The color is inky purple yet the initial presence on the palate is one of harmony. Then it explodes with a sweet blackberry liqueur mixed with acacia flowers, espresso and barbecue sauce. More balanced than earlier vintages, it showcases the evolution in our winemaking style.

This is the first syrah that Red Car has produced that contains Grenache (3% from the Stolpman Vineyard.) The Syrah is from five other sites; Watch Hill (53%), Vivio (15%), Laetitia (12%), Shadow Canyon (9%) and Bien Nacido (7%), several of which are co-fermented.

93 Points, Wine Spectator (Jan./Feb. 07): "A riveting red. Dense, rich and complex, with deep, concentrated plum, currant, smoke and blackberry fruit..."

93 Points, Wine Advocate, Robert M. Parker (Iss. 172): "...full, textured, long, layered and seamless..."

91 Points, Connoisseurs' Guide (Nov. 07): "Its tender age notwithstanding, this very outgoing wine leads with a burst of ripe, well-extracted berry-like fruit in the nose and follows hard on with wide-open flavors of peppery spice, blackberries and integral oak. Not that it fails to show a bit of the tannins we expect from Syrah, but for all of its volume and ample girth, it shows no need for more than minimal aging and can be called on for service with spicy, savory meat dishes in the relatively  near term."

This wine was recently featured in The California Wine Club's wine of the month club.