"The 2020 Syrah Head Held High comes from Bien Nacido and Sanford & Benedict Vineyards. Very deep purple-black colored, it needs a little swirling to unlock notes of chocolate-covered cherries, tar, lilacs, and charcuterie with hints of truffles and licorice. The palate is full-bodied, rich, and concentrated, with bags of freshness delivering energy and tension to the densely packed layers. Plush, beautifully rounded tannins coat the mouth, and the finish is epically long and savory. Forget it in the cellar for 5-6 years and then enjoy it over the next 20-years+. 312 cases were made."

Lastly, the 2020 Syrah Head Held High is a rich, powerful wine that shows the warmer style of the vintage while staying focused, pure, and balanced. Blackberries, black pepper, violets, game, and a kiss of iodine all flow to a full-bodied Syrah with silky tannins, beautiful mid-palate depth, and a gorgeous finish. It's another singular, remarkable wine from this incredibly talented team that I wish every reader could taste.

The 2020 Syrah Head Held High comes from the Bien Nacido and Sanford & Benedict Vineyards. The Syrah is blended with 7% Grenache, 1% Mourvèdre and 4% white wine and was vinified using 40% whole clusters. It matured in 79% new French oak barrels for 20 months and was bottled in July of 2022. Opaque ruby-black in color, the nose features alluring peppermint patty, violet, tar, coffee bean and underbrush aromas that complement a deep core of cassis. The full-bodied palate boasts luxuriously powdery tannins and latent tones of wild game, wildflowers and tea leaves that linger on the finish. It's remarkably complete at this youthful stage and could merit a higher score as it unfolds in the bottle. It should be very long-lived. The Head Held High Syrah will be sold as part of a six-bottle set that will include two bottles each of white wine, Syrah and Grenache for $684. Only 312 cases were made.