The 2002 Syrah Broken Stones (90% Syrah and 10% Grenache) spent 15 months in French oak. It was never racked prior to being bottled unfined and unfiltered. Grown in rocky, limestone soils with a micro-climate influenced by the Templeton Gap, this riveting Syrah reveals incredible aromatics. Scents of kirsch liqueur intermixed with cassis, crushed rocks, and acacia flowers are followed by a wine of compelling intensity, a sumptuous texture, and a long, 60+ second finish. My notes read, “if this doesn’t thrill you ... drink beer!” A truly profound offering, it should drink well over the next decade or more. This is the best recent trilogy I’ve experienced since Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings! An emerging superstar, Justin Smith, who “focuses exclusively on Syrah from the windswept hills of west Paso Robles,” is undoubtedly a talented winemaker. These wines’ richness, texture, and compelling aromatics have more in common with his southern neighbor, Sine Qua Non, than just about anything produced in the Paso Robles area. These wines rock ... and that’s putting it mildly! Tel. (805) 227-4662

Sweet, refined and pure, a wine that feels delicate despite massive fruit and a considerable overlay of oak. Cherry, smoke, oriental spice and hung meat flavors are wrapped in smooth, polished tannins. The finish is clean and long.——S.H.(12/1/2004)—— 91