Wine Club February 2026 | 2023 Syrah

Balistreri Syrah takes Double Gold! We are so pleased to share this exciting news and to finally release this incredible vintage as February’s Wine of the Month! The recent San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition awarded us with 2 Double Golds and 3 Gold Medals – Double Gold for this Syrah & Cherry Wine, and Golds for Little Feet Merlot, Brother’s Petite Sirah, and our Cabernet Franc. As Winemaker John Balistreri would say, “Guess they liked ’em that day.”

In all seriousness, this is quite the Syrah. A year ago, after bottling, we could have released it in the tasting room, but chose instead to let it continue softening in the bottle, further mellowing its tannin and integrating its vast range of flavors. This Syrah takes you on a journey across so many fields of taste and experience. Letting it continue to develop its own shape and direction over this last year has been well worth the wait. Though we weren’t always so patient, as Ray routinely pulled bottles upstairs, claiming how exceptional this wine was becoming. This winter we knew it was time to send it to some competitions, and lucky us it almost got Best of Class!

You will notice, this is an American Syrah – one we don’t make every vintage. The fruit is sourced from St. Amant Vineyards in Lodi, California. We work with St. Amant to get Portuguese varietals when we make our Balistreri Ports. If St. Amant has a year with a larger crop and can spare a little extra Syrah, we’ll always take it. 2023 was a very ripe vintage, not just in Colorado as we’ve mentioned before, but also in Lodi. The cool mornings of Lodi quickly burn away for a scorching and dry mid-day, making for a very ripe and extracted vintage of Syrah. We have not had such an expressive American Syrah since the 2010 vintage, which coincidentally was another fairly hot and ripe year.

This Syrah is multifaceted, complex, and dynamic as it showcases aromas across a breadth of flavors. Swirl and get your nose in the glass to see notes of olive tapenade, ripe crushed cranberry, and dried herbs like thyme and sage. Syrah is unlike other grapes due to its transformation and complexity gained from whole-cluster fermentation: not de-stemming at crush and fermenting with stems. Not all wines benefit from whole-cluster, where as Syrah thrives, giving the wines character, variety, and exuberance. The palate is contrasting in acidity and liveliness up front, concluding with a balanced dry finish and complimenting tannin. Flavors are cherry tobacco, smashed raspberry, and earthy baking spices. Take your time enjoying the wine. It is a perfect ebb and flow of ripe fruit and earthy dynamic flavors that create this delicious umami experience. Enjoy this vintage slowly, watch it evolve in the glass, and let it take you to places only Syrah can.