Configuration: (6 x 750mL)

Winery: Camins 2 Dreams

Appellation: Sta. Rita Hills AVA, Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, Central Coast, California

Variety: 100% syrah

ABV: 13.5%

Why we love it: Mireia Taribó and Tara Gomez craft this stunning Syrah from Zotovich Vineyard in the famed Sta. Rita Hills sub-appellation of Santa Barbara County (remember the movie, Sideways? We’re there with all of these Camins 2 Dreams wines!)

This 2018 iteration of Syrah is just the second year of production for these vines in the Zotovich Vineyard, which sits south/southwest-facing to the Pacific Ocean in Sta. Rita Hills, and is farmed with organic + sustainable measures. It’s made with two clones of Syrah, which are picked, spontaneously fermented separately, and then blended later through élèvage (the barrel aging process). Minimal SO2 is used (only a small amount at bottling) and the final wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Find notes of black currant, black pepper, violet, deep earth + graphite. This is an absolutely stunning wine that will change perceptions of Californian Syrah.

95 points: Wine Enthusiast / 94 points: Vinous “The 2018 Zotovich Vineyard is a gorgeous, vivid wine. Blue/purplish fruit, black pepper, lavender, mocha and liquorice all flesh out. Wonderfully deep and creamy, the 2018 possesses superb fruit density and richness while remaining very light on its feet. It is a dazzling riveting wine that also shows how well suited Syrah is to this part of the Sta. Rita Hills.” – Antonio Galloni, July 2020