Delmas, “SJR Vineyard” Syrah

When it comes to America’s most expensive and wildly sought-after cult Syrahs—like Sine Qua Non ($400+), Colgin ($350), and Cayuse’s “Bionic Frog” ($300)—one would naturally expect their websites to display gatekeeping statements like: “To acquire wine, please join our waiting list” or “At this time, we are not available for tastings due to extremely limited quantities of Syrah.” But today, that’s what you’ll find at Delmas, a highly buzzed-about estate crafting just one red wine from The Rocks District, an AVA that Wine Spectator calls “the most distinctive in the United States.”An appellation within an appellation within an appellation, this tiny, terroir-specific (basalt) AVA is planted to less than 40 vineyards, scrapped over by just 30 wineries, and has served as the valuable raw material for multiple perfect-scoring wines. In other words, The Rocks and Delmas’ $79 Syrah is a fantastic dream for culty wine collectors with a propensity for extraordinary value. But the overarching p