2013 Donelan Syrah Walker Vine Hill 750 ml

Saving the Best for Last

When Joe Donelan was searching for vineyard sources for his newly bonded winery, he scoured the Sonoma Coast looking for a perfect spot for Syrah. It took a while, but when he set his sights on Walker Vine Hill, he knew he had literally hit pay dirt. On the west side of the Russian River Valley, the vineyard was owned by an old farming family who were willing to give Joe an all-access pass. Joe took full advantage of the sandy soils set on three small, sloping hills — perfect ripening conditions for Syrah.

Right out of the gate, Joe’s Walker Vine Hill bottling became a favorite on the Donelan mailing list. The notes and scores from the critics were stellar, with the wine consistently garnered ratings of 94 points and more. We heard it called “New World Hermitage” on the sommelier circuit as it became a fixture on some of the best lists in the nation. With demand soaring, Joe’s Walker Vine Hill Syrah became the flagship wine at Donelan.

All that came to a head -- and a halt -- in 2013. In the Russian River Valley’s second consecutive drought year, the vines produced super-concentrated, small berries with high skin-to-juice ratios. This gave the Syrahs a striking deep-purple color, chewy tannins, and incredible depth — none more so than Donelan’s Walker Vine Hill Syrah.

The “seductive, lush, heady, but again structured and deep” Syrah brought Robert Parker to his knees. The Wine Advocate himself awarded Joe’s 2013 the highest score he’s ever bestowed upon Walker Vine Hill — 96 points. Parker called it “Hermitage-like and full-bodied … seductive and lush.” Parker’s onetime protégé, Antonio Galloni, matched his former mentor’s appreciation, chiming in with an identical 96 points for the wine he praised as “ripe and unctuous to the core.”

The 2013 Donelan Family Syrah Walker Vine Hill stands shoulder to shoulder with the North Coast’s top bottlings — Ramey “Rodgers Creek,” Stolpman “Hilltops,” Martinelli “Lolita Ranch,” Tensley “Colson Canyon,” and Foxen “Tinaquaic.” But what sets Joe's flagship apart from its peers is a sad fact for Parker, Galloni, and all of us lovers of exceptional Syrah: 2013 is the LAST vintage Donelan will ever make off of Walker Vine Hill. Sadly, Joe's many years of masterful work with Walker Vine Hill fruit has come to an end, along with the business relationship with the vineyard owners. It’s bittersweet, but there’s no question that Joe saved the best for last.

The nose on the 2013 Walker Vine Hill Syrah is a dead ringer for a young Chave Hermitage. Blackberry bush, violets and black peppercorn ease gently from the glass, belying the wine’s cool-climate origins. The palate shows ripe and sappy blackberry and black cherry, rounded out by mouthwatering savoriness. Firm, full, and long into the finish, this beauty will drink well over the next 15 years.

This is the end of an era — a curtain call for one of the most outstanding North Coast Syrahs. Matching 96-point scores from Parker AND Galloni. $75 today. Well worth it for all lovers of Rhône and California Syrah. Sorry in advance to everyone shut out once our 12 cases are gone.