Sonoma County

Full

Cork

If you’re comparing the three 'La La's' from Donelan, as the family affectionately refers to these three bottlings (LL, LT, LM), this 'LL' compared to the LT and LM is the most balanced of the three. The aromatics are absolutely beautiful, absolutely beautifully mineral-driven, redolent of wet slate or Petrichor. Perhaps a bit of Play-Doh rose, petal, perfume, macerated dark berry fruit. Such exquisite purity of fruit with a gravity tanning that is ultrafine and almost powdery, culminating with more minerals of wet riverstone, crushed rock, and graphite on the lengthy mineral-scented finish. In between our elegant notes of dried and perfumed wild herbs, blood orange and tangerine oil, a hint of grapefruit zest. There’s a fresher factor here that's off-the-charts zesty and inviting. As Joe Donelan explains, 'Up at our Obsidian vineyard, we created an estate property. We planted Viognier. We planted multiple blocks of Syrah. We planted some Cabernet Sauvignon. I thought that with the contours, we could make our version of what the iconic Rhone producers make with their most respected Syrah bottlings. We have two acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and we're planning a lot of exciting things for these blocks. The inspiration is taken from E. Guigal, Chave, and Rene Rostaing, and the La La's are the wines I love,' says Joe Donelan, 'and why do I love them? They are from a place. They have a passion that's rooted in a place, so we created these wines with this in mind. I don't know if we will make these wines every year, but we have three this year (2023), and so, this is our version of great Côte-Rôtie. In 2023, we made 21 cases of each of these three wines. This "LL" is our homage to Domaine René Rostaing's La Landonne. Neutral oak aging for 21 months with 74% whole cluster.

Syrah / Shiraz

Donelan, LL, Obsidian Estate Vineyard, Syrah, Sonoma County, Bennett Valley, California, USA, 2023

If you’re comparing the three 'La La's' from Donelan, as the family affectionately refers to these three bottlings (LL, LT, LM),

Donelan, LL, Obsidian Estate Vineyard, Syrah, Sonoma County

Related Wines

Articles