Ex Post Facto
Santa Barbara County Syrah
Santa Barbara County, Central Coast, California, USA
The 2016 Syrah is a very pretty wine from Greg Brewer's Ex Post Facto project. Racy and perfumed in the glass, with striking aromatic presence, the 2016 makes a strong opening statement. The red and purplish berry fruit is nicely lifted by floral and savory overtones from the whole clusters. It will be interesting to see where this wine goes in the future. Certainly the debut vintage is promising. Brewer gave the fruit, from Spear, 4-5 days of cold soak followed by a lengthy fermentation/maceration of 45 days or so. The 2016 spent 16 months in neutral French oak. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, September 2018)
The 2016 Syrah is a very pretty wine from Greg Brewer's Ex Post Facto project. Racy and perfumed in the glass, with striking aromatic presence, the 2016 makes a strong opening statement. The red and purplish berry fruit is nicely lifted by floral and savory overtones from the whole clusters. It will be interesting to see where this wine goes in the future. Certainly the debut vintage is promising. Brewer gave the fruit, from Spear, 4-5 days of cold soak followed by a lengthy fermentation/maceration of 45 days or so. The 2016 spent 16 months in neutral French oak. (Antonio Galloni, Vinous, September 2018)
Nov 30th, 2018
The second vintage of this new label from Greg Brewer, this one reminds me to some extent of some of the limited release syrahs that he made at Melville a few years back. Lots of spice and candied blackberries on the nose, the wine was pretty closed on the palate initially, with more earthy overtones than I picked up on the nose. Definitely needs more time: while the tannins are sweet and well-integrated, the wine is pretty tight even after 10-15 min in the glass. If you want to open up a bottle of this now I’d recommend decanting a couple of hours in advance. Otherwise, let this one rest in your cellar for 2-3 years.
The second vintage of this new label from Greg Brewer, this one reminds me to some extent of some of the limited release syrahs that he made at Melville a few years back. Lots of spice and candied blackberries on the nose, the wine was pretty closed on the palate initially, with more earthy overtones than I picked up on the nose. Definitely needs more time: while the tannins are sweet and well-integrated, the wine is pretty tight even after 10-15 min in the glass. If you want to open up a bottle of this now I’d recommend decanting a couple of hours in advance. Otherwise, let this one rest in your cellar for 2-3 years.
Aug 5th, 2020
Great example of Santa Barbara Syrah! Fleshy, metallic, bloody...tasty wine
Great example of Santa Barbara Syrah! Fleshy, metallic, bloody...tasty wine
Mar 5th, 2020
