Hello Everyone:

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday.

Now that the holidays are in full swing, we are ready to release a very special wine in honor of our 20^th Anniversary. We call it “XX”, the 20^th Anniversary Cuvee (or “Double X”). XX is a very special multi-vintage blend of top Syrahs with varying degrees of extended barrel aging. The “XX” sports a one-of-a-kind label with original art from one of the Dragonette’s closest family friends. This wine is among the best we have ever made.

Additionally, we are happy to announce the creation of our first Vintage Chart, which will be updated yearly to assess the drinking windows for all of our wines. Wine Club members who have assiduously amassed collections of Dragonette Wines over the years will have another resource (beyond their own experiences, of course) with which to evaluate the best time to open bottles.

Enjoy!

XX – 20^th Anniversary Syrah (NV) 

The XX is a multi-vintage blend of MJM Syrahs made in honor of our 20^th anniversary.  The XX Anniversary sports a unique label, representing artwork entitled “Celebrate”  from one of the Dragonette family’s oldest and dearest friends, R. Anthony Askew of Santa Barbara and formerly Professor of Art at Westmont College for many years.

The XX is 95% Syrah, 4% Grenache, 1% Viognier coming from Stolpman (Ballard Canyon) (57%), John Sebastiano (Sta. Rita Hills) (24%), Larner (Ballard Canyon) (14%) and Kimsey (Ballard Canyon) (5%). Clones include 3, 383, 470, 174, Alban 1, Estrella & Massale. For this singular wine we saved barrels of the MJM blend from 2019-2022 and put them aside for further development. The XX ultimately contained wines that aged from 27 to 64 months in barrel before bottling. The wine combines the horizontal breadth from the various top vineyards, plus the vertical complexity of wines of different ages. It is a real cornucopia of flavors and textures and should inspire contemplation and pleasure for years to come.

Jonathan Cristaldi gave this wine 98 Points, stating:
“I love this wine—and you will too—because it delivers a mouthful of Syrah deliciousness, done the Santa Barbara County way. Rich, supple dark fruits meet tangy blood orange acidity and mid-palate density. The wine builds with layers of black cherry, blackberry, violets, sandalwood, and robes of dark chocolate, all weaving into a satiny sheet that glides across the palate. The multi-vintage integration is so seamless and complete, it makes you wish Dragonette would craft a wine like this year after year.”

Jeb Dunnuck gave the wine 97 Points, calling it “a full-bodied, rich, powerful effort with a broad mouthfeel, velvety tannins, and a bloody, sanguine character on the finish. It’s another remarkable, singular, heavenly Syrah from this team that’s drinking beautifully today, yet has another decade or more of prime drinking. Drink 2025-2040.”

Extremely Limited, only 125 cases made.

Many long-time club members and fans have asked us over the years when to drink our wines. The answer, of course, depends on many factors, not the least of which is preference. Some people like young wines, with vibrant fruits and sparkling personalities jumping from the glass.  Some people like older wines, where the fruit has calmed down and melted into the structure and the aromas have fanned out and deepened. Here is some guidance for past vintages of our wines, almost all of which have plenty of life in them. We will update this as new wines are added and older ones mature – Enjoy! Note: this chart is easily found atop our vintages page on our website.