2021 Haynes Vineyard Syrah Forgeron Coombsville

If you love Northern Rhône Syrah — think Saint-Joseph or Crozes-Hermitage — and have ever wished someone would make that wine in Napa Valley, Haynes Vineyard just did exactly that. This is not a big, extracted California Syrah. It's elegant, precise, and driven by place.

Haynes Vineyard sits in Coombsville, the coolest sub-region of Napa Valley, where marine fog rolls in from San Pablo Bay and temperatures stay a full notch below the valley floor. The vineyard itself is one of Napa's most historically significant — first planted in 1967 under the guidance of legendary winemaker André Tchelistcheff, making it home to the oldest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines in the entire valley. The Syrah vines for this bottling were planted in 1996 and 2000 in volcanic and diatomaceous soils that give the wines their signature mineral tension and freshness.

Winemaker Nico Cueva came to Haynes directly from Kosta Browne, where he was Head Winemaker, but this project represents something entirely different: a single estate, a single vineyard, and a singular commitment to transparency of place. The "Forgeron" label — French for "the one who builds" — represents the wines crafted from the oldest vines on the property. The 2021 Syrah was fermented 100% whole cluster, with zero sulfur additions until bottling, zero new oak, and aged in large neutral barrels and casks. Low-intervention winemaking at its most intentional.

Haynes Vineyard is owned by Lawrence Wine Estates, whose portfolio includes Heitz Cellar and Chateau Lascombes in Bordeaux — a group with serious pedigree and the patience to let great terroir speak for itself.