Rolando Herrera’s story has been told many times, and it is certainly a tale worth knowing. What follows is a summary, a relaying of the highlights of a life, because this piece is about the 2016 Mi Sueño Syrah (Napa Valley). First, the man behind the wine.

The story can begin when the Herrera family moves to Napa, in 1975, relocating from Michoacán, Mexico. Rolando’s father takes a job in a vine nursery, and the 8-year-old Rolando enters school. In 1980, the elder Herrera, ready to retire, returns to Mexico, taking his family with him.

In 1983, Rolando and his brother move back to St. Helena. Rolando said that he missed the American way of life and the beauty of the Napa Valley. He enrolls in high school and work nights and weekends as a dishwasher at Auberge du Soleil.

In 1985, Herrera starts working as a cellar rat at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, where he learns the craft of making wine from Warren Winiarski. Three years later, he is named cellar master at Stag’s Leap.

Lorena Herrera is the co-founder and co-owner of Mi Sueño.

Chateau Potelle is Herrera’s next stop. In 1995, he joins the winery as assistant winemaker. In 1997, he marries Lorena Robledo, and that same year the couple launches Mi Sueño Winery with 200 cases of Chardonnay made from fruit purchased from Lorena’s father. It was an instant success.

This summary does not do justice to the Herrera tale, which is nothing short of an archetypal American success story. Rolando went on to work at Vine Cliff Winery (beginning in 1998) and at Paul Hobbs Winery (beginning in 2001), and in 2003 he and Lorena founded Herrera Vineyard Management.

Before we get to the 2016 Syrah, a few more notes about Mi Sueño:

  • The 1999 Mi Sueño Los Carneros Chardonnay was served at the Bush White House at a state dinner honoring the president of Mexico, Vicente Fox.
  • The 2006 Mi Sueño Russian River Valley Pinot Noir was poured at the Bush White House during the 2008 Cinco de Mayo celebration.
  • President Barack Obama’s first state dinner, honoring Mexico’s president at the time, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa, featured the 2006 Herrera Rebecca Cabernet Sauvignon. (In 2004, the couple founded the Herrera portfolio, starring single-varietal and single-vineyard bottlings named after their children.)
Rolando Herrera knows how to prune vines.

In 2004, Rolando began devoting all of his time to Mi Sueño, and in 2016 he and Lorena purchased a property on Mount Veeder, where they plan to construct a winery and a tasting room.

The 2016 Mi Sueño Napa Valley Syrah

To the Syrah: 2016 was a great growing season in Napa Valley, marked by moderate temperatures in July and August and an increase in heat closer to harvest. The fruit was in great condition when it was picked, in mid-October.

This 2016 Syrah (Coombsville AVA) was aged for 20 months (50 percent new French oak); it is 100 percent Syrah, and the fruit came from the Cortese Vineyard. Alcohol is at 14.5 percent, and 290 cases were produced.

If you like Syrah, you will want to buy a bottle of this wine; if you are not overly familiar with Syrah, this bottle a good one to add to a Syrah tasting panel. You will certainly note the peppery characteristic here, white pepper to be exact. Vanilla and black fruit are also evident.

I opened this bottle immediately upon taking it from a 55-Fahrenheit environment, and sampled it shortly thereafter. Dark purple color in the glass, and the tannins are soft, even supple. (I left the bottle uncorked for the rest of the day, until dinner, and the tannins grew a touch softer.) With the elapsed time since the cork was pulled, subtle notes of bay leaf and cola emerged.

A rack of lamb goes well with the Mi Sueño Syrah.

Pairing this wine is going to be fun. I plan to have at least one bottle at the table come Thanksgiving, because I think it will marry perfectly with the smoked turkey we’re ordering. Lamb is another way to go with this Syrah, which is what I did on the tasting day, a rack crusted with panko and Parmigiano-Reggiano. You can order this Syrah directly from the winery, or inquire at your favorite merchant.

Want more wine? Read on:

Joshua Maloney on Riesling and Manfred Krankl
Brothers in Wine
Two Bottles From Priest Ranch
A Derby Day Cocktail
Nate Klostermann is Making Some Great Sparkling Wines in Oregon
Matt Dees and the Electric Acidity of Sta. Rita Hills Chardonnay
Baudelaire, Pinot Noir, and Rosé: Kathleen Inman’s Passions
Colombia, France, and California: This Winemaker is a Complex Woman
Michael Kennedy Talks Sailing and Zinfandel
Spain Opened the World of Wine for Spottswoode’s Aron Weinkauf
Alta Colina’s Molly Lonborg Wants a Bottle of Château Rayas
Mumm Napa’s Tami Lotz Talks Wine and Oysters
James MacPhail on Pinot Noir, White Burgundy, and Russell Crowe
A Very Proper Sparkling Wine
Talking With David Ramey
A Merlot That Your Snob Friend Will Love
French Couple Make a Sauvignon Blanc in California
A Perfect Afternoon Chardonnay
Terry Theise Talks Reisling
A New Wine Wonderland
Paris Wine Goddess Tells All
Rice Village Wine Bar Has a Cleveland Touch
A Texas White Blend for Your Table
A Pinot Noir Full of Flavor
This Pinot Gris From Oregon Pairs Well With Cheese
Willamette, Dammit!
A Value Rioja
Drink Pink!
Underbelly Veteran Goes for Grenache
A Man of Letters and Wine
Ms. Champagne Wants a Nebuchadnezzar
The Wine Artist Goes for Chardonnay
This American Loves Spain and Its Wines
Houston’s Wine Whisperer Has a Soft Touch
Blackberry Farm’s Somm Pours in Splendor
Mr. Pinot Noir: Donald Patz of Patz & Hall
A Cork Dork Wants to Spend More Time in Tuscany
Sommelier Turned Restaurateur Daringly Goes Greek
Texas Master Sommelier Debunks Wine Geeks
A Bottle From Gigondas Changed This Houston Man’s Life
Oil Man Falls in Love, and the Rest is Good-Taste History
Ryan Cooper of Camerata is a Riesling Man
Mixing It Up With Jeremy Parzen, an Ambassador of Italy
Sommelier at One of Houston’s Top Wine Bars Loves Underdogs