Jolie-Laide Syrah Hawks Butte Vineyard Yorkville Highlands 2022

We have a delicate, juicy, savory, high-scoring Syrah from one of California’s cultiest boutique wineries. As Vinous implied in their ardent 94 point review, this is complex beauty that you linger over – at the dinner table, then sinking deeper into it when you move to the couch, and still an echo of inspiration when you snuggle into your pillow. Critics have called Jolie-Laide’s wines “exciting” and “impossibly delicious” and “character driven.” This falls right in line, and it’s especially for those of us who swoon over the Northern Rhône-esque, cool-climate kind of Syrah.  

They sourced this 2022 from Hawks Butte Vineyard up in the Yorkville Highlands in Mendocino County, an organic site with a reputation for stellar Syrah. The stony soils retain heat, while cool winds extend the growing season for layers and layers of flavor. It’s only 12.4% alcohol, so lighter-bodied but intense – thanks to Jolie-Laide’s “less is more” minimal-intervention philosophy. Strikingly fresh and juicy blueberry and pomegranate are interwoven with dried lavender, olive tapenade, graphite, and peppercorn. We are loving the incense note Vinous mentions. Potent, spicy, memorably handsome, 94 points – and an incredible value.

Jolie-Laide founder Scott Schultz believes in foot crushing, whole-cluster fermentation, native yeasts, and neutral oak. He came up in the Chicago restaurant scene and was part of the wave of somms-turned-winemakers in the early 2000s. Serious about learning the craft and making art via grapes, he put in cellar time at Realm in Napa, and boutique phenoms Arnot Roberts and Pax in Sonoma, before breaking through with Jolie-Laide. They’re already known for insisting on reasonable prices, so our discount on four or more is a fantastic value. But get six so shipping is included.