Syrah is my favorite varietal in Santa Barbara County, and I found another winner. It’s easy to find great wines that cost over $40 a bottle; but when you find a delicious wine at $21 that’s a home run.
Kenneth Crawford Syrah
This wine is a big meaty Syrah with plenty of fruit and a strong backbone. This deep ruby red wine is rather young, so decanting can help open the wine and reveal its complexities. No need for fancy decanters, just pour the wine into a water pitcher. The wine exhibits some typical Syrah flavors…dark berries counterbalanced with earthy spices and pepper. It is a big wine with some tannins that will help it age for many years; but the tannins are well integrated making it drinkable today. The rich fruit and spices are nicely balanced with a vibrant acidity making this wine robust yet very smooth. In other words, this wine rocks and I’m buying more!