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Wine Recommendation
Miller Wine Works
2003 Syrah, Sage Canyon Vineyard(Napa Valley)
Gary Miller grew up in rural New York enjoying fresh, local farm produce and his mother’s home cooking. After studying engineering in college (and working in a wine shop) he went on to the CIA Hyde Park, became a professional chef, and worked at the Greenbriar, Spruce, and The Little Nell in Aspen. Continuing his journey westward he landed in Napa Valley, where he and his wife now own Miller Wine Works. They focus on small production Grenache, Syrah and Pinot Noir.
The Syrahs in particular are some of the best I’ve tasted from California or anywhere in the USA for that matter. The Brookside Vineyard bottling is notable, but the Sage Canyon Vineyard release, from a steep mountain ranch ranging from 900 to 1,400 feet above the valley floor with cooling morning fog, could be a ringer for a very good Côte-Rôtie.
Despite its astoundingly high alcohol (16.3%), I found it exquisitely balanced and a nice change from the trendy, super-ripe styles. With berry, earth, tar, pink and yellow rose petals, lilac, and pink peppercorn notes, this deep, rich and round wine has brilliant underlying natural acidity and ripe tannins for balance, and a long finish.
Reviewed September 26, 2006 by Catherine Fallis.
Other reviewed wines from Miller Wine Works
The Wine
Winery: Miller Wine Works |
The Reviewer
Catherine Fallis
Founder and President of Planet Grape LLC, a company committed to bringing the joy of wine, food, and good living into the lives of everyday people, Catherine is creator of the “grape goddess guides to good living,” a series of books, television presentations, seminars, and e-learning programs. The fifth woman in the world to become a Master Sommelier, grape goddess Catherine Fallis is still very much down-to-earth. |