2016 Brick & Mortar Syrah West Block Sonoma

Though this is just the first release of Brick & Mortar’s cool-climate Syrah, it earned an Editors’ Choice honor from Wine Enthusiast, who dubbed it the epitome of “cool-climate balance and elegance,” with “a brushy dusty character and long polished tannins.” We couldn’t agree more, but also put Brick & Mortar firmly in the ranks of the new generation of California winemakers that’s crafting wines with more in common with Europe than Napa. This Brick & Mortar Syrah West Block, for example, is a wine so vibrant, lively, and savory that it might just trick you into thinking it’s a Northern Rhône classic.

Winemaker Matt Iaconis has never seen the sky as the limit; he went to UC Davis to study Aeronautical Engineering, with long-held dreams of being an astronaut. But after taking one Introduction to Winemaking class as an elective, Iaconis was hooked. He honed his skills at Piero Antinori’s Antica Napa Valley estate and has learned and worked in Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and France. But it was a summer in Burgundy that firmed Iaconis’ commitment to cool climate, terroir-driven, Old World-inspired wines, and in 2011, Brick & Mortar was born.

Though in the past Iaconis has focused on Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, his philosophy of crafting site-specific wines with moderate alcohol and bright acidity carries over seamlessly into the Syrah variety. His secret? Hands-off winemaking, a technique rooted in patience. “Less is more,” says Iaconis. “Nowadays, while I maintain the wine, I do almost nothing once the wine hits the barrel, and minimal prior to that. I try to ensure the fruit is of the highest quality entering the winery and stay out of the way from there.”

The 2016 Brick & Mortar Syrah comes from the West Block, a vineyard located in Sonoma’s Petaluma Gap sub-region. The nearby San Pablo Bay lends a maritime influence to these vines, and conditions are cool and windy conditions. An east-west orientation allows the vines to ripen evenly over the long growing season, and soils of sandstone and shale lend structure and complexity to Syrah grapes.

Pour this wine blind, and the layered, savory aromas of violets, herbs, and black pepper will immediately recall the complex, benchmark Syrahs of a Northern Rhône appellation like Saint-Joseph. Though the palate is robust at first sip, lifted acidity unfurls flavors of savory bayleaf and crushed rocks and lets them linger on the tongue.

Whether you keep this wine as your little secret or take some satisfaction in fooling a confident friend in a blind tasting, one thing is certain: it doesn’t matter if this wine is Old World or New World, because either way, it’s certainly delicious.

• Fruit Intensity
• Oak Intensity
• Body
• Acidity
• Tannin

• ABV 13.50%
• 15 mins
• Now – 2028
• % Syrah
• Serving temperature – 58°
• Cork