2018 Joyce Tondre Grapefield Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands Monterey 750 ml

For years, we’d heard idle talk, conjecture, and even a few careless whispers… the kind of rumors that usually turn into nothing

Then it all came together in one of the most stunning (not to mention secretive) red wines we’ve ever encountered in California. The 2018 Joyce Tondré Grapefield Syrah Santa Lucia Highlands not only captivated us from the very first sip, but packs the kind of stunning 95-point score that’s normally reserved for California coastal stars like Qupé, Washington legends like Cayuse, and even regal Rhône producers like Jean-Luc Colombo and Chapoutier.

Grown at a single two-acre site a stone's throw from two of the top vineyards in California, this thrilling Editors’ Choice red was made in a tiny amount by one of Wine Enthusiast’s New Guard Winemakers of Monterey County.

We got all we could, but it isn’t much. In fact, it’s a miracle we got any at all. 

It’s widely known that some of the best vineyards in California sit in the Santa Lucia Highlands, producing Pinot and Chardonnay that draws producers like Kosta Browne, Siduri, and Copain. Less known is that some of the region’s greatest plots, like Garys’ and Soberanes, harbor tiny blocks of Syrah, which go into small but mighty bottlings from ROAR, Lucia, and other Monterey County mainstays.

We’d heard that Tondré Grapefield, another top vineyard just a stone’s throw from Garys’ and Soberanes, also had a tiny plot of Syrah—but if that was right, where were those beautiful cool-climate grapes going? For years, all we could do was speculate. 

Until we were passing through Monterey and grabbed lunch with a friend of our Master Sommelier Sur Lucero, a wine business local who knows Monterey County like John Muir knew Yosemite. And when we sat down to lunch, he pulled out a bottle of the 2018 Joyce. And there were the words: Tondré Grapefield Syrah.

It was like spotting the white whale, and the only thing that pried us away from the label was the nose on the magnificent wine. Brilliant deep purple moving to an electric pink rim, it’s got spiced plums, black cherries, and blackberry sharing the stage with cracked pepper and scents of roasted meat, grilled resinous herbs, and raw chocolate. It’s full and rich on the palate, with supple and fine-grained tannins carrying a long, spiced finish. 

Sur’s buddy put us in touch with winemaker Russell Joyce, who filled in the gaps about this spectacular Syrah. “I’ve been working with it since 2010. Syrah was struggling, and Pinot Noir was getting such a high price, was so well known, that the grower was going to rip it out and plant Pinot,” Russell explained. “But we made a handshake deal that I would buy it, forever, and that convinced them to keep it.” 

This handshake deal didn’t just ensure that a prime plot of Syrah would survive. It guaranteed the kind of price like the one we can offer today. “I committed to buying for a certain price, and it’s barely gone up over the last ten years.” Talk about the opposite of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from Santa Lucia Highlands, which have only gained fame and gotten more lucrative over the years. Syrah still goes for a fraction of the price of SLH’s marquee grapes. 

From his prime spot of Santa Lucia Highlands, just southwest of Soberanes and Garys’ Vineyards, Tondré Grapefield’s Joe Alarid grows grapes of impeccable quality. The strong marine influences and well-drained gravelly loam that produce some of California’s greatest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay also lend themselves to beautifully spiced Syrah. 

The 2018 Joyce is hand-harvested, and fermented with 50% whole clusters, a choice that some of the top winemakers in California believe that, like adding a dash of salt to food, brings out the grape’s already present flavors—in Syrah, that’s bacon fat, pepper, and olive. It’s aged in a combination of concrete and all-neutral oak before bottling. 

Russell Joyce sells half of this wine himself, through the winery and The Wine House, his Carmel Valley wine bar. The rest usually goes to high-end oenophile destinations in Monterey, SF, and Los Angeles. But today, it’s here at the best price in the nation. Ten years of wondering and waiting… we did it, so you could have this wine today. Don’t miss it.