$85 2018 LEDGE Bien Nacido Vineyard
Bien Nacido Estate
2018 Bien Nacido Vineyard, Block 11 Estrella Clone Syrah
100% Syrah
Santa Maria Valley, Santa Barbara County
95-97+pts. -Jeb Dunnuck
Dark, bright-rimmed purple. An assertively perfumed bouquet evokes fresh, mineral- and spice-driven black/blue fruits, candied violet, olive, smoked meat and incense. Stains the palate with powerful bitter cherry, blackberry, dark chocolate and floral pastille flavors that show wonderful definition and spicy back-end cut. Polished, well-knit tannins add shape to an extremely long, gently chewy finish that shows serious power and mineral drive.
A new cuvée from a Grand Cru site in the Santa Maria Valley, the 2018 Syrah Bien Nacido offers classic salty, marine-like nuances as well as tons of meaty black fruits, olive, peppered game, and violet aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, seamless, and brilliantly put together, it’s another magical 2018 in the making, Dunnuck
