2014 Meyer Family Cellars Syrah Yorkville Highlands Mendocino County 750 ml

The 2014 Meyer Family Cellars Syrah has an Old World soul—boasting tremendous concentration and ageability, a pure and focused palate of blueberry, black currant and leather, highlighted by vibrant, high-altitude acidity. 

The little-known region of the Yorkville Highlands, remote and rugged enough to foster its own hidden language, is producing some of the greatest Syrah in the United States, with sites that “recall the Northern Rhône’s best,” according to Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate.

That sky-high quality is captured in this 2014 release, crafted by Matt Meyer, a scion of a legendary Napa winemaking tradition as the son of Silver Oak co-founder Justin Meyer. Matt is continuing the family legacy with a focus on Syrah, encouraging the cultivation of the Rhône grape and demonstrating the remarkable finesse and expressivity it can achieve in this cool-climate area. We haven’t tasted much else like it… especially for the price. Better yet, this wine is in-stock and ready to ship now.

With six years of barrel and bottle age, the firm tannins in this release have mellowed, allowing exotic spice and floral notes to bloom. With critics and collectors taking notice of Yorkville Highlands’ rapidly ascending profile, you won’t find stellar values like this for much longer. 

As Wine Access devotees who snapped up our first allocation of this powerful red noted, Meyer Family’s Syrah is “No doubt an undiscovered sleeper,” and “excellent wine at an excellent price.” We cleared out the winery’s remaining inventory, so this is the only place you’ll find their stunning 2014… until it’s gone forever.

In 1999, as Silver Oak was achieving cult status, the Meyers bought 160 acres in the Yorkville Highlands, believing it might be the terroir of California’s future. It’s here that Matt and his wife Karen have shined, translating the ethos and aesthetic that made Silver Oak an icon into Syrahs that reminded us of the dark, toned exemplars of Côte-Rôtie and Hermitage.

The vineyards sit on a raised, rocky bench between 1,000 and 2,200 feet of elevation. The land sees more sun than Mendocino’s famed Anderson Valley, yet retains coolness due to its altitude and frequent Pacific breezes. The nights can get positively frigid, helping preserve acidity. The soils here also contribute to the uniqueness of the Yorkville Highlands expression: thin gravel and ancient rock deposits force roots to dig deep, lending this wine its mineral nuance.

In the former logging town of Boonville, California, just outside the Yorkville Highlands where this red is grown, there is an obscure dialect now spoken by only a few. In this local slang, known as “boontling,” socker refers to something big, bold, and impressive. At our best-in-the-nation price, this is the definition of a socker wine—and one you’ll wine you want to bet big on before word gets out.