2017 Zaca Mesa Clydesdale Syrah
A dense, savory Santa Ynez Syrah built for steak, smoke, and serious weeknight luxury.
This is the bolder side of Zaca Mesa: 100% Syrah from favorite estate blocks, aged long enough to show polish while still holding the dark fruit and savory drive that made the bottling compelling in the first place. The profile is exactly what you want from Central Coast Syrah: berry compote, black currant, plum, violet, sage, hoisin, smoked meat, cocoa, and warm spice. Firm tannins give it shape, but the fruit is generous enough to make the bottle feel rewarding now with a proper decant. At $23 against a $46 published winery-price reference, this is a very serious Syrah buy.
Save $23 per bottle
The story behind Clydesdale Syrah.
Zaca Mesa’s own Clydesdale video gives this wine a stronger identity than a generic estate clip: the name, vineyard story, and Syrah focus are all part of the bottle.
The Syrah in the Zaca Mesa lineup with real muscle.
Clydesdale is not a soft, anonymous red blend. It is a block-driven estate Syrah with the dark fruit, savory detail, tannin, and oak polish to stand up to grilled beef and sticky ribs.
Built from favorite estate blocks
The wine comes from selected Syrah blocks, which gives it a clearer identity than a broad red blend. You can feel that in the concentration and savory detail.
Exactly the profile Syrah drinkers want
Black currant, plum, violet, sage, smoked meat, hoisin, cocoa, and warm spice all point toward a bottle with both fruit and meat-on-the-bone complexity.
Firm, food-ready structure
This is not just ripe fruit. The tannins are firm enough to handle marbled steak, grilled tri-tip, and glossy ribs without the wine getting lost.
The math works hard
$23 against a $46 published price gives you a real half-price story, while the $44 Wine-Searcher average still makes the current offer look sharp.
The allocation opportunity
- For Syrah drinkers: This bottle brings the grape’s classic dark fruit, pepper, meat, violet, and spice signatures without drifting into sweetness.
- For the table: The winery itself points the wine toward well-marbled grilled steak, and the profile makes that call feel exactly right.
- For the case: Use it as the structured red in a mixed dozen, especially if you already added the Z Cuvée or Inceptive Red.
92-point estate Syrah with a savory, roasted-fruit core.
The Wine Enthusiast review lines up with the winery note: this is dense, juicy, savory Syrah with violet lift, dark fruit, cocoa, dried meat, and warm spice.
$23 for a wine usually framed in the mid-$40s.
Slash price $23 vs $44 Wine-Searcher average and $46 published winery-price reference.
Wine-Searcher shows a $44 average for the 2017 Clydesdale, and the published price reference supplied for the wine is $46. At $23, this offer lands at roughly half of that top anchor while still saving $21 per bottle against the market average.
Compare the reference points here: Wine-Searcher and Zaca Mesa technical notes.
The use case is easy: this is your steak-night bottle, your smoky-ribs bottle, and the Syrah you put in the case when you want something darker and more structured than a softer red blend.
Estate Syrah, 92-point acclaim, and a half-price frame against the $46 published price.
Dark fruit, smoked meat, violet, cocoa, and firm tannin.
Clydesdale is the Zaca Mesa Syrah to decant and put beside something charred, glazed, or well-marbled.
Santa Barbara County’s 2017 season began with a cooler, moderate pattern and balanced yields before Labor Day heat and unusual tropical moisture added late-season pressure. For careful producers, the year delivered ripe, concentrated reds with the dark fruit, structure, and savory spice that suit estate Syrah.
Black currant, plum, berry compote, sweet plum, and muddled blackberry sit at the center.
Dense and framed by firm tannins, with enough age to soften the edges without losing power.
Sage, hoisin sauce, smoked meats, dried meat, cocoa, and warm spice carry the Syrah signature.
Hints of violet and dried flower keep the wine aromatic rather than just dark and broad.
Serve at 60–65°F with grilled steak, tri-tip, sticky ribs, or smoked meats.
Give it 45–60 minutes. The tannin and oak polish settle beautifully with air.
Decant and pour with steak, ribs, or anything grilled over flame.
The cocoa, smoked meat, and dried-flower notes should become even more integrated.
Well-stored bottles should lean into leather, spice, and smoked-meat complexity.
100% Syrah, block-selected and oak-polished.
The technical story is clear: hand-harvested estate Syrah, de-stemmed gently, fermented in open and closed-top tanks, then aged in French oak before final blending.
Vineyard: Clydesdale pulls from estate Syrah blocks Mesa A, B, C, H, and Chapel G, giving the wine both depth and a strong sense of place.
Cellar: The Syrah was gently de-stemmed and fermented in a mix of open and closed-top tanks. After pressing and settling, the wine went into French oak, with the blocks kept separate before final blending.
Style: The result is a dense but lifted Syrah with berry compote, sage, hoisin, smoked meats, violet, sweet plum, and blackberry riding on firm tannins.
A historic name from one of California’s Rhône pioneers.
Zaca Mesa has long been tied to Santa Barbara Syrah, and Clydesdale gives that story a focused estate expression.
Zaca Mesa is a family-owned Central Coast estate known for Rhône varieties, and the winery’s own materials present Clydesdale as a Syrah tied to favorite estate blocks.
That focus matters in the glass. Instead of tasting like a broad California red, this has the dark, peppery, floral, smoked-meat personality that Syrah lovers actively look for.
The Clydesdale name also gives the bottle a stronger story on the page and on the table. It feels like a named estate wine, not a commodity closeout.
Give it flame, fat, smoke, and a little sweetness.
The winery points Clydesdale toward well-marbled grilled steak, and the wine’s hoisin-smoked-meat notes make sticky ribs a second bullseye pairing.
Think steakhouse power with a Central Coast accent: char, soy, hoisin, black pepper, beef fat, and sweet-savory glaze.
Decant 45–60 minutes and serve lightly cool. The tannins relax with air, and the wine becomes more expressive with smoky, well-marbled dishes.
Santa Maria-Style Grilled Tri-Tip
This is the pure Central Coast pairing. Charred beef, black pepper, smoke, and a juicy medium-rare center give the wine exactly the fat and flavor it wants.
Why it works: The Syrah’s firm tannins, black fruit, sage, cocoa, and smoked-meat notes lock into grilled beef and charred onions.
View Recipe
Hoisin Sticky Ribs
The wine already speaks in hoisin, plum, smoked meat, and blackberry. A glossy rib glaze makes that savory-sweet side louder without overwhelming the bottle.
Why it works: Hoisin, garlic, ginger, sesame, and pork fat pull out the wine’s smoked-meat, cocoa, violet, and sweet-plum layers.
View RecipeBuy this as the serious Syrah.
Clydesdale is the Zaca Mesa bottle for buyers who want density, smoke, spice, and steak-night confidence.
Tri-tip, ribeye, grilled sirloin, and charred onions all make the wine feel deeper and smoother.
Violet, black fruit, cocoa, smoked meat, sage, and pepper give this the profile Syrah drinkers recognize.
$23 against a $46 published price makes this the strongest premium-red value among the current Zaca Mesa run.
At $23 per bottle, the 2017 Zaca Mesa Clydesdale gives you 100% estate Syrah, 92-point acclaim, a $44 Wine-Searcher average, and a $46 published price reference. Add six for the cellar, or build to twelve across the Zaca Mesa set and unlock free shipping.
