2013 Bonny Doon Vineyard Syrah X Block Bien Nacido Vineyard Santa Maria 750 ml

When America’s most famous Rhône producer meets California’s most famous Syrah vineyard, sparks fly, resulting in a luminous, mouth-coating red of outstanding quality and depth, available at an irresistible price.  

“This is a real Syrah,” raves James Suckling of Randall Grahm’s darkly concentrated 2013 Bonny Doon Syrah X-Block, calling the release “fantastic.” Unctuous and velvet-textured with rich savory notes of olive, black pepper, and smoke, it’s made from fruit off of Santa Maria Valley’s iconic Bien Nacido vineyard, where Ojai ($45), namesake winery Bien Nacido ($60), not to mention Rajat Parr’s exclusive wine club bottling Anika ($125), and producers like Jaffurs ($50), and Fess Parker ($50) have crafted some of their greatest bottles. 

The Central Coast’s answer to the finest efforts of Northern Rhône Hermitage and Côte-Rôtie, we pried this allocation off Grahm’s mailing list at a stunning level of savings—the result of a months-long charm offensive to convince Grahm to set aside bottles typically marked for winery-only sale. One of his final single-varietal bottlings off this site, it’s destined for collector fame. 

“Randall Grahm and his iconic winery need no introduction to California wine lovers,” says Vinous of the legendary winemaker, stating plainly: “It’s not a stretch to call Bonny Doon the Rhône variety pioneer for the state and, in fact, the United States.” Since gaining renown in the 1980s, Grahm has been hugely influential in demonstrating the capacity of California terroir to grow world-class Syrah, marrying elegant Old World finesse with New World intensity.

As Grahm’s career evolved, so did the legacy of one of the state’s most esteemed vineyards, Bien Nacido, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in the year of this bottling, 2013. Many know it for its Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, but some of the oldest blocks—including the one employed for this wine—are planted to Syrah.

X-Block, which has traditionally been split between Grahm and Qupe’s Bob Lindquist, is biodynamically farmed and features Estrella clones—noted for their Côte-Rôtie-like roasted quality—planted in 1973. Over 25 years, Grahm played a decisive role in shaping the cultivation of this plot, telling us it was like watching a toddler grow into an adult. He had a hand in re-trellising vines and remaking the irrigation system—improvements that have given X-Block its unique character, with very small clusters accounting for the parcel’s incredible concentration. The calcareous soils and cool microclimate complete the picture for a site that’s produced some of the greatest American Syrahs ever.

Drinking splendidly right now, expansive and polished with bottle-age, our hard-fought allocation of Grahm’s rich Rhône magic—half-off!