Syrah, 2022
Donovan’s “Concrete Syrah” has won many hearts and minds since its introduction in 2021. Superficially it sounds so simple: a crackling, juicy, un-oaked, peppery Syrah that functions as the early-drinking gateway to the more serious Ava bottling. In the end though, it is the drinking wine of a master Syrah winemaker, which remains extremely fairly priced. In 2024, 5-10% of the wine actually went into barrel, bringing a little added richness. Notes of black tea, olives, plums and currants compliment this delicious straight Syrah, from schist-based vineyards, fermented with 100% whole clusters.
critic reviews
Red-fruited and mineral driven, with sausagey and meaty tones, the 2022 Syrah offers a delightful petrichor note with wild herbs and red peppercorn. Light to medium-bodied and clocking in at 12.5% alcohol, without being underripe, the wine is brilliantly expressive yet still tight, presenting with plenty of meaty and rotundone expressions before elegant acidity and firm, age-worthy, fine-grained tannins express across the mid-palate. Don't be hasty; give it a couple more years in the bottle and reward your future self. It's a brilliant and complex wine that has me returning for second and third sips, even though it's still incredibly young. I cannot wait to retry this in a couple of years.