(97+ points) The 2019 EABA ("end all be all") is a blend of 61% Syrah, 24% Mourvèdre, 13% Grenache and 2% Viognier and was made with 65% whole clusters. Fruit comes from several vineyards in Santa Barbara and San Luis...
(97+ points) The 2019 EABA ("end all be all") is a blend of 61% Syrah, 24% Mourvèdre, 13% Grenache and 2% Viognier and was made with 65% whole clusters. Fruit comes from several vineyards in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, including Bien Nacido, White Hawk, Larner, Harrison-Clarke, G2 and Alta Mesa. It was matured for about 22 months in 55% new French barriques and 600-liter demi-muids and 45% used French barriques, and it was bottled on August 21, 2021. Opaque ruby-purple in color, it offers beautiful, pure scents of licorice, tar, blueberry and black cherry jam, charcuterie, pepper, olive and fried savory herbs, offering up more nuances as it spends time in the glass. Medium-bodied, it has abundant, super-fine tannins, seamless acidity and slowly expanding, spicy flavor layers, finishing very long and alluringly floral. Its notable length, detail and latency suggest this will continue to improve in bottle over the next 5-7 years and will be long lived in the cellar. About 795 cases and a few magnums were made. It will be packaged and sold as a three-bottle set ($330), and each magnum will be sold in a box set with the 2019 Andremily Grenache.- EB