Rusack, Syrah, Santa Barbara County

Had some barnyard stuff going on opening, but after a couple hours was singing. Was full bodied, with a near perfect balance of purple fruit, spices, toasty cedar, polished tannins and just the right amount of acidity. THIS is what well made, aged and stored central coast Syrah can do for you!

2008 vintage

consistent

2008 vintage

Just keeps getting better - sadly, last bottle

2008 vintage

Drinking super well. Dark fruit, pepper, silky tannins and a long finish.

2008 vintage

Excellent Syrah that leveled out beautifully after 15 minutes in the glass. Wonderful balance of fruit and tannin....and of course the signature syrah purple ink.

2008 vintage

Deep inky purple in color; still youthful; rich blueberry and spice nose; soft syrah fruit; black fruit flavors that include black berry and diminishing brambles that finish with a mild tannic memory. A delicious wine. We wish we had more.

2008 vintage

From the opening would describe this as smooth, polished and elegant. Not an overcharged central coast Syrah. Near perfect balance of plum fruit flavors, light smoky cedar and licorice. Crowd pleaser.

2008 vintage

PnP. Brief decant in glass. Beautiful dark fruit, a little smoke and pepper. Ample acidity to pair with leftover turkey. Very enjoyable. Drink now or hold for another year.

2008 vintage

Excellent Syrah and a great value. Beautiful color and classic earthen nose.

2008 vintage

Drinking well right now. Great dark color and beautiful aroma.

2006 vintage

This is a wonderful syrah. The fruit is ripe and crisp, the alcohol is balanced. The finish is long and enjoyable bringing you back to the glass for more.

2008 vintage

Nose - grapey dark berry Mouth - very nicely delineated fruity luscious absolutely yummy. Drinking exceptionally well. Find it and drink it.

2006 vintage

The wine looks Purple colored. The legs are Medium. It smells like Blueberry, Raspberry, Red Currant, Black Pepper, and Almond. The body is Medium/Full. The wine has Juicy texture. The wine finishes Medium. 14.5%. "Ballard Canyon microclimate. Special barrrll selection and meticulous blending creates a wine displaying true varietal fruit character, depth and intensity. Rich and full bodied with a silk finish."

2008 vintage

Consistently better than the 2007. This Syrah delivers a lot of QPR

2006 vintage

Quite nice. not as peppery as I like, but solid berry flavor and well balanced.

2008 vintage

Popped and poured. Initial alcoholic and spicy nose. Beautiful deep red color. On the palate, velvety mouth feel, spices, bitter tannins. As this wine opened up over the next hour, it softened. The tannins still provided a nice grip but the bitterness disappeared. Dark sweet fruit flavors started to come through with just enough acid to prevent this from being flabby. Peppery spices kept it interesting. An outstanding wine by the end of the hour with no heat. Based on …

2008 vintage

Jammy, rich berry notes, smooth finish. One of my favorites.

2007 vintage

Solid, but didn't enjoy nearly as much as the bottle I had just over a year ago.

2008 vintage

Loads of wild berries. Nice pepper and spice flavors with a bit of oak. Flavors linger quite well. Very good.

2008 vintage

Dark purple-ruby, nice but somewhat modest bouquet, but wow, what a richly-flavored syrah. Lush, full-bodied, dark cherries and blueberries, hint of tobacco, beautiful balance. An excellent wine, really tasty, just lacked the extra nuances and complexity of the best Santa Barbara syrahs. But, for $30, worth every penny. The wine is just now coming into its own, should last another 5+ years.

2007 vintage

Aussie Shiraz characteristics; pepper nose, plush mouthfeel, dark in glass, and robust flavors. Decent balance and finish.

2006 vintage

Wow what can I say, this was a surprise and rating this as bloody good !. We just finished a Wild Hog wine that was on it's 3rd outing and my wife pulled this out of the fridge. I got this wine as a gift from my good friend Joe and am certainly going to hunt this down for multiple repeat performances. I think the reviewers prior have waxed lyrical on the flavors and suffice to say this is a …

2008 vintage

nose - spicey, oaky mouth - very ripe sweet, luscious style yet lip smacking. this will be widely liked, though as it stands it is a solo drinker. hold for 5 yrs.

2008 vintage

Classic CA Syrah. Full-bodied, meaty flavors with nice dark fruit. Good QPR at $20. Buying more.

2008 vintage

Dark, inky purple/black color. Nose is profound and full of berry and pork grease and green pepper and walnut shell and dry salami and you name it. Palate is not so full or complex, but still delicious and enthusiastic after a couple hours of breathing - which it really needs. Tannins are still youthful but not out of place and it's hard to notice any acidity under all the fruit sweetness. Alcohol is in check to my taste and if …

2008 vintage

I used to like wines like this but not so much anymore. This is fairly typical of CA Syrah: lots of fruit and oak but not much else. Right from the pout the blueberry jam jumps out of the glass, a deep sniff reveals a bit of mud and pepper but it's a big sniff. In the mouth it has loads of jammy blueberries and tons of buttery oak. A hearty swirls and thoughtful swallow will reveal some bell peppers …

2008 vintage

Agree with vino vidi vici's description. Can't be quite as point generous, but I think the review reflects my experience as well. 5+12+15+7 = 89

2008 vintage

No notes- but I remember that I liked.

2008 vintage

Ordered this bottle at the Ballard Inn to kick off our weekend in Los Olivos. Tasted over 3 days. After opening, the nose showed a lot of interesting herbal aromas and flavors. Probably a tarragon component was the most noticeable. After an hour or so, this gained some weight and started showing some blueberry and roasted meat character but still showed some nice herbal flavors. This transformation continued on day 3 (skipped day 2) with more weight and fruit being …

2008 vintage

Santa Barbara Trip - July 2011; 7/1/2011-7/6/2011 : Very Dark & Inky. Interesting nose - meaty, smokey, blueberry, Root Beer Bottle Caps candy, and a touch of mint. On the palate its a medium bodied wine, with sweet black fruit. Cocoa/pepper finish. Ready to drink now, it's a pretty simple, but well made wine.

2007 vintage

Amazing wine - a deep rich nose. Just to sit and smell is worth the price of admission. Sweet & sour flavors of black currant, pepper (white & black), clove, molasses, coffee, tobacco. Wow - it's just great. Rich, without being overbearing. A masterful balance of fruit, spice and wood. Integrated, sophisticated and and slightly sweet. Definitely buying more - highly recommended.

2008 vintage

This syrah was dark red and smooth for its age - it opened up nicely after 30 min+ of decanting. The last glass from 2nd bottle was best (2+hrs after opening) so it could use more time. Enjoyed by all. 89/90

2008 vintage

Pretty good nose of dark berries and floral notes Good body structure and balance. Finish a little off.

2007 vintage

Huge wine. Fruit forward nose of blackberry, black cherry, mocha, and a little barnyard. Black fruit on the palate - tannins are still pronounced. Spicy finish. Alcohol noticeable on the backend. This one could go for many more years

2006 vintage

Interesting nose with blackberry, olives, smoke, and alcohol. On the palate, the alcohol is out of balance but the black fruit component is nice. Spicy finish. Nothing flashy - just a solid syrah.

2006 vintage

Bland both in nose and pallets. At best a weekday wine

2007 vintage

I had high hopes for this wine, having enjoyed prior vintages a lot (especially the 2005). This one was a flabby mess -- far too little acidity or structure. Glad I only bought one bottle!

2007 vintage

Santa Barbara Winetasting Trip Day 1: Rusack, Cold Heaven and Palmina (Ballard Canyon, Buellton and Lompoc, Central Coast, California) : Opaque red violet color; berry, cranberry, vanilla cappuccino nose; tight but plush, ripe berry, blackberry, vanilla palate, needs 3-plus years; medium-plus finish

2007 vintage

Matches other notes. Cherry, blackberry, some faint pepper. Delicious!

2007 vintage

purple, ppr wwm nose: med+ intensity, smoke, oak, red/black fruit palate: dry acid is med tannin is med body is med alc is 14 est length is med+ flavs include concentrated red black fruit, fig, some licorice

2007 vintage

This wine is four years old? Very fruit forward with red and dark berries and a nice spice that carries through to the finish, drinking like a new release. Tannins are soft and round. Drink now or in the next year or so. Very good, great with BBQ.

2006 vintage

medium bodied, fruit forward of cherries and dark fruit, spice on the finsih. Medium to long finish, soft tannins, drink now.

2006 vintage

Quite oaky and disjointed at this point. Big; should improve with time, but this is not a great vintage of this wine.

2006 vintage

Also got a 92 from Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator. Black cherry, caramel nose, so carmelly and mocha-y if I tried it blind I might assume it was a merlot. Nice orange peel finish.

2006 vintage

Cherry and other fruit with a bit of coffee.

2006 vintage

Are you sure?

Rusack, Syrah, Santa Barbara County

Vintages

No vintages

Community Reviews