Winery:  "This vineyard continues to produce a Syrah that is highly extracted with concentrated color, depth and complexity one would expect from the Red Hills Lake County AVA.  Beautiful obsidian (dark, glasslike volcanic rock)-black wine is concentrated with intense blackberry, mocha & mineral, rich tannins with a long supple finish.  Drink now or cellar until 2012 or longer."

Wired For Wine:  Red Hills in Lake County has arguably the cleanest and most pristine wine growing regions in California.  Highly regarded for its distinct volcanic terroir, the soil composition is mostly of red gravely clay and sand which allows for deep root penetration of the vine resulting in small and intensely flavorful grapes.  The Red Lava Vineyards hand picks the estate grown grapes in very limited quantities and vine yield is limited to encourage production of dark, concentrated berries. 

This is a knock out wine, yet to be rated, that drinks like a $40 bottle.  We highly recommend snatching up a couple of cases of this very difficult to find Syrah priced well below $20.  You'll be glad you did after you down the first bottle. 

Savor this with figs wrapped in prosciutto followed by grilled steak, rack of lamb, venison, or barbecue (especially spare ribs).  Just fantastic with mushrooms and pairs well with aged or hard cheeses like Gouda, Parmesan, or Pecorino.

Size:  750 ml
Varietal:  100% Syrah
Barrel Aging:  18 months in Hungarian and American Oak
Alcohol:  14.2%
Vintage:  2003
Region:  Red Hills district of Lake County in north central California
Production:  1,056 dozen