90pts Vinous

The 2021 Syrah (North Coast) is a delight. Readers will find a serious Syrah that packs quite the punch. A burst of dark plum fruit, cedar, licorice, incense, leather and tobacco hits the palate. There's plenty of structure to back up the wine's up-front intensity.

About the Wine

The name Jolie-Laide translates loosely to Pretty-Ugly, a French term of endearment to describe something that is unconventionally beautiful. Based out of Sonoma County, California, Scott and Jenny Schultz work with a handful of growers to source fruit from spectacular vineyard sites, allowing them to keep a hands-off approach in the cellar. The winemaking method at Jolie-Laide is simple: grapes are left whole cluster, foot crushed, and aged in neutral oak. All ferments are done with native yeasts, and the only additions consist of a minimal dose of sulfur before bottling.

The North Coast Syrah is a blend of two Yorkville Highlands vineyards; Hawks Butte and Halcon. Both vineyards are rocky, high elevation sites (Halcon being the higher of the two at roughly 2500 ft) in Mendocino that benefit from a direct coastal influence, as well as ample sun exposure from their position above the fog line. Picked early to preserve acidity and capture the cool-climate characteristics of the area, the grapes were foot crushed and fermented whole cluster, followed by a 10-month maturation period in neutral barrique.

About the Winery

Scott began his transition into the winemaking world after a move from Chicago to run the beverage program at Thomas Keller’s Bouchon in Napa Valley. As he explains, “everyone I met was a winemaker, so on my days off I followed people around to see what they were doing." Before long, he had secured the cellar master job at Realm Winery, followed by a stint with Arnot-Roberts, and then joining Pax Mahle to work on the Pax and Wind Gap labels. Scott’s passion for winemaking inevitably led to his own project, Jolie-Laide, in 2010.