2014 Donelan Kobler Family Vineyard 750 ml

Total Knock-Out Côte-Rôtie Look-Alike

“The 2014 Syrah Kobler Family Vineyard is another Côte Rôtie look-alike,” gushed former Wine Advocate critic Jeb Dunnuck in a 95-point review, echoing Robert Parker’s own praise for Donelan’s Kobler Syrahs in comparing them to “Guigal single-vineyard Côte-Rôtie” with their “elegance and complexity.” But Antonio Galloni said it best: “Put simply, this is a stunning wine from Donelan.” Galloni’s 96-point score puts it in the same league as 2014 Syrahs from legendary producers Kongsgaard and Sine Qua Non. A mere 508 cases were produced and every last one is destined either for the Donelan mailing list — or for Wine Access clients. You won’t find them anywhere else.

Patriarch and Donelan Family Wines founder Joe Donelan, and his sons Tripp and Cushing, consider it their mission to let their world-class vineyard sites do all the talking. They seek out unique, under-the-radar vineyards that they can usher to prominence, because purchasing fruit from any big-name vineyard that can be found on dozens of other producers’ labels is simply not the Donelans’ style. “We always wanted to find unique sites and build them up. We’re not a cover band,” Cush Donelan told me.

The Donelans have found worthy partners in Mike and Otto Kobler, who tend the Kobler Family Vineyards on the extreme eastern end of the Russian River Valley’s Green Valley sub-appellation. The site has been a Donelan family mainstay for more than a decade, and save for a few tons that the Koblers keep for their own wines, the Syrah and Viognier grown at the fog-blanketed site go exclusively into the Donelans’ single-vineyard wine.

The 90% Syrah and 10% Viognier, half-destemmed and half whole-cluster, are co-fermented in classic Côte-Rotie style. The wine is then aged for nearly two years in two- and three-year-old barrels. The result is a beautifully balanced wine: “Inky, powerful and intense, but with striking aromatic lift,” according to Antonio Galloni of Vinous, whose 96 points put it in the same league as 2014 Syrahs from legendary producers Kongsgaard and Sine Qua Non. Donelan just might be your new cult Syrah, and we are proud to bring this tiny-production wine to you.

For Wine Access buyers who purchase 3 bottles or more, Donelan Family Wines will also include a complimentary Portfolio tasting for 4 people at their tasting room in Santa Rosa, CA (a $120 value), giving you the chance to explore the breadth of their portfolio of highly-rated Syrah, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Rhône blends on your next visit to wine country. Contact the winery (reservations@donelanwines.com | 707.591.0782) to set up your tasting appointment.

Jonathan Cristaldi

Editor-in-Chief, Wine Acces