Nose
A bowl of summer fruits including sweet blackberries, raspberries, black olives and pomegranates which are highlighted by black pepper, violets and fresh green olive scents that develop and evolve with air.
Palate
Vivacious and bright in the mouth with real density of flavor and concentration from the long cool growing season.
Growing Conditions
Made in the same spirit as the 2017, the blend for this 2018 Syrah was driven by Mother Nature rather than market forces. This 100% Syrah is a blend of components from all of our favorite vineyards on the north coast. The swale at Griffins Lair, the driveway rows at Castelli-Knight Ranch, that carbonic lot of Hawks Butte that was so exotic and alive and those two barrels of Alder Springs that didn’t quite taste as good as the two that were bottled as the vineyard designate, the list goes on. This wine enables us to ensure the quality of our top end wines while creating a unique blend of all the great terroirs together, creating one very compelling and over delivering bottle of Syrah.
Nellessen, Castelli-Knight Ranch, Griffins Lair, Armagh, Hawks Butte & Alder Springs
Bottling
Bottled without any fining or filtration
Winemaking
Our winemaking philosophy is simple, health and purity in every part of the process is critical to the result, starting with the health of the vineyards we source from.
In the cellar only ambient yeasts are used for fermentation. These are the yeasts that ride in on the skin of the grapes or are flying around in our cellar, we never use products cultivated in a lab. Our wines are processed whole-cluster and pressed by foot, a process which creates wines loaded with aromas and flavors that can only be achieved by these methods. Sulfur, a naturally occurring by-product of fermentation, is applied only minimally for stabilization if at all.
100% whole cluster
Aging
Aged mostly in concrete with a few neutral French oak barrels. No fining or filtering.
Food Pairing
A subtle carbonic pop enlivens all of that intensity making this Syrah very satisfying on its own with a good chill or served with a burger fresh off of the grill.