A powerful, virile wine, the 2017 Syrah Hilltops is also quite shut down today. Big, muscular tannins wrap around a core of dark fruit, smoke, violet, spice and leather. I especially admire the wine's drive and overall energy. In my view, the Hilltops is the wine that really encapsulates all the best this Ballard Canyon property has to offer.
94 points, Antonio Galloni, Vinous (Sep 2019)
Similarly, the 2017 Syrah Hilltops offers plenty of Bing cherry, ground pepper, and leather notes as well as a more medium-bodied, focused, structured style on the palate. It's another balanced, textured wine from this team that will keep for over a decade. There are 500 cases of the Hilltops Syrah and it was 70% destemmed and spent 20 months in neutral French oak.
93 points, Jeb Dunnuck (Oct 2019)