Sonoma County

Full

Cork

With the LM, this wine delivers everything there is to love about Syrah, from it's first wholly perfumed aromatics, of sumptusoly enticing violet pastille, pure cherry-plum and blueberry fruits and lifted orange peel aromatics, to the satiny plump middle core, perfectly balanced fruit concentariont with supple tannins that have just the right amount of grip to all this iron-laced mineral chracter, honeysuckle, lilacs, and subtle espresso bean note on the blood orange acid and building fine tannin finish. If anything, the tannins need more time to integrate, as they should at this early stage, but if you're drinking this more than three years from the date of this tasting note, they should be nice and silky on the finish. So perfumed, so lovely, you won't be able to put this wine down. 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. LM stands for 'La Mouline,' which is produced by E. Guigal. This is their hommage. Viognier is an important part of La Mouline. With 8.5% Viognier in the blend, 32% whole bunch inclusion, blended with Syrah, the wine is aged 21 months in 30% new oak.

Syrah / Shiraz

Viognier

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

With the LM, this wine delivers everything there is to love about Syrah, from it's first wholly perfumed aromatics, of sumptusol

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

Related Wines

Articles