's milk cheeses.
Consider our recipes for wild mushroom and brie crostini, salsa di parmigiano, mushroom risotto with truffle oil, chipotle sweet potato gratin, salmon grilled on a cedar plank, bucatini amatriciana, and lamb burgers.
Accolades
Wine Enthusiast
December 2015
A rustic, French countryside kind of a wine, this is deliciously reflective of a cooler vintage and the nuances the variety can display in the right hands. Meat and a shaker’s worth of pepper make for a savory, sauvage taste experience that’s soft in texture and exotic, with a powerful bite of tannin on the finish. Editors’ Choice