The Paring Syrah 2020

The Paring has always come across as more conversation than proclamation — a thoughtful back-and-forth between place, variety and intent. The name itself encourages a double take. Pairing is what it does so easily at the table, working with food rather than against it. Paring is more literal: fruit drawn from parcels carved away from the valley floor, rising into hillside exposures where restraint replaces excess and nuance has room to develop.

That dual meaning is a useful way into the 2020 Syrah. This is a wine shaped less by volume than by contour — by slope, airflow and the quiet discipline that comes from farming above the fertile comfort of the valley floor. Fruit ripens slowly here, gaining depth without heaviness and yielding a Syrah that feels composed rather than showy. Dark berries and blackberry skin anchor the profile, but they come across cool toned and measured, framed by freshness rather than sweetness.

As the wine opens, Syrah’s savory side starts to show. Cracked black pepper and violet lift the aromatics, followed by notes of olive tapenade, iron and graphite that point directly to soil and site. A faint thread of smoked meat and bay leaf runs through the midpalate, not as a dominant flourish but as a reminder of the variety’s natural tilt toward the herbal and the savory.

Structure is where the hillside origin is most obvious. Fine grained, chalky tannins give the palate shape without weight, while a steady line of acidity keeps everything taut and focused. Nothing feels padded or exaggerated. The wine moves in a straight, confident line, finishing long and peppery, with mineral tension lingering after the fruit eases off.

Within The Paring’s broader approach — thoughtful sourcing, balance over excess, vineyards allowed to set the tone rather than heavy cellar work — the 2020 Syrah feels especially dialed in, even in its youth. It is still knitting together and gaining detail with air, but the style is already clear: California Syrah in a slightly lower register, more measured than muscular.

At the table, the name comes full circle. This is a wine that pairs easily and flexibly: grilled lamb with herbs, charred vegetables, anything brushed with smoke or olive oil fits naturally alongside it. It is a bottle meant to be shared and revisited over the course of an evening, a Syrah that shows how well both meanings of “Paring” can live in a single glass