Booker Vineyard Fracture Syrah 2019
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Jeb
Dunnuck - Vinous
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James
Suckling -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
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Winemaker Notes
Often described as a Booker flagship, Fracture is one of the world's great Syrahs. Only the softest Syrah in barrel makes the cut for this dense and powerful wine. The namesake pays homage to the calcareous soil in their vineyard, the limestone causes it to 'fracture.' Fracture is their most consistent wine and the1'9 vintage is no different. Inky black as always, it shows off intense aromas of graphite, gun powder, and blackberry cobbler. The flavors on the palate mirror the aromas and yet are almost completely eclipsed by the sheer weight, volume, and length of this graceful giant. The finish is even bigger than the previous 2017 or 2018 vintage with notes of double espresso and seared rib eye on the close.
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 100% Syrah 2019 Fracture comes all from the Booker Estate Vineyard and is another pure, balanced, incredibly classy wine from this estate. Loads of darker fruits, ground black pepper, crushed stone, and scorched earth give way to a medium to full-bodied, powerful, concentrated Syrah that will benefit from 2-4 years of bottle age and cruise for 10-15 years.
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Vinous
Dark purple. An exotically perfumed, expressive bouquet evokes ripe black and blue fruits, Moroccan spices, olive paste, licorice, potpourri and incense. Densely packed and impressively energetic in the mouth, offering intense blackberry, cassis, kirsch, fruitcake and floral pastille flavors that firm up slowly through the back half. The floral and spice notes repeat emphatically on an impressively long, youthfully tannic finish that leaves smoky mineral and licorice notes behind.
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James Suckling
A serious syrah with black-ink, violet, blueberry and crushed-stone character. It’s full and tight with layers of fine tannins that spread across the palate. Chalky finish. Chewy at the end. Drinkable now, but better in 2026 and onwards.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Fracture is energetic and mineral-driven this vintage. It has a medium ruby-purple color with rich cassis on the nose, accented by nuances of tar, iron, bergamot and charcuterie. The medium-bodied palate has a silty structure and fresh acidity that highlights its spicy undertones, and it finishes very long. It's drinkable now but has a long life ahead in the cellar.
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Wine Spectator
Inky dark and deeply layered yet not weighty, this red features black raspberry and blueberry flavors laced with crushed stone, black olive and cured meat, finishing with fine-grained tannins. Drink now through 2030.
Other Vintages
2018-
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Spectator
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
Robert
Parker -
Wilfred
Wong -
Wine
Spectator
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Jeb
Dunnuck -
James
Suckling
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Robert
Parker -
Jeb
Dunnuck -
Wine
Spectator
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Robert
Parker
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Wine
Spectator
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Robert
Parker
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Robert
Parker
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Wine
Spectator
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Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
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Robert
Parker
The name Booker comes from the two orphan brothers Claude and Dick Booker who had owned the land, as well as hundreds more acres on Paso's Westside. The Booker brothers were Paso's favorite sons, dedicating their lives to being great farmers and humanitarians. Aside from lending their farming knowledge and manual labor to neighbors and those in need, they were the area's biggest philanthropists, leaving 100% of their estate to charity when they passed.
At Booker Vineyard we have dedicated our lives to farming perfection. We are constantly striving to find perfect balance in our vineyard through sustainable farming practices and methods. Beginning in the spring of 2010 we began our venture into the world of Biodynamics. Our wines are always 100% estate fruit and are a true reflection of the calcareous and salicious shale hillsides provided by our Westside Paso Robles vineyard.
Marked by an unmistakable deep purple hue and savory aromatics, Syrah makes an intense, powerful and often age-worthy red. Native to the Northern Rhône, Syrah achieves its maximum potential in the steep village of Hermitage and plays an important component in the Red Rhône Blends of the south, adding color and structure to Grenache and Mourvèdre. Syrah is the most widely planted grape of Australia and is important in California and Washington. Sommelier Secret—Such a synergy these three create together, the Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre trio often takes on the shorthand term, “GSM.”
Paso Robles has made a name for itself as a source of supple, powerful, fruit-driven Central Coast wines. But with eleven smaller sub-AVAs, there is actually quite a bit of diversity to be found in this inland portion of California’s Central Coast.
Just east over the Santa Lucia Mountains from the chilly Pacific Ocean, lie the coolest in the region: Adelaida, Templeton Gap and (Paso Robles) Willow Creek Districts, as well as York Mountain AVA and Santa Margarita Ranch. These all experience more ocean fog, wind and precipitation compared to the rest of the Paso sub-appellations. The San Miguel, (Paso Robles) Estrella, (Paso Robles) Geneso, (Paso Robles) Highlands, El Pomar and Creston Districts, along with San Juan Creek, are the hotter, more western appellations of the greater Paso Robles AVA.
This is mostly red wine country, with Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel standing out as the star performers. Other popular varieties include Merlot, Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot, Syrah, Grenache and Rhône blends, both red and white. There is a fairly uniform tendency here towards wines that are unapologetically bold and opulently fruit-driven, albeit with a surprising amount of acidity thanks to the region’s chilly nighttime temperatures.