Shannon Ridge Petite Syrah 2021 750ml

$18.99

Petite Sirah can be a blunt instrument. Wine Enthusiast gave this one ninety-two points and a Best Buy, which tells you where it lands. Shannon Ridge farms up to 2,300 feet on volcanic ground in Lake County, and the High Elevation bottling ferments in stainless then ages in American and French oak. Thirteen and a half percent alcohol. Dark, dense, and priced like it does not know that.

Blackberry and blueberry with cranberry lift, black pepper, warm cedar and toasted vanilla. Concentrated palate, boysenberry and pomegranate, dried herbs and chocolate, fine tannins holding it together.

Grilled lamb chops or a slow-roasted shoulder. The Shannons raise their own sheep, so it is not a stretch.

By 2022 Shannon had built one of the largest certified organic mountain-grown vineyard operations in the country. The whole thing runs on sheep. They weed the rows in spring, cut wildfire fuel and erosion, and take the place of two or three tractor passes a year.