96pts James Suckling

Blackberries, ripe raspberries, cracked black pepper, slate, and black ink pot. Full-bodied yet very tight and compacted with tannins that melt into the wine. Chewy and structured. Some asphalt at the end. Needs time to open. Better in three to four years.

93pts Wine Spectator

A wine with presence and impeccable balance, this is a classic cool region Syrah, with multilayered blueberry and plum fruit flavors, wild game and savory underbrush notes and refined tannins on the finish. Drink now through 2032. 230 cases made.

About the Wine

The supreme red grape variety for the Northern Rhône Valley – this time grown in northern Mendocino County. The steep hillsides and distinctive sandstone-based soils at Alder Springs Vineyard are ideally suited to Syrah.

The quintessential red grape variety of the Northern Rhône Valley in France also does very well in California. At Alder Springs Vineyard we have worked closely with owner/grapegrower Stuart Bewley to access Syrah from several clones and particularly from his “Spirit Rock” location. This is 100% Syrah. François Villard and Donald Patz were determined to make a wine of elegance and finesse utilizing the Syrah grapes from Alder Springs Vineyard. A very gentle extraction process, somewhat lower sugar levels and careful barrel aging have produced a Syrah unlike any other in California.

About the Winery 

TERMINIM is a collaboration between François Villard (Domaine François Villard – Northern Rhône Valley, France) and Donald Patz (Maritana Vineyards – Russian River Valley; Secret Door Winery – Napa Valley). We have selected the Alder Springs Vineyard in Mendocino to be the source for our wines. The unique location and microclimate found at Alder Springs Vineyard gives us grapes that best fit with the vision for Terminim wines. The resulting wines from this collaboration have already shown great promise and the future will hold even greater wines to come. 

As the team becomes more familiar with the character of Alder Springs Vineyard as experienced through these grape varieties there is no doubt that the wines will evolve. We all look forward to sharing these wines with you and your friends for many years to come.