John and Sharon Westerhold moved to Sonoma County from Los Angeles in 2006 with the dream of farming their own vineyard and making wine from their own grapes. The property is located in Bennett Valley with 3 acres of Pinot Noir and a small amount of Syrah. The winemaker at Westerhold Family Vineyards has been Russell Bevan since the inaugural 2007 Syrah vintage. Russell also makes his own wine at Bevan Cellars and recently agreed to make wines for Chase Cellars.
The wine is black in color and checks in at 14.3% ABV. Powerful nose of blueberries, smoked meat and coffee beans. Rich, polished and nicely balanced. Cherries, blueberries, pepper, cinnamon, iron and bacon on the palate. Exceptionally long finish. Super cool climate Syrah. Drink over the next 5-7 years.
My rating: 92 points.
The wine is $42 at the winery and is currently available. Given recent high scores at Bevan Cellars from the Wine Advocate I suspect demand for the Westerhold wines will increase in the years to come. Act accordingly.
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